Saturday in Tugela Ferry

Bafana Bafana!



Stubiso, Chuck's co-worker, wears his South African pride well.

Downtown Durban readies itself for World Cup 2010.
 A local business tried to recreate this look in Tugela Ferry. Half of the flags were stolen within 48 hours. Too sad.

Saturday in Tugela Ferry.
Winter is finally upon us. For those of you who are very sick of 12 foot winter snowfalls, this is your type of winter!  Mornings and late nights are indeed cold, 28-35 degrees F. And, when you live in a tin box, as we do in our nicely equipped Park Home, you feel each morning's frost.  Especially those fingers that manage to stick out from under my pillow. I'm going to start sleeping with wool socks, a beanie cat and cotton gloves. That should go nicely with my long underwear.  I don't complain though, because our hot showers are truly a gift from God. The days warm up, becoming perfect 60 degree days infused with sunshine.
This morning, however, our perfect shower was dry. City water was off and our secondary source, the Hospice, isn't able to fill the shoes of our beloved Jojo (water tank) It was a reminder that we are in Africa, after all, and water is a premium resource.
Chuck ate a huge breakfast in preparation for his weekly 8 hour hike in the mountains. He plans all week for his Saturday adventures. There are thousands of paths, some human, some goat, some cow, that lead up and all around the mountains. It's easy to get lost, especially when you find yourself on a cow path that has mysteriously dead ended at a rock wall. I walked with him for several KMs before he disappeared up the mountain.

As we made our way through town it seemed as if everyone was in a happy mood. People left and right were shouting "Sipho! Spiwe!" or greeting us with the general "Sanibonani" greeting.  People were smiling and practically skipping down the road! Why were they so joyful today?

Our theory is that South Africans everywhere are all a twitter as World Cup is in its final countdown. In 6 days Bafana Bafana (SAs team) will play. Everyone wears their Bafana Bafana shirts for Futbol Friday, women wear capes with Bafana's colors. Flags are flown from every car. There have been many stories recently about how Fifa is over regulating commerce around all the stadiums, and that the local street vendor will actually lose money during the games. I read about that along with everyone else, but do not feel the impact here in Tugela Ferry. We are far from the nearest stadium in Durban. World Cup, to TF residents, is a huge source of national pride. Some are bitter about the billions being spent on stadiums and airport constructions, but mostly the local futbol fan doesn't concern himself/herself with deep critique. This is just the most exciting thing that has happened to South African since the end of Apartheid! The bigger cities in our area are putting up huge screens in the local stadiums or fields for World Cup Viewing. We're going to try watching a game in Pietersmaritzburg with the rest of our neighbors too poor to purchase a ticket and spend thousands of Rands on a hotel room.
Or maybe our Tugela Ferry neighbors were just really happy to see Sipho and Sphiwe!