Well Mitch did a great job summing up our mini adventure before the adventure…Think its safe to say we all had a great time, figured out things to bring to SA and stuff to do, and now all appreciate the joys of just kicking back with family a little more…So for this post, I’m just going to ramble a little bit before we take off tomorrow.
One thing that travelling throughout Ghana taught us was things to bring on an African adventure. Unfortunate we forgot most of these things. Next time you embark on a trip through Ghana remember to bring:
- Insect Repellant. Must have. Amitch and my feet and legs were destroyed by sand ticks. What started off as a few bites quickly spread and covered both of feet and started crawling up our legs. I haven’t seen anything move so fast since the BP oil spill. Luckily antihistamine cream is a miracle worker.
- Shampoo. Soap is great. Makes you feel clean and smell fresh. However, soap only goes so far when it comes to hair, and does nothing for getting out leftover beach sand. Day 4 after leaving the beach I was still getting sand under my fingernails after scratching my head.
-Peanut butter and jelly. Still after 22 years, I stupidly still doubt my mom’s advice. So when she recommended taking a big thing of peanut butter and jelly, I almost immediately thought it was a bad idea. Moose, luckily, agreed to lug it, and by the second day the pb&j was a godsend. We even converted Kai (a long time peanut butter hater) to the gospel of pb-he even made a peanut butter sandwich, by itself, the other day. Count it.
Since we got back, we have moved very, very, little. With the World Cup starting up, and the “freezer” providing us with a perfect spot to watch game after game, the three of us have managed to watch all the games so far, except for today’s New Zealand-Slovakia game. A couple things have struck me. One, as much as I love the game, and appreciate its intricies and ebbs and flows, the first set of the group stage makes it so clear why the casual American viewer will never really get into footie. Other than the Germany-Australia blowout, no team has scored more than 2 goals. Today’s highly anticipated Cote D’Ivoire-Portugal battle ended 0-0. While its understandable that no one wants to lose their first game, the dearth of goals has been painful. Hopefully teams start picking up their pace. Goals are fun.
After watching the Ghana-Serbia game near Accra’s downtown area, and celebrating on Oxford Street with most of Accra, I began thinking. If the US had beaten England (a historic upset), small pockets of fans in the US would have celebrated. After Ghana won 1-0, men, women, teenagers, kids all flooded Accra’s streets to celebrate their Black Stars. With so much doubt about the team before the game hampering optimism, most of Ghana quickly hopped on the bandwagon after the win, but the magnitude of Asamoah Gyan’s ball making it past the Serbian goalie into the goal is fascininating. Because the goalie jumped to his left instead of his right, because Gyan hit it true, because he didn’t slip, or choke, or hit it wide, the ball went into the net and Ghana went up 1-0. Not only did the entire floor of the bar we were in go mad, but all of Ghana celebrated. Soon the streets of Accra were jampacked, music blaring, vuvuzelas buzzing. Not only did the victory give Ghana hope in its team, I feel that it goes beyond that. A single victory can really boost the confidence of Ghana in Ghana. No single US victory can today achieve the same affect. While some people’s emotional state ride pretty parallel with the successes and failures of their favorite teams, and while a city can be boosted by championships, the rest of the world’s relationship with soccer is something on a different level, and its incredible to see.
Speaking of the Cup, other than German team, I haven’t been too impressed with any squad. A couple observations: South Africa played with a ton of heart and could very well advance from its group, I think Argentina could be very dangerous; Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana are the continent’s only hopes; and someone should become a hero by throwing a vuvuzela on the field, getting them banned forever. I think this image pretty much wraps up my hate for the zelas, but I hope I change my mind soon. I still have Spain winning the whole thing, hope they put on a clinic against the Swiss tomorrow.
That’s it, that’s all, check back for actual updates. We leave to South Africa at 9pm tomorrow. The adventure begins…
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