game day

The Chinese paid for 80% (about 55 million US$) of the new National Stadium here in Tanzania. We caught a game between the the best team in the country vs the best team from Egypt. Tanzanians (and probably most sub-Saharan Africans) hate Egyptian soccer for the same reason most Americans hate watching soccer - because they fall when they're flicked and act like they've been shot with a rifle. Real Africans don't fall on the field. The Tanzanian team didn't fake the fall but they lost.

The stadium was beautiful. The hallways, the bathrooms and the seats are all like you'd find in a new American stadium. The only thing lacking is the concession stands. Americans go to a ball game and are only truly comfortable when there's a frank and a beer in their hands. Tanzanians are happy enough to be at a ballgame.