Why is everyone screaming?!
Two posts in one day? What could possibly merit such blatant disregard for my free time? And why was everyone screaming??!! Read on and find out.
Have you ever woken up in the morning in a new place and had no idea where you were? That happend to me this morning. You can imagine my surprise when my mind finally tripped upon the realization that I'm in Africa.
Anyways, I thought it was a crazy moment. Today I was taken to a sailing club with my boss. It was the first time I had ever gone sailing. It was such a free-ing experience. Out on the open water, no motor to propel you. I hadn't been on the boat for ten minutes before Curt let me "man the tiller". It was a cool afternoon, and the best part was that we didn't capsize even once. Then I got to head out on a kayak and see fisherman up and down the water in search of dinner.
But it wasn't until we started back home that the day got really interesting. As we were driving back through a suburb of Lilongwe called Likuma. Curt and I were startled by a group of about 50 Malawian youths running out of the bush and alongside the road. They were all screaming and waving a Malawian flag. As they continued down the street people started yelling at them and waving. As we continued down the road we saw older people jumping up and down. Some old women were shaking their arms chicken-dance-style in front of shops. One group of men were dancing jigs around a round of milk cartons. Cars that we passed were flashing their lights and honking.
At this point the mzungus (gringos/whites) in the car with me along with some Malawian kids we brought with us were dumbfounded. What was going on? This being Africa, the first thing my mind went to was a coup. Had the tense political battle in the country (which I'll explain someday) finally trickled over into violence? My next thought was that perhaps the brutal dictator next door in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, had finally been toppled. This continued for our entire hour long ride through town. The entire city was literally in the streets dancing and screaming with huge smiles on their faces.
So what was it? Why was everyone so happy? It wasn't until I got home and asked my guard what was so important that we found out. It turned out the Malawian National Soccer Team (known as The Flames) had just beaten the number one soccer team in Africa -- the Egyptian soccer team. This is a HUGE upset. Malawi is, and always has been, one of the lowest ranked soccer teams in Africa because of its small size and limited resources. But by a score of 1-0 the Malawian soccer team was victorious, and lifted the spirits of an entire nation.
Have you ever woken up in the morning in a new place and had no idea where you were? That happend to me this morning. You can imagine my surprise when my mind finally tripped upon the realization that I'm in Africa.
Anyways, I thought it was a crazy moment. Today I was taken to a sailing club with my boss. It was the first time I had ever gone sailing. It was such a free-ing experience. Out on the open water, no motor to propel you. I hadn't been on the boat for ten minutes before Curt let me "man the tiller". It was a cool afternoon, and the best part was that we didn't capsize even once. Then I got to head out on a kayak and see fisherman up and down the water in search of dinner.
But it wasn't until we started back home that the day got really interesting. As we were driving back through a suburb of Lilongwe called Likuma. Curt and I were startled by a group of about 50 Malawian youths running out of the bush and alongside the road. They were all screaming and waving a Malawian flag. As they continued down the street people started yelling at them and waving. As we continued down the road we saw older people jumping up and down. Some old women were shaking their arms chicken-dance-style in front of shops. One group of men were dancing jigs around a round of milk cartons. Cars that we passed were flashing their lights and honking.
At this point the mzungus (gringos/whites) in the car with me along with some Malawian kids we brought with us were dumbfounded. What was going on? This being Africa, the first thing my mind went to was a coup. Had the tense political battle in the country (which I'll explain someday) finally trickled over into violence? My next thought was that perhaps the brutal dictator next door in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, had finally been toppled. This continued for our entire hour long ride through town. The entire city was literally in the streets dancing and screaming with huge smiles on their faces.
So what was it? Why was everyone so happy? It wasn't until I got home and asked my guard what was so important that we found out. It turned out the Malawian National Soccer Team (known as The Flames) had just beaten the number one soccer team in Africa -- the Egyptian soccer team. This is a HUGE upset. Malawi is, and always has been, one of the lowest ranked soccer teams in Africa because of its small size and limited resources. But by a score of 1-0 the Malawian soccer team was victorious, and lifted the spirits of an entire nation.
posted by Michael, aka Tex, aka Jett | 9:09 AM
2 Comments:
you wouldn't believe the rejoicing in Burundi when Drogba, the Sierra Leone forward for some EPL team scored a few goals. Ridiculous.
Dude, that's the makings of an espn commercial right there...inspirational music playing in the background, screen fades out to some quote like, "this is why we watch", or something. I'm not gonna lie, it almost made me cry thinking about it...
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home