World Cup Qualifiers

Well this week was eventful as there was a world cup qualifier game in the city right out side of Khartoum, (in Omderman). It was a game with Algeria and Egypt and they are apparently big rivals.
Not sure why they chose Sudan as the venue but it made the week soccer, or as they call it here, football MADDNESS!!

I originally wanted to go to the game. It was easy to get tickets and Omderman is a 10 min drive from my apartment. But the day before the game we got warned that it would be unsafe. Dozens of planes were flying in carrying fans from Egypt and Algeria and in the end there were 10's of thousands of extra folks running around the city.
On the day of the game flags of Algeria and Egypt were abundant. I even heard that there were people giving away free flags and 10 pounds to rickshaw drivers so they would hail the flags of the Algerian team.

Then at 11 am school was closed and we were told to go home and stay home! It was the decision of the Ministry of Education and all schools were closed early for the day. The streets were already crowed and impromptu rally's were taking place in the streets.

We stayed in for the evening and watched movies on our roof. I watched parts of the game later and when Algeria scored it was like the city erupted. You could hear cheering in surround sound kind of how it might sound on New Years Eve at midnight only the celebration lasted longer than a night. The police did a good job of keeping violence down at he stadium. Egyptian and Algerian fans were in separate areas and they had erected temporary housing that were also in opposite parts of the city a couple km away from each other. Yet, I still heard stories of violence and rival fans getting beat up.

The next day there were still thousands of fans in the city and now the problems were at the airport. Apparently the riot police had to be called in because some more excited Algerian fans broke up some airport offices and ran out on the runway stopping planes from landing or taking off. And now today, 2 days later there are still riot police out trying to escort the Algerians and Egyptians safely back to their home countries.

During my usual weekend shopping I saw dozens of Algerian fans still hanging out in the streets decked out in soccer jerseys , draped in their flags and still whooping it up for the big win.

I have never seen fans so crazy over a game.

Camping

I went camping last week at Jebel Awlyia again. It was with a larger group and this time I actually went in the water. I also got to learn how to ride a motorcycle in the desert. Its a great place to practice and learn becuase there are kilometers and kilometers of flat space.
In Khartoum this week there was an European Film Festival. There were movies from various European countries showing all week at the French, German and British Cultural centers. I saw a great film from Sweden called, Kidz in Da Hood. About an young refugee who tries go get legal status in Sweden. It was also a bit of a musical which made the movie a bit more light hearted for such a heavy subject. I also saw a good film called Troubled Water from Norway.

Both films were on the roof and they were packed with folks. Mostly Sudandese men which was a bit awkward when in one movie there was a bit of nudity and kissing. Since kisses alone are blacked out on T.V. nudity on the screen made me feel like I was watching the film with my 8yr old third graders. Awkward! But it was really nice to have a movie fest and go out and see films with others. Since there aren't any movie theaters here I appreciated the opportunity.

I also started gardening with my students. We planted squash, beets, carrots, snap peas and sunflowers. It was a busy and fun week.

(yes..that's a scorpion..it was found under one of the tents in the morning!!)