First (FIFA-Filled) Weekend in South Africa

I had a pretty packed, exciting and exhausting weekend. On Friday, I got the day off, so I slept in (‘till 8:30am). I wasted most of my morning in my room, but later in the day I headed to the SunCoast Casino, to pick up my Ghana v USA tickets and get head to the Brazil v Portugal match. The build-up to the match on the way to the stadium and at the stadium probably ended up being more exciting than the soccer itself. Though people were excited for the Nigeria v South Korea match earlier in the week, that didn’t compare to Brazil – Portugal. The entire walk along the beach from the Casino to the Stadium (about 1km or slightly more) was full of Brazil and Portugal supporters. Whereas the majority of spectators at Nigeria v South Korea were wearing Bafana Bafana (South Africa) shirts or jerseys, everyone at Brazil-Portugal was clearly supporting one team or another. There was some trash talking between supporters; I even got “red-carded” by a Brazil fan when walking around the food court of the casino (I was wearing a Portugal tshirt).

A devoted Brazil fan.

The stadium was completely full, even twenty minutes prior to kick-off. It looked like a sea of yellow and red, and the vuvuzelas were much, much louder than at my first experience at the stadium. For the most anticipated match to date, the 90 minutes of playing were somewhat disappointing. Any time the final score is 0-0, fans and spectators are bound to be disappointed, but in this case especially. Rivals definitely wanted an outcome to prove one or the other the superior team, and those not as committed, like myself, just wanted to see a more exciting match. Ultimately, the match didn’t matter too much for either team, as they were both already guaranteed to go to the next round (Round of 16). Brazil crushed Mexico last night to move on the quarters, and Portugal takes on Spain tonight. This time, I won’t be rooting for Portugal.

After the match, I headed to dinner at a chain restaurant, Circus Circus, at the Casino. I was immediately drawn to Circus Circus thanks to their ad outside the restaurant:

I was disappointed that it was a Friday, so I decided to train for when I eventually would undertake the challenge, and got a 500g rump to eat in 22 minutes or less. Those who know my eating habits won’t be surprised to hear that the endeavour was hardly challenging. I will have to talk to the management before going for the 1kg though, as I don’t drink Coke. I hope that doesn’t disqualify me automatically.

After a quick stop at home after dinner, I headed to the Durban bus station to board an overnight bus to Johannesburg. It was a Greyhound bus, and much, much nicer than any Greyhound I’ve seen or been on in the States: it was double-decker, with big, comfortable seats and even had a hostess who served coffee, tea and biscuits. Apparently they played movies on the bus (at 10:30pm and 1:30am) with the volume at full blast (the bus wasn’t nice enough to have headphone jacks). I took some Tylenol PM right as I sat down, so had no knowledge of the movies until after the fact; I slept the entire way. We arrived at Jo’burg at 5:30 am. We had originally planned on a bus to Rustenburg that left the Jo’burg bus station at 3:30 pm (I didn’t see any others online), but the bus station is pretty unbearable and getting to Rustenburg as early as possible (to sleep) was desirable. After inquiring at every bus ticket stand, we soon realized that no bus companies went to Rustenburg until 3:30 or later. We were pointed in the direction of the minibus taxis (small, 12-16 pasenger vans that most white South Africans stay away from), and were told it would cost R70 per person to get to Rustenburg. This was a pleasant surprise, as the hotel had informed us that a minibus would cost R900 to get from Jo’burg to Rustenburg. We found a minibus going to Rustenburg without much hassle, and after waiting for the minibus to fill up – they’re usually completely crammed, we started on the two-plus hour trip to Rustenburg.

Rustenburg, as it turns out, is not really a city. They’re city center is their mall (which is pretty big). After a nap, we headed to the mall to buy USA apparel. I bought a tshirt and jacket, which I’ll be wearing throughout my stay here, despite the loss against Ghana. The mall was full of people, and many of them were soccer fans. There were many, many England supporters at the mall (and at the match), because they all assumed that England would have taken the top spot in the group plays. They weren’t especially happy to see Americans. When I did run into other Americans though, I was greeted with many smiles, “USA!!”s, and other friendly gestures. We arrived at the match very early, about two and half hours in advance, because we thought there would be lots to do beforehand. At the stadium in Durban, before even entering, there is lots of entertainment, people selling flags, face-painting and general merriment. This was not the case at Rustenburg. The stadium itself was somewhat in the middle of nowhere, and it couldn’t even compare to the stadium at Durban. It was a stadium that existed before the World Cup, and was smaller than some high school football stadiums. There were no concessions inside the stadium, only food and drink at stands right outside (unlike the stadium at Durban, which has a food and drink stand next to the entrance of every seating section). We were a little bit bored for those hours before the game, but I became friends with a 14 year old American now living in Botswana, and a 15 year old living in London, who even gave me some of his face paint. I socialized with some of the older fans our seating section, one who graciously offered to paint my face. They had pretty awesome face paint on (see below) – I thought they would do something similar for me but, instead, I got “I LOVE FREEDOM" written across my face. I was fine with that.

Early Sunday morning, I got on a FIFA bus directly to OR Tambo, the airport at Johannesburg, and got on a plane back to Durban. I was home in time to watch the Germany – England game, which made me feel a lot better about USA’s loss (the English got decimated 4-1). I went to an Italian restaurant on Florida Rd with Jessie and a friend of mine who is stopping in Durban for a couple of days. We watched the Argentina – Mexico game, which was really exciting, but showed another display of the incompetence of this year’s FIFA refs when it comes to off-sides calls. (I still think Argentina would have won, but their first goal, which should have been nullified, really changed the pace of the game.)

Waking up for work on Monday was more difficult than usual, as the weekend was the first time I really went to bed any time after 9:30pm. Work has been great so far, I keep getting more interesting projects to work on. Everyone here has taken lots of time to explain to me the background behind all of the work I am doing, instead of just handing me something to do. I have learned a lot about the LRC and past work that they’ve done here in Durban. Right now I’m working on lots of education policy (funding, access to education, etc) but one subject matter extends to all different areas as well. Unfortunately, most problems don’t stand alone, but are interwoven with many others. I am also reading a book (technically a textbook, but doesn’t come off as one), Introduction to Human Rights Law. One of the lawyers here, Willene, wrote a section in the book on Property Law. Jessie and I are making plans to go hiking in the Drakensburg and Lesotho this weekend. There aren’t any more matches until Friday, so I think I’ll be able to catch up on some sleep, and finally do some cooking (on my hot plate) at home. Tomorrow evening, Willene (who is 30) and I are going to see the latest instalment of the Twilight series, along with her 12 year old family friend. I’m very excited to have found someone who is as excited to see the movie as I am.

USA! USA!

The USA-Algeria match was not in Durban. Durban, however, like all World Cup host cities, has a FIFA Fan Fest. It's an area with lots of food, amusements,drinks, people and, most importantly, giant screens to watch the World Cup matches. I headed down to the Fan Fest right after work (the match started at 4:00pm, I took off a little bit early - it's a very relaxed work environment), so I was able to catch the start of the match.

Wow. Just, wow. For those of you who don't follow soccer or didn't watch the match, it not worth it to try to describe the match (I'm not a sports writer, after all). I will say this: it was the most tense, gut-wrenching, edge-of-you-seat, emotional nintey-four (the four due to stoppage time) minutes I can remember. When Landon Donovon [10] scored the winning (and only) goal in the 91st minute, the beach erupted. I had gotten my face painted at half-time (USA on my cheeks and stars around my eyes), so everyone knew I was in the right camp. When I'm abroad, I don't usually like to advertise that I'm American, but, I have to say, this time I was pretty proud.

Tonight, I'll be going to the Portugal-Brazil match, here in Durban. Then, I'll be taking an over-night bus to Johannesburg, where I'll get on another bus to Rustenburg, where I'll be watching the USA-Ghana match. That was a very spur-of-the-moment decision, but, for the USA, I figured it was worth it. I'll be posting pictures and thoughts on my weekend when I get back. Wish me luck on this adventure!

Below, you can see more, clearer pictures of the stadium at Durban:

(A very accurate sand replica of the stadium.)

Korea DPR v. Nigeria

I went to my first World Cup Match last night! The stadium at Durban, Moses Mabhida Stadium, is amazing. People have compared its design to the Sydney Opera House, and I definitely see the connection. It has a giant arch that goes over the entire stadium; there is a cable-car attached to the arch that visitors can ride when the stadium is not in use. Rumor has it that one can also bungee jump from the very top of the arch.

Before the Nigeria / Korea DPR match at the stadium, I went with some people from LRC to a bar/restaurant on Durban's famous Florida Road to watch the Bafana (South Africa) / France match. Most people know that I support, and have always, supported France, but, like many France supporters this time around, my enthusiasm began to wane before the Cup even started. Needless to say, it was incredible to watch the South African team play, in South Africa, surrounded by South Africans. I don't feel like a total hypocrite for wearing a Bafana jersey instead of advertising my allegiance to France (I can't say I didn't let out a little cheer after France scored in the second half). It was probably in my safety's best interest to not wear a France jersey.

After the Bafana game (they won, but not by enough to advance to the next round; the over all sentiment in South Africa is pleasant, however, and most people seem to be very proud of their team), I made my way to the stadium. We arrived almost two hours before kick-0ff, but there was plenty to keep us occupied before the start of the match. (A full walk around the stadium took about twenty minutes.)

I'm still shocked at the pricing for the World Cup, from tickets to concessions. A "Category 1" ticket for the first stage of matches cost the same amount as a mediocre regular-season Yankees ticket. No regular ticket in any entire stadium, even during the final match, compares to the "Premier" seating at the new Yankee Stadium. (I say "regular" because there are some "VIP" seats reserved for, well, special people, which are not on sale to the public, so I don't know how much those are worth... but the VIP seats themselves aren't especially noteworthy, I think the VIP is more about the treatment and amenities.)

Anyway. The match. Was amazing. The seats were extremely close, and very close to the center (see below). The stadium lighting is extraordinary, and I could see every play from where I was sitting. There were more South Korean fans at the stadium, but, from what I could tell, everyone who did not have a set allegiance to a team (most of whom, like myself, were wearing South African jerseys or apparel) were cheering for Nigeria, probably because it is an African country. The match was fast-moving and exciting; four goals were scored total, the final score coming to 2-2. The result, in the end, was a win for South Korea, as they only needed to draw to advance to the next round. Nigeria, over all, played a better game and were more driven, so the draw (a loss, really) was very disappointing. The main referee seemed to be favoring the Koreans too, calling foul after foul against the Nigerians, whereas he called barely any against the Koreans. (But, in his defence, just about the only foul he did call against them resulted in a penalty for Nigeria, which helped them to tie the game 2-2.)

The view from my seat...

The atmosphere was so exciting; I can't begin to imagine what it will be like on Friday for Brazil v. Portugal, where I think almost every attendee will have a set allegiance (or clear favorite). Some have called it the most anticipated match of the Cup. The rivalry between the two countries very deep-rooted. I'll be supporting Portugal (I found a Portugal tshirt for R30 - about $3), not necessarily because I like them, but because I loathe the Brazilian soccer team. From the map of the stadium, the seats I have aren’t as good as last night's, but the way the stadium is set up (oval-shaped, rather than rectangular), there really isn't a bad seat in the house.

Re:vuvuzelas. Honestly, at the stadium, they weren't that bad. Yes, they were extremely loud, but I found that, when blown in unison continuously for over 90 minutes, it is much easier to block them out than when an individual one is blown sporadically throughout the day. They would get much, much louder when something exiting was happening during the match. A group of Nigerian fans might have one upped the vuvuzelas: they brought their own band, complete with a percussion session.

Needless to say, it was a tremendous experience, and I'm excited I get to go to [at least] to more matches!

(I took pictures on my phone; wasn't sure how safe I felt bringing my camera - I will definitely be bringing it next time!)

Unconstitutional School Funding

Some background to what I'm working on now (and for a while: this will be a big project): http://www.hrsc.ac.za/News-document-1182.phtml

The LRC is filing suit on behalf of a number of schools with similar complaints to the case it settled described in the article above. Though the orginal case was settled, the governement and dpt. of education continue to use the flawed funding system, creating the same problems it did before. It is also taking a curoiously long time to hand over the money that was promised to the schools in the settlement...

Vuvuzela

You may have heard about the vuvuzelas from the news. They are long plastic "horns" that produce a deafening noise, most often associated with soccer in South Africa. When watching a World Cup match on a tv, you can here the constant drone of the hundreds (probably thousands) of vuvuzelas in the arena.

It doesn't stop there. People have been blowing vuvuzelas all over the city, and hardly a minute goes by that I don't hear the noise of a distant - or not so distant - vuvuzela; the noise is the equivalent of a car horn being pressed for a good few seconds. When one vuvuzela goes off, it is usually met with a response from another vuvuzela somewhere close enough to answer the call (and "close enough" can be anywhere up to a mile away; they're really that loud).

My office is very nice: roomy, lots of light, I have a window that looks out onto the courtyard of the Diakonia Centre. My office, however, seems to be pointed in the perfect direction for a day-long vuvuzela concert.

http://www.vuvuzela-time.co.uk/www.clarainsouthafrica.blogspot.com

First 1/2 Day of Work

So, I'm about to go on my lunch break here at the Legal Resources Centre (http://www.lrc.org.za/). What an eventful morning! I woke up at 5am again (I need to get over this jetlag), so kept myself occupied at home: made coffee, watched the first two episodes of Friday Night Lights (trying to decide if I like this show or not), etc etc. Caught at cab at 8am (I'll usually take public transport with the other intern, Jessica, who's staying in the same complex as I am, but she's been gone on a safari with her boyfriend; she comes back tonight). My working hours are 8:30am - 4:00pm; everything starts and closes early over here. I got to work a little bit early, but the woman who I had been in contact with, Kamala, was already here. She is extremely friendly. Kamala is right out of the South African equivalent of law school, plus a year of studying at the University of Florida, and is fulfilling her mandatory one year law residency (is the best way I can put it), before she becomes an "official" attorney.

No one else was in the office, and Kamala had a meeting at 9:00, so I got to go with her. The LRC is representing a woman, a "informal trader" who sells fruits and vegetables at a market in Durban. Last week, she was arrested, her goods were confiscated and her selling spot revoked - all due to the hazy "FIFA laws" (the dark side of the World Cup). The LRC is representing her to make sure the charges are dropped, she is compensated for her goods (they can't be returned to her becuase they are perishable) and she is given a new spot, for the same rental price, to start selling. She has four children to feed and this is her only means of livlihood. We met with one of the city's municipal directors, who ended up being very cooperative. One of the largest issues with merchants, like the one the LRC, was representing is that they are very confused as to their rights and what the Metro Police can actually do to them. According to Kamala, the municpal authorities aren't generally that easy to deal with, but the LRC just took them to court last week (an "urgent," as Kamala explained) in regards to a storage facility used by the urban poor, and he clearly did not want to go to court again.

The meeting itself was extremely interesting, and provided for an exciting introduction to the LRC, but the trip there and back was equally as noteworthy: I saw parts of the city that I definitely would not have otherwise seen. Whereas yetserday I was walking along the prestine beaches of Durban (a picture would resemble anything from Miami to Cannes), I saw a much poorer, destitute area today. Though I didn't feel scared at all (though the area was extremely poor, it was full of people trying to make an honest living by setting up stands at the flea markets), I wouldn't say I was necessarily comfortable either. We got a bit lost, and when we thought we had found the building (we were wrong), Kamala made a comment that she hoped her car wouldn't get broken into by parking on the street. The LRC has "company cars," which are the opposite of any company car you might picture: they are intentionally shabby and old, so that when visiting clients and poor neighborhoods, they aren't targets for burglars. The company car wasn't available so Kamala took her own car. Luckily, the municipal building was gated off, and had its own parking lot with a security guard.

After the meeting, we made a quick trip to the Magistrate's Court, to drop off some documents for another case the LRC is working on. The case has to do with police brutality. Finally, we came back to the office, where I have been given my own office (!) complete with a computer and LRC email address. I met most of the employees here (the offic has about 15 people - there are four offices in South Africa, the largest in Jo'burg). The office is located in the Diakonia Centre, a really cool looking building with many other offices. There is a cafe in the courtyard, which is where I'll be getting my lunch; they usually serve traditional "Zulu" food, today they have a maize (corn) and bean mixture.

(I'll be posting pictures soon!)

South Beach

Not Miami. Durban. My landlord's wife was nice enough to drive me down (about 15 minute drive) to the SunCoast Casino, where the FIFA Ticketing Office is located, right at the tip of South Beach, Durban. I picked up my tickets without a hitch (Korea Republic v Nigeria, Brazil v Portugal (HOLY #@$%), Round of 16), but waited in line for nearly half an hour to try to buy semi-final tickets, which are not currently available. I'll be calling the office every day to get updates on that.

Jenny (landlord's wife) said she'd pick me up at 5pm (it was about 1:00pm when she dropped me off), so I had a lot of time to kill. After leaving the Ticketing Office, I wandered around the Casino's food court for a while. Every type of food imaginable, along with so many types of people. Durban has the highest concentration of Indians outside of India, and it's certainly noticeable when walking around. Though Durban's population (like most of South Africa's) is dominated by 'Black Africans,' when walking along the beach today, I sensed there to be an equal amount of Indians, Blacks Africans and Whites. [Black Africans account for 68.30 percent of the population, followed by Indians at 19.90 percent, Whites at 8.98 percent]

I walked along the beach until I reached the FIFA Fan Zone, a blocked off area (security checks bags, etc before allowing entry) dedicated solely to FIFA. There were food stands representing all different kinds of foods, drinks, games for children, rock climbing walls and, of course, a jumbo screen playing all the World Cup Matches ("the best place to be if you're not at the stadium"). I got to the screen just in time to watch the second half of the Slovakia - Paraguay match (I'm 'home' now, watching the ver y end of the Italy - New Zealand match). Right before, I had gone to an Indian food stand, and ordered a Roti Wrap with Chicken, Mutton and Chutney. When the woman handed me the food, she told me to be "very careful" while eating, as there were bones in the wrap. She was right. The wrap was not very good; on my way back down the beach I stopped at Steers, a not-so-fast burger joint. The "Prince Burger: For the Not-So-Hungry" wasn't outstanding, but, to its advantage, edible.

I spent the rest of the afternoon meandering back up the beach. I reached the SunCoast Casino about forty minutes before Jenny and I were to meet, so I sat on one of the wicker beach chairs and continued to read Nelson Mandela's A Long Walk to Freedom.

8 Musgrave Ave

Well, I made it to my "studio" apartment (more like glorified dorm room) in Durban. I don't have internet access on my computer yet because the official landlord is away and his wife doesn't know how to set it up. I set up cell service this morning (it is now 11:30am) and do have internet access on my phone.

I woke up at 5am, after having fallen asleep at 8pm last night, not really sure what to do with myself. I kept busy until 9am, unpacking all of my clothes, reading my guidebook, watching CNN on the teeny tv with 4 channels. Then, I went to the shopping mall around the corner. My main event was grocery shopping, which was much more difficult than usual: my kitchen lacks a stove, oven and freezer. Later today, I'll see if I can figure out how to make it to the heart of the city (I am living in an area called Musgrave/Berea, just north of the main city, full of gated houses and apartment complexes) to pick up my World Cup Tickets.

Point of interest: there is a CINNABON in the shopping center!!

(Also: Durban is home to the largest shopping center in the Southern Hemisphere, Gateway - that is NOT the little mall around the corner.)

Not quite there yet ... layover in Dubai

I've just arrived at Dubai International Airport, after an uneventful twelve-hour flight from New York. To think of this place as any other airport doesn't do it justice: it has approximately (by my calculations) five stores and two restaurants to every gate, a hotel in the airport (not attached or next to, actually in), and getting from my arrival gate to my departure gate took twenty minutes of walking - and I never even left the 'West Wing' of this particular terminal.

I have about another hour and a half to kill before heading to the gate for my flight to Durban, which is supposed to last nine hours. I will arrive in Durban at 5pm (local time) Saturday; I left New York at 8am (local time) Friday. It is currently 9:15am in Dubai.

At JFK, I was able to catch the first half of the USA-SVN match. By the time I boarded, it was 2-0, Slovenia. Though the Emirates flights are very fancy, they (or mine at least) do not stream live TV, so I couldn't watch the second half - looks like I missed all the good stuff; the final score was 2-2.