When I walk through Gisenyi on my way back from lunch or after work, during World Cup matches, the air is filled with the incessant buzz of the vuvuzela, familiar to anyone who has watched even a part of a game.
Here, the sound of the vuvuzela advertises the locations of hole-in-the-wall TV/movie viewing shops and homes with TVs, where it is the background to the Congolese channel that comes in clearer here than the Rwandan channel. The vuvuzela emanates from the ubiquitous radios tuned to Kinyarwanda and Swahili-language broadcasts. The vuvuzela sounds clearest from the bars, hotels and the occasional homes that have satellites, where depending on preference and reception it is accompanied by French announcers on the Cote d’Ivoirian channel, or African English on the Tanzanian broadcast, or British commentary on the pay satellite channel (in the nicer bars), or the channel from Mauritius where, commercials tell me, they have Pizza Hut and frozen “easy packs” of chicken and broadband USB cell modems.
But always, the buzz of the vuvuzela is everywhere.
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trying again here (first comment post didn't take): perhaps you heard Raisa's and my vuvuzelas emanating from Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town the night of Portugal's 7-0 route of N. Korea. ironically, that morning a S. African football commentator said "the days of 7-0 matches in the world cup are over - the teams are too good" - what a laugh.
ReplyDeleteTrude, S. Africa is a fantastic, eye-opening country on many levels. Highly recommended if you're considering it in any upcoming travels.
keep up the good work, really enjoying your posts.
cheers,
Hal