World Cup Fever
27 Jun
I was out last night until 5 am watching the US lose to Ghana in the World Cup. I had tried to leave at half time, but got distracted and next thing I knew, the game was tied and to leave would have been criminal. So, I sat next to my new neighbor, the US ambassador, and rooted for Team America. To my dad’s chagrin, I am not much of a sports fan. I love to play sports and enjoy the atmosphere, but if I am going to be awake all night, I would have hoped it was for something more exciting than screaming “USA” at a television in a den of smoke, nachos, and beer.
Tonight I decided to go watch Germany vs. England at a new bar because I needed to try out a cocktail there for an article. It had been a long, social weekend already and I had a bit of a headache. The bar was rowdy and hot and my head was already spinning before the game begun. I couldn’t focus on any conversations. I was hungry, but it seemed too stressful to try to order food at the busy restaurant. I urged to escape. So, in a very typical me move, I did just that. “I gotta go,” I said to my friends and peaced the hell out.
People who know me have come to understand that sometimes I just can’t take it. As much as I love to flutter my social butterfly wings, sometimes I need to get back into a proverbial cocoon for some recharging. At the bar tonight, I was desperate for a recharge.
Excited to be back in the peaceful quiet of my new neighborhood, I decided to go for an exploratory walk and find some street food. I eat at so many restaurants with big crowds of friends, so that when I am on my own, I really enjoy a quick outside meal on plastic chairs. Its just so rejuvenating. I think for years after I leave Vietnam, cravings for personal time will come hand in hand with a bowl of pho.
As I walked around the streets, I realized something magical was happening. The football game was omnipresent. Families sat around their television sets watching. Every bar and restaurant was showing the game. Taxi cab drivers waiting on street corners had the game blasting from their radio. Men sleeping at constructions sites were gathered in a makeshift living room. The whole world was watching.
The thought that everyone around the world was viewing the same game made me feel both very connected and very small. I was overcome with a sense of wooziness, but maybe that was just the cocktails.
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