Superbowl, Rwanda style

"Two out of the three German guys watching the Superbowl with us at a restaurant owned by a British-Rwnadan are wearing Steelers jerseys which they bought in the market here in Gisenyi, Rwanda, earlier today. I love globalization." - my facebook post, kickoff at 1:37am local time

(The homemade nachos were the best nachos I've ever had...and complete with the only sour cream I've eaten in a year!)

Soccer Saturdays

Back in November or December, I organized the first Soccer Saturday: girls only. I had a hard time explaining to the boys, over and over again, why they couldn’t play (a literal translation: “if boys play you will only play with other boys and the girls need to learn”). Eventually, we had a highly successful girls-only game, with perhaps 50 spectators (mostly small children and jealous boys). Afterwards, the boys begged for the ball in the dwindling daylight, and the girls asked to do it again the next week.

We’ve now had four or five soccer Saturdays: some with only a few girls, where I was compelled to include the boys and then reclaim the ball and kick the boys out as timid girls crept up to the sideline to watch. On this latest Soccer Saturday, I allowed one boy to play on each team (so that they couldn’t pass exclusively between each other), as well as the goal keeper. The girls ranged in age from 6 to 23, and even the youngest participated fully in the game.

Sports scavenger hunt update!

New discoveries (in bold) have been coming more slowly. In my village I regularly see the 4-year-old with the Ducks sweatshirt, the older man with the Redskins NFC Champions shirt, and a youth with a Red Sox shirt. With the recent hockey additions I’ve now got all the New York teams, unless you count the Nets. I’ve got almost the entire MLB. I'm worried I'll never find the pour (sic) Brewers - I don't think I've even ever seen Brewers paraphernalia in the US! It’s little surprise that I’m most attuned to the MLB and NFL; I’m sure there are some hockey teams I’ve missed simply for not recognizing the team name or logo - eventually I might have to study up. But buhoro buhoro I think I’ll get them all!

MLB: Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Reds, A’s, Dodgers, Mariners, Braves, Phillies, Mets, Cubs, Astros, Twins, Indians, Rays, Giants, Nationals, Royals
NBA: Kings, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons, Sonics, Sixers, Blazers, Rockets, Knicks, Suns, Magic, Pacers, Spurs
NFL: Eagles, Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Texans, Jets, Rams, Raiders, Packers, Cowboys, Browns, Giants, Vikings, Falcons, Bears, Dolphins, 49ers, Seahawks, Buckaneers, Lions, Redskins
NHL: Maple Leaves, Penguins, Bruins, Sharks, Canadiens, Ducks, Islanders, Rangers, Avalanche
Other: WNBA Beat, MLS Galaxy, Yankees Suck, Charlotte Hornets
Sox bonuses: A Nomar jersey and an Ortiz shirt; the official 2004 World Series shirt
Pats bittersweet triple word score: 19-0 Perfect Season t-shirt
U2 bonus: Zoo York

Scavenger hunt update

MLB: Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Pirates, Reds, A’s, Dodgers, Mariners, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Mets, Cubs, Astros, Twins, Indians, Rays, Giants, Nationals
NBA: Kings, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons, Sonics, Sixers, Blazers, Rockets, Knicks, Suns
NFL: Eagles, Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Texans, Jets, Rams, Raiders, Packers, Cowboys, Browns, Giants, Vikings, Falcons, Bears, Dolphins, 49ers, Seahawks, Buckaneers
NHL: Maple Leaves, Penguins, Bruins, Sharks, Canadiens
Other: WNBA Beat, MLS Galaxy, Yankees Suck, Charlotte Hornets
Sox bonuses: A Nomar jersey and an Ortiz shirt this week!

The Celtics crash and burn

Wishing I could have used "the Celtics are on fire" as the corny title of this post. I was really disappointed that the Celtics lost, but it was still nice to see them featured randomly on the backs of the matches I just bought.

The World Cup Begins!

World cup fever is alive and well in Rwanda. I watched the opening matches Friday at my coworker’s  house – he has a satellite, which guarantees multiple channels of varying quality to choose from. Except when the power goes out, which of course happened during the first half of the USA-England match tonight. The score was 1-0 England. We quickly tuned to a radio broadcast and immediately heard the cry, “GOAAAAAL.” But it was in Swahili, and none of us spoke Swahili, so we couldn’t discern who had scored. (My coworkers were all cheering for England.) Finally we got ahold of someone by cell phone who told us that USA had tied the game!

For the second half, we moved to a bar with a generator. Around the 60th minute, when the US had a few good chances in a row, I got a little excited and the guy next to me started cheering, “Obama! Obama!” I asked him, in Kinyarwanda, if Obama was playing football.

It started to rain. In the 87th minute, as the rain grew heavier, the satellite feed went out. I had to call and text another volunteer to find out the final result.

It sounds pretty unreliable, but the fact that I can watch at both a bar with a generator and in a private home on a $550 satellite definitely makes me privileged in Rwanda. Many are stuck huddling around radios, perhaps struggling to understand Kiswahili. Many more don’t have any way to watch or listen to “Africa’s World Cup.”

Go Celts! A Sports Scavenger Hunt Update

First of all, go Celtics in the NBA Finals!

MLB: Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Cardinals, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Blue Jays, Orioles, Pirates, Reds, A’s, Dodgers, Mariners, Braves, Phillies, Dodgers, Mets
NBA: Kings, Celtics, Bulls, Pistons, Sonics, Sixers, Blazers, Rockets
NFL: Eagles, Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Texans, Jets, Rams, Raiders, Packers, Cowboys
NHL: Maple Leaves, Penguins, Bruins
Other: WNBA Beat, MLS Galaxy

Spotted around Gisenyi: A Brady Jersey, a very faded Bruins cap, a Bruins jersey, a Sox cap, and a “Faithful are Rewarded” Red Sox 2004 shirt worn by the shoe repairman who sits on the corner of my street. It makes my morning to see that t-shirt on my walk to work each day.

The Bruins cap completed the hunt for Boston teams, the first city I’ve completed – probably because I am fine-tuned to spot our logos. Similarly, I’m not sure if MLB is leading the scavenger hunt because I’m most familiar with MLB teams, or because they have better penetrated the Rwandan second-hand clothing market for some reason.

Sports Scavenger Hunt Update

One of the common school uniforms around here consists of a blue dress and blue sweater. These two blue sweaters caught my eye, as they are the first evidence of the NHL I’ve seen in Rwanda. New teams in bold.

Baseball tshirts: red sox, angels, Yankees, cardinals, pirates, diamondbacks, marlins

Nba: kings, Celtics, bulls

NFL: eagles, patriots

NHL: maple leaves

Pats in the market!