To mark the moment in history when the first World Cup was played on African soil, we went down to Makaphutu Children's Village to share the afternoon with the children and staff there. It was a great day, with good braai food and a multitude of noisy vuvuzelas.
My vuvuzela was nabbed by an eleven-year-old boy the moment I got out of my car, but that was ok as I'd prepared for that and had written my name in it just in case it wandered! We watched the opening ceremony on big screen in the little church there and it was very moving to see the different dancers and performers celebrating the culmination of many years' work.
The RSA-Mexico opening match itself brought so much excitement. Everyone was gripped with the action and when it got to half-time and the score was still nil-nil, there was visible concern on the faces of the guys watching. One of the guys who works there came out at half-time and said 'this is difficult, I must pray!' His prayers were obviously answered shortly after when Tshabalala scored the first goal on African soil for Bafana Bafana and the crowd went wild! The guy from before came running into the room with 2 saucepans that he was banging together with all his might.
Excitement and joy turned to brief disappointment when Mexico equalised, but there was happiness all around when the match ended as a draw, and the added bonus of France - Uruguay being also a draw made things even better, so the mood over here is still hopeful that Bafana Bafana will go far in this tournament. For us, it's the start of a month-long football celebration and it's been a great beginning, we are looking forward to everything that's going to happen over the next 4 weeks. Ayoba!
