Feeling lekker about the Bafana Bafana? Blow your vuvuzela!

It has been a crazy couple of days. Today was the opening ceremony for the World Cup. Both matches, South Africa v. Mexico and France v. Uruguay ended in ties, which made for an interesting first night. I spent the afternoon outside the stadium watching performers, buying merchandise, and watching the Joburg (Johannesburg) opening ceremony on the jumbotron. It's great watching a country come together and celebrate their nationality. Evening individuals from other countries had their respective football jerseys with the South African flag painted on their faces. It seems as though the world is behind South Africa!


Some South African/ World Cup lingo one should know:
- Bafana Bafana: The South African soccer team
- Vuvuzela: Long plastic horn one blows through
- Lekker: "Awesome!" or "Great!"
- Soccer City: Johannesburg
- Rainbow Nation: A nickname given by Desmond Tutu to post-apartheid South Africa
- Zakumi: The yellow lion with green mane that is the 2010 World Cup mascot
- FIFA: Fédération Internationale de Football Association- The association that puts on the World Cup
-Rand: The currency of South Africa- About 7.7 rand per US dollar
- Football/Futbol: Soccer!

Ready To Take Flight

Beloved Country
by Tovah Blumenthal


Fly, the Beloved Country,
For I return again.
To walk on your pavements,
Feel your embrace.

I felt you in my bones,
Since the first beat of the drum.
A yearning not understood at such an age.

I didn’t know you were waiting for me.

So close now,
I can taste you on my tongue.
I’ve missed you without knowing you.

You’ve consumed my thoughts,
And my lungs.
Damn, you know how to lure a girl.

One in which is so lost,
So eager to find her people,
You have me believing you are my people.

Not by color,
Or by force,
But by feeling.

Centuries ago the Mother bore me,
And out I came, but did not stay,
But I am here now.

I do not expect open arms,
For I look like the enemy.

But only because you superficially judged me as such.

I am your daughter,
And though we have some catching up to do,
Embrace me, because I’m finally home.

Back in Eden.
Spreading my wings in the Beloved Country