Manchester United!!!!!!!!!!
After 2 days. After… 2 grueling days. After 2 hot, stinky, disgusting, bumpy, exciting, overwhelming, enjoyable, crazy, uplifting, terrible, annoying and beautiful days on an Ethiopian bus, I have arrived back in the capital…. Addis Ababa. I don’t have a hotel room right now, I haven’t had a hot shower in almost a week and I’m completely dusty… but I am in a GREAT mood.
At times I wondered why it is that I travel. Other times I wonder how I can live without doing this. I am the bi-polar traveler. I guess I have to cope with it… I mean, it isn’t all going to be fun and exciting. Sometimes I have to deal with the discomfort.
I’ll tell you some things that DO make me very happy. In Ethiopia the national sport is soccer. It isn’t just SOCCER either… it is the English Premier League. They CRAAAAAAAAAVE it. It is insane. I was walking through the street in Lalibela and had children come up to me screaming ‘MANCHESTER UNITED!!!!!’ over and over. I will assume it is because of my David Beckhem good looks that they think I will be happy to hear them say that. (I hear he is playing for the LA Galaxy now) The 2 Czech guys I was on the bus with said they were outside the hotel last night and there was a bonfire with kids doing tribal dances around it chanting ‘ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL!!!!’ (another English soccer team) I’m telling you. I had no idea they were that passionate about it. The good thing is I know a few players in European soccer and it makes for good conversation with the kids. (after they ask you for money)
I got an awesome video of some sort of church march today through the streets. The bus stopped and gave everyone a chance to look out. They were carrying crosses and pictures of all the saints.
Soon after that we were entering the city limits of Addis Ababa and the bus stopped completely. All the men were told to get off the bus. Sexual harrassment!!! They checked all of us for weapons and looked in our bags and then let us go on our way. Amazing how inefficient the security system is when you don’t check the women too.
Back to sports. I would give anything to watch some NFL playoffs right now. I must say after checking the scores this morning I am pulling for the Patriots to go all the way. In this day and age in the NFL a team that can continuosly play at the level they do is great. For now I’m stuck with updates on BBC World and the occasional Liverpool or Chelsea matches.
Tags: addis ababa, Ethiopia
Joey
I didn’t think you’d be all that interested, what with the travelling, but there have been some of the best (or at least closest) games this year for the playoffs (all except the Colts games, anyway.) All four NFC playoff games have been decided by a total of 10 points. Pretty much every game (not the indy/KC game, but even the indy/baltimore game) came down to the last few minutes.
Also, as you probably know, Manchester United is owned by the Malcolm Glazer, and is the “richest” football club in the world.
Go Bears!!
BEARS BABY!!!