Bloem « The Lady V Prophecy

Went to see the U.S. national team play the Spanish national team in the 2009 Confederation Cup semi-finals last night in Bloemfontein. There are four reasons that going to the game was the best decision ever:

McDonalds in South Africa still serve apple pies that are FRIED not baked. I almost had two.
The stadium in Bloemfontein sells Budweiser!! You can’t get that in any bar or liquor store in South Africa or Lesotho. Mmmm…bad beer on a freezing cold night never tasted so good.
Spain lost.
America won!!!!

And, yes, my group of Americans (that’s us to the right) came with a gigantic U.S. flag that was frequently and jubilantly waved throughout the 92 minutes of the game. USA! USA! (Said one of my friends: “It’s a good thing Obama won; otherwise I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be doing this.”)

It was my very first live football/soccer match in Africa and it certainly did not disappoint. All kinds of people were there, blowing on these stupid plastic trumpet things, chanting their painted faces out, and waving flags.

Tonight will tell whether the US faces South Africa or Brazil in the final match on Sunday night in Johannesburg. I am really really really tempted to go to the game, despite the $200 ticket price. But it would require driving the 4.5 hours from Jozi at 4am and going straight to work. Those days are over for me.

Turns out the border police between Lesotho and South Africa are rather … lax. I took my first trip to Bloemfontein, South Africa on Saturday — and did it illegally. Shhhh! But it wasn’t my fault – it was total peer pressure and, besides, I wasn’t driving and didn’t have much say in the matter. See, I don’t yet have a South African visa that allows me to pass freely between Lesotho and South Africa without getting stamped. But the other folks in the car had the visa and none of us really wanted to wait in the very long line to get stamped. So we just kinda drove through since no one was really paying attention.

Thank God for Bloem (as they call it here). It is a proper city with traffic, malls, Crate and Barrel-type stores, movie theaters that play more than one movie at a time, cafes with cappuccino and espresso, grocery stores with fresh vegetables that I can eat without getting amoebas, Nine West, McDonalds that still serve the fried apple pies, sushi. And to top it all off, I went with three new friends, who are a complete riot all the time. I love the spontaneity that seems to accompany life here — after all, there’s not much to do, so no one has a packed schedule. I was invited last night, agreed to go on the spot, and was picked up the next morning when my ride arrived. No pre-set time, no warning, just a honk at the gate when they arrived. Then, after completing our shopping, we wanted to do something (anything!), and just stayed longer for a movie (Yes Man with Jim Carrey). Which, by the way, was quite entertaining and only cost $3.30. I tell you, other than the cheap prices and the freakin’ hyena that ran in front of the car on the way back to Maseru, I nearly forgot I was in Africa while in Bloem.