In South Africa
Surprisingly, the 15 hour flight from JFK to Johannesburg wasn't that bad. After landing, we were treated to the pictures below.
The pictures are fans of Mexico, who were greeted by South African fans wearing Mexico jerseys. This is really significant because the opening match of the World Cup is South Africa vs. Mexico. And I think it really shows what we've experienced so far: the overall feeling that the South Africans are bending over backwards to be generous hosts and to make the experience as positive as possible.
Another funny thing during our wait in the airport: the South African fans have a noisemaker called a vuvuzela - kinda like a plastic trumpet. Not to be outdone, the Mexican fans brought noisemakers of their own - using them in the airport at JFK and in Johannesburg. It was quite crazy, especially since the Mexican fans were in full gameday attire - huge sombreros, panchos, and bottles of tequila. Seriously, all of their fans were dressed up.
On the way from the airport to the hotel it was quite clear that this country is focused on the World Cup. All of the signs, advertisements, etc. had to do with the World Cup in some way. The hotel is nice, outside of the city which should make travel to the stadium on gamedays easier. The room itself is a little bungalo-ish thing, which will be a nice place to crash for the next few weeks. After a quick nap, we picked up a bottle of south african wine, and are enjoying it now while posting this. Hopefully, tomorrow we can make it to the Johannesburg for the opening festivities. More later!
[gallery link="file" orderby="ID"]
The pictures are fans of Mexico, who were greeted by South African fans wearing Mexico jerseys. This is really significant because the opening match of the World Cup is South Africa vs. Mexico. And I think it really shows what we've experienced so far: the overall feeling that the South Africans are bending over backwards to be generous hosts and to make the experience as positive as possible.
Another funny thing during our wait in the airport: the South African fans have a noisemaker called a vuvuzela - kinda like a plastic trumpet. Not to be outdone, the Mexican fans brought noisemakers of their own - using them in the airport at JFK and in Johannesburg. It was quite crazy, especially since the Mexican fans were in full gameday attire - huge sombreros, panchos, and bottles of tequila. Seriously, all of their fans were dressed up.
On the way from the airport to the hotel it was quite clear that this country is focused on the World Cup. All of the signs, advertisements, etc. had to do with the World Cup in some way. The hotel is nice, outside of the city which should make travel to the stadium on gamedays easier. The room itself is a little bungalo-ish thing, which will be a nice place to crash for the next few weeks. After a quick nap, we picked up a bottle of south african wine, and are enjoying it now while posting this. Hopefully, tomorrow we can make it to the Johannesburg for the opening festivities. More later!
[gallery link="file" orderby="ID"]