The 2010 WORLD CUP FIRE

It is the week of the World cup and even though I am not a soccer fan I seem to be stimulated by the excitement around me. Our city is covered with colours and flags of different nations and every now and again I catch that tourist. But for now ...at this moment the South Africans are dominating and are stirring up the coals for the FIFA Fire and it is hot. Cars are zooming around with one or two flags on them. There is this new thing where the car mirrors have flags on them like a cover. If you see the car coming towards you the flags look like little wings on the edges as if the car is going to take off any time soon.

I admire the energy of the supporters from the clothing to the instruments. Probably for the past month and a half every Friday companies have asked their employees to wear Soccer Jerseys.....it was an official Football Friday. For me it was funny coz everywhere you went people were wearing they yellow and green football shirts....as if it was NORMAL. If you were not wearing it you did feel a bit out of place.

Every household has a Vuvuzela the long plastic trumpet which can make noise for miles. Even this morning when I woke up I thought I could hear the vuvuzela. On Sunday I just saw a man walking with his Vuvuzela and blowing it like no mans business.....ON HIS ACE. I can only imagine how it is going to be when the real games start and the fans are going wild in the street. Imagine when your country wins and you see that other car covered with the same flags as your country, I am sure you would just die to blow that VUVUZELA with VUMA. I am sure there will be some sense of WE ARE ONE :) as the trumpets and music come together. People are really worried about the noise levels in the stadium and just yesterday I heard that there is a thing called the Tulazela. Which are ear plug/muffs that will block out the sound when you are at the games. lol.

On an even more positive side our Transport system is finally getting their act together. Our roads are finally starting to clear up and be fixed. Its like Gauteng has been under construction ever since I moved here and for the first time today my drive to work (N14, N1north) had all lanes open and it was even more smoother sailing. Yesterday the Gauteng Train (GAUTRAIN) was opened to passengers and people could travel from Sandton to the airport in 15 minutes at a cost of R100. I know of people who just went to the airport for fun....just to see what it was like and so far the feedback is good. South Africans are even proud of it as if they had built it together :). I just can't wait till they finish the train from Jozi to Pretoria. Maybe my rides to work will be on a train. It would be like travelling on the GO train in Canada from Missisauga to downtown Toronto. No more traffic, no more smash and grabs maybe I could even catch a nap. Wow that would be amazing.

For Avon, my husband and media manager for Montecasino, the past couple of months has been non stop WORLD CUP preparations. From learning the Diski dance, to advertisements, to camera purchasing and setup. For him it is work but I slightly envy his job because he is really right in the heat of it all....he has been working that FIFA Fire and the coals are now ready for the tourist meat (lol). From organising what games should be shown on the big screens to how the stage should be laid out for entertainment and the fan area should be. Montecasino is already packed with tourists from all over the world and I am sure they are going to be in awe of what Montecasino has to offer. .....even I get surprised by it all and I practically live there. You can check out the Montecasino commercial for the World Cup on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GVD7VG1Sik

With all this gearing up for the world cup....I can't help but think about all the people that are going to be watching the games on TV, on the radio they said it would be approximately 3 billion. Will they be shocked at what South Africa is like, are they only interested in the games? All my friends that I left in Canada; would they feel a sense of closeness to me when they see exactly where I am living. I am sure the very streets I drive and walk on will be filmed on TV. Might they understand why I am here? I pray that the energy, the fire and flames of the 2010 FIFA World Cup heats up their hearts with a desire to come and see for themselves. Who we are ......and where we come from.

GEAR UP WORLD!!!!! IT IS ALMOST TIME!