South African Journey

Ke Nako. It is time.

It’s time for the final week of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Not only does this mean there are only 4 teams left, but it means that 32 teams from around the world have begun a football tournament which runs from the 4th-10th of July. This tournament is the Football for Hope Festival and it is being held in Alexandra, South Africa. This festival is the conclusion of FIFA’s Football for Hope campaign that has been running well before the 1st World Cup match.

From FIFA.com:

32 teams of young people from disadvantaged communities around the world will come to Johannesburg, South Africa for a festival of education, culture and football. The boys and girls are members of organizations which tackle social issues using football – from homelessness in the UK and landmines in Cambodia, to HIV/Aids education in South Africa and integration of refugees in Australia. This official event of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ is organized by FIFA, streetfootballworld, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee South Africa and the City of Johannesburg.

The teams are made up of players aged 15-18, each team has 8 players. Matches are held on 2 mini pitches (20x40 meters) at a place known at 3-square in Alexandra. Special stands have been built around the pitches so fans are closer to the action and to provide more seating. Each match is only 12 minutes long and there are no referees. The lack of referees is part of the Fair Play initiative; all disputes on the pitch will be settled through dialogue between players, with moderators helping out when/if needed.

The Festival began this past Sunday (4 July) and sees each team play at least 2 matches per day. The tournament will conclude on Saturday July 10th with the semifinals and finals being played.

As important as the action on the pitch will be, the teams will also be busy off the pitch. The participants will have programs and workshops where they have the chance to share and learn from each other. The hope is they will learn about other cultures and the issues each face and use this to improve each others work.

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I have had the chance to stop in and catch some of the action this week. I wasn’t sure how exciting 12 minute matches would be, but they are fast paced and competitive. Only one match I watched ended 0-0, with one match ending in a 4-1 score. The matches have live commentary and a large video screen. In between matches local DJ’s entertain the crowd and there are give-a-ways throughout the day. Following the final match local artists and DJ’s put on performance’s for the teams and crowd.

I made sure to be at Pitch #1 when Team USA played against Argentina on Tuesday. It was an exciting game with each team having numerous close calls. Sadly (for Team USA), Argentina scored an amazing goal with 5 seconds remaining to win 1-0. The Alexandra team drew with Australia and Team South Africa won 2-0 against Team Zambia.

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Lasting Legacy.

This is what the organizers of the Football for Hope Festival hope they are able to leave behind once the World Cup has finished. They hope to do this through the “20 Centres for 2010” campaign. This is the official campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. According to FIFA:  “Our aim is to create 20 Football for Hope Centres to promote public health, education and football in disadvantaged communities across Africa. As part of the Football for Hope movement led by FIFA and streetfootballworld, the campaign will leave a tangible social legacy for Africa.”

The first of these Centres was opened on December 5, 2009 in the Khayelitsha Township in Cape Town. There will be 5 Centres built in South Africa with the other 15 being built across the rest of the African Continent. Each Centre will consist of a 20x40m artificial turf pitch, a learning/education building, along with a health centre. With the conclusion of the tournament building will begin on the Centre at 3-Square in Alexandra.

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After spending almost a year in Alexandra I am excited that this Festival is taking place here. It is hard for me to imagine a better place for it to be held. I only hope that the small glimpse the world gets of Alexandra does justice to the friendly faces I have come to know around Alexandra. This is a great moment for the media to show Alexandra through a different lens and break away from the stories of old. Places change over time and Alex has certainly changed from the ‘dark city’ it once was; into a vibrant melting pot of South African and African culture.

I am not sure how much TV coverage the Festival will get in the US, but I encourage you try and find some information about it and the social impact they hope to have. For more information about the Football for Hope Festival (from the sponsors) please visit:

www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/worldwideprograms/footballforhope/index.html

www.streetfootballworld.com

http://www.grassrootsoccer.org/

The FIFA World Cup means a lot to me because it seems that it’s an opportunity for South Africa and South Africans to shine and be proud because the world is coming to South Africa. It is also an opportunity for jobs such as tourist attracting, malls, & heritage sites, etc. The FIFA World Cup means to me that we have to welcome the world to South Africa with zeal and tenacity. For the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be hosted in South Africa it means to me that South Africa has the chance to show the whole world what is made of and how capable it is of doing something great.

-Pamela

What I want to do in 2010 I would like to walk with my favorite soccer player on the ground and what I want to see is my favorite home team to see it win. 2010 means a lot to me I have been waiting for 2010. 2010 is the year that I like. 2010 streets are getting renovated and more and more tourist are coming to our country to see and learn of our different cultures. What I like to do is wearing my soccer t-shirt every Friday. Everyone how long I’ve waited for this moment. Bafana-Bafana(1) is my home team and I know that we will win and today was only 30 days to go. Lots and lots of things be happening in 2010. So far my family bought vuvuzelas(2) and Jabulani(3) balls, 2 of them. Bafana-Bafana wins this World Cup my family and I are going on a vacation to Cape Town on a cruise ship. I’ve heard many people saying that how nice it is to go on a cruise like my best friend, Sam, his family and him went on a cruise for December holiday. They gave me an invitation to go with them. Hotels will be full of tourists and by that time hotels will cost a lot of money. They won’t allow black or white South Africans to sleep even for one night. What makes me to say that is because they a lot of time training so that way or I’m say we are not going to lose, especially not at home. 2010 is the year that people have been waiting for and lets hope that Bafana-Bafana will win the 2010 FIFA World Cup and we are going to support them even if they lose. Thank you Madiba(4) for helping us host the 2010 FIFA World Cup here in South Africa, siaybonga(5) ta ta. Ke Nako. Feel it. It is here.

- Unknown

(1) South African National Team

(2) Horn

(3) Name given to the Official Soccer ball for World Cup

(4) Nelson Mandela

(5) isiZulu word meaning “we thank you”

Those that know me well know about a habit I have when I travel. For those that aren’t sure, I have a habit of photographing various meals I have on trips. I’m not sure when this first started but that’s not the point of this article. With all the various meals I have had the pleasure of having while in South Africa, I couldn’t go the whole year without sharing the wide range of food with you. (So those with weak stomachs you are warned ahead of time that you may not want to read past the midway point, as the food gets interesting!)

I’ll start off easy with the basic staple foods that are huge parts of most home cooked meals here. Maize in a number of forms is usually a part of any meal along with a few sides. Maize meal, mealie meal, Stamp/samp are the most common forms of maize. Mealie meal, or Pap (sounds like ‘pop’), is the most popular and is similar to grits, but it isn’t as runny. Sides usually include any combination of the following:  beetroot, pumpkin, potato salad, various vegetables, pasta salad, cabbage, baked beans (cold), ‘normal’ salad. Also, you can’t forget the meat and the type of meat has varied a lot for me, typically a chicken or beef, but I’ll get to more details later. Lastly, almost always there is a gravy of some kind poured over the pap and meat. These meals are usually eaten with your hands, by taking the pap and rolling a ball and using that to pick up the sides. I usually opt for a fork/spoon if I’m at home but have gotten quite accustomed to using my hands an entire meal…it’s also fun!

If you visit a restaurant you can order anything from traditional African foods to the classic American burger and fries. And everything in between is available at most places. For you fried chicken lovers…KFC is quite popular and I have had the honor of visiting it on numerous occasions with local friends. KFC and McDonalds are the only two American fast food places I have seen (I think) but there is no shortage to South African fast food joints. My favorite quick take away ‘meal’ is a township special around Jozi (Johannesburg) called Slice. Ingredients are (but not limited to):  chips (fries), cheese, slice (a bologna looking piece of meat), russian (brat), archaar (spice mango). Your choice of fillings are placed between 2 or 3 slices of bread. It’s not healthy, but it will fill you up for awhile…and make you really sleepy. Celebration’s call for a braai (cook-out), always a fun time. Chicken, beef, and wors (similar to a brat) are the usual meat options with pap and gravy to go along…don’t forget the House music or amazing group chorus’ in a variety of languages!

***Weak stomachs be warned***

One of my first weekends in Alex I spent with a few of the young adults at the church. I was told we were going to prepare dinner…they told me this with a smirk. Dinner was to be parts of a chicken that I had never thought of eating. Before we could cook we had to clean the pasta looking things…the chickens intestines! Already cooking on the stove were what was left of the chickens transportation…yes, it’s feet. Dinner was chicken intestine and chicken feet…with pap and gravy! And it was really good. Chicken feet don’t offer much in the form of meat, but eating them is quite a challenge the first time…and makes eating a chicken wing seem really easy. (side note:  the next night we had KFC for dinner)

For breakfast the following Monday morning I noticed something wrapped in newspaper on the table. Asked what it was and they told me to open it…I did so slowly and pulling the newspaper away it revealed a sheep head cut down the middle, cooked and seasoned. The local name for this is ‘scop’ and it‘s good with the seasoning. I was laughing as I ate my first bite…I was looking the then right in the eye! Good times!

At ceremonies I have attended for weddings, funerals, unveilings, cleansings, etc the hosting family slaughters an animal, usually cow or goat. And not a part goes to waste. On one occasion in December Tripe, or cow intestines, was given to use upon arrival the night before the ceremony. At a cleansing ceremony (celebration 6 months after the death of a family member) we had a stew that had the left over parts of the cow in it. We didn’t eat all the parts as some were used just for flavoring…not sure how to hoof of a cow…yet!

My host mom laughs when people ask what I think of the African food. She likes to share with people that I eat first and ask questions after. My thinking is, if I don’t eat I’ll be hungry, so if I can eat it and not know what it is then it shouldn’t matter when I do find out what I just ate…like meat from a cow head for breakfast after a cleansing ceremony in February.

Alright, at my home we have a wide range of meats to go with the various sides and pap combinations. We do have chicken legs, breasts, thighs, etc. But we also throw in intestines, feet, livers, kidneys, giblets, necks, and even the head has been known to make it’s way into something. Now I don’t enjoy all these parts of the chicken and being at home makes it easier to find something else if I need to.

I share all of this with you not to try and gross you out, or to ‘brag’ about the various foods I have encountered and tried while in South Africa. Just that I find it refreshing to know that the numerous cultures here don’t let anything go to waste. Whether the meat is braaied or cooked in a stew it is used and not thrown out. I am curious to what happens to all the parts of animals that isn’t put on grocery store shelves in the US. But I suspect much of it is ground into mystery meats served at schools, or into hot-dogs.

I hope you have enjoyed getting a look into some of the African food I have been introduced to. But please remember that the food described above are not the only foods you can find. There are so many wonderful foods I have encountered that you can’t go hungry. And I will admit that I will miss many of the wonderful flavors and meals that aren’t found back home…not yet at least!  

My country South Africa is located at the South tip of Africa. My country has nine provinces and eleven official languages. South Africa’s president is Jacob Zuma he is mostly known as J.Z. South Afria has diversities such as Robben Island, table mountain, Krugar National Park, the Cradle of Human Kind.

South Africa’s capital city is Pretoria. As a 13 year old South African Citizen I think life in South Africa is the greatest excluding crime. We the children of tomorrow should focus more on the studies rather than committing sins crime. My country is one of the countries that has a lot of languages our languages are seTwana, sePedi, isiZule, Venda, seSotho, seTsonga, Ndebele, English, Africaans, isiXhosa, Swati. The provinces are Western Cape, Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga & Eastern Cape.

People in South Africa respect each other everyone is our mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma & grandpa. My country is a beautiful country with all the diversities we have you wouldn’t want to miss the great experiences.

South Africa is full of the best life, anything you want, you experience. Our First Black President Nelson Mandela walked to freedom when he was released on 11 February 1990. He is South Africa’s role model because he spent 27 years in prison for the citizens of this country.

Look at me, I am the future, my feet are drums, beating the heritage of my native land. Yes, I am tomorrow. I am Proudly South Africa.