football (soccer)

Imagine a place with barbed wire and what looks like large mettal bins on one side, and on the other a road with zipping motorcycles and a mosque. The field itself, is only a land of sand and two goals. The sand is wet, which is good because it doesn't get into your shoes. The bad is, it stinks. This is the feild I played football in yesterday. I say play as only a flippant word. I merely ran and watched as the ball flew from one set of skilled feet to the other. I was there for the exercise and possibly because we were playing shirts against skins. African men don't have much fat on them.

The game became interesting not because our playing was good, though Africans are pretty darn good players, but because a small crowd formed on the side of the field where tires set up on end were seperating us from the road. Zimmyjohns, that is motorcycles, lined the tires, where people stopped to watch the game. I suppose seeing white people, especially a white girl was a novelty, plus the chance to sit down, relax, and watch a game was more than tempting.

The crowd only left when two things happened; it started getting dark and the mosque started singing its call to prayer. I have rarely disliked music, except when its badly done. Admittadly the man on the microphone did sound a little croaky but not exceptionally bad. No, it was the fact that I have never heard that prayer in real life. I have traveled around the world but I've only heard it in movies. It was kinda creepy. I didn't get the shivers or feel like I was going to faint but my ability to concentrate was hindered considerably. Then again, I'm ADD. That may have been the reason.

Once it turned dark we piled into the cars and drove home, or I should say crawl. Dark seems to be the rush hour. Zimmyjohns zoomed past, cars inched in, and the general assembly milled about with wares, baskets, and other nicknacks. Sometimes, or maybe allways when I am in a country such as this, I feel that the drive makes anything worth it. It is most interesting!
Well, God bless, and good day,
Heather