(Cousin James at the game, second from left)

Hi mom and dad,

So the US game was kind of a bust. We went back to the same place in hopes that we would continue the good karma. It just wasn't meant to be. All of Africa went crazy afterwards. Traffic stopped as a huge parade formed down long street...absolute mayhem.

We woke up today and explored a different part of cape town, down by the more industrial harbor (not "the waterfront"). We accidentally stumbled behind security into the international convention center where Bill Clinton was giving a speech.  Everyone was dressed in suits and there was security personnel everywhere yet we managed to roam the convention center as we pleased. Just as we left, we saw Bill's motorcade arrive...pretty cool right?

So then we finally went to the fanfest which we had not yet visited in Cape Town...just in time to see my second team blow it. All of england must be fuming. Then we decided to have our first healthy meal in a while and found a little Asian district and had some sushi with the Argentina game. Then we took in the second half outdoors because it was projected on the side of a building. That was pretty much our day. Kirsten got back here today and we think tomorrow is the day we tackle table mountain...wish me luck. Hope all is well at home. Love you. 

Al

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Hey mom + dad,

Things are still going well here. We didn't climb table mountain yet, but we took a hike somewhere else with kirsten and it was still beautiful. Then we went to this small colonial town to watch the first game over a seafood dinner.

Kirsten then took us on the drive we did in february along the coastline. Today was rainy so we had to find some things to do indoors. We went to three museums (mom, you'd have been so proud) with kirsten, including the fort built by the dutch. It was all very interesting and educational...yay. We took another nice drive on the side of table mountain and then kirsten drove us to the LARGEST mall I have ever seen. I thought we were in the mall, but it was really just a small branch of it. When you turn into the real part its like three and four stories and goes on forever. They had a three story food court and we watched the japan game on a huge TV there.

We are now suiting up for the last game of our campaign, and definitely a huge one. Watch it if you can, spain is my pick to win the whole thing but portugal is fun to watch. I'll let you know how it goes. Love you both.

Al

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Today, Linda Mare, Alex's guardian angel South African Mom, taught me that "boertjies" is the Afrikaans word for "South African Boys".  When used locally, it carries a connotation of good manners, gentleman-like, sweet but tough, and stubborn.  Now knowing three boertjies really well...Kirsten, Alex J, and Alex D....I completely appreciate the reference.  Here is a pictorial tour of some gentleman-like sweetness and good manners....with an appropriate dose of yahooooo.....in the townships and surrounding environs on a sunny Cape  Peninsula day. 

It was great, in the wake of USA's World Cup elimination, to open up the laptop and find a spirited report from Alex, deep into his Southern Africa World Cup immersion:

 

So I'm terribly sorry that it's been so long since my last update.......I have some great ones for all of you,  Capetown is incredibly conducive to spending money.

So what have I done in the last few days....well I think the best place to start is at the US game. We were on our way to the huge fanfest when a parade of american fans poured out of the gates saying that they weren't going to show the game on the big screen. So we joined them and chanted a version of "the saints (except we used Yanks) go marching" as we marched to a bar called the purple turtle. With about 100 crazy americans packed into a small bar, we belted out the national anthem, screamed after every foul, and cried after every missed opportunity. When we scored...oh my goodnesssss. It was the wildest party I've ever been at. We danced and screamed for hours and it was only the afternoon. Then we went out to dinner with these girls we met from Notre Dame (of all places) who were studying at UCape Town.

The next day we went to the netherlands game. I was sporting the bright orange along with what seemed like most of the crowd. It was so cool to be in the stadium with everyone going crazy. There is a "fan mile" where they shut the street down and it becomes flooded with vendors and fans all excited for the upcoming game. And what a game it was...I was so pumped to see Eto'o and Van Persie score in the same game. Wasn't Robben's shot amazing? We then reunited with some friends from Nelapruit and had a fun time debating soccer and talking about our trips.

The following day we slept in a little and decided to walk to the waterfront and enjoy the ocean and shops. We watched the Portugal Brazil match, which was great, in a amphitheater with hundreds of fans. Then we had to indulge Daniels' shopping impulses for a while in the mall. It was then back to long street to watch the spain game in a cafe. We are officially seeing Portugal v Spain in our last match. How incredible is that?

Today, linda invited us to come to this place in the townships (slums) that was famous for their meat. We went along with 20 of her friends and acquaintances. It was a crazy scene of poor blacks just enjoying themselves and us having a great time too. They cook everything on a huge grill [attached image] and you have to eat with your hands. We literally ordered a bucket of meat...it actually came in a bucket. Soo delicious...then linda took us on a scenic drive around the city and the shore.  

Now we are taking a pregame nap before the big fixture of the day. Let's go USA!!! Love and miss u all.

 

Al

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

 

I am keeping this blog as a living chronicle of my son Alex's amazing adventures at World Cup festivities all around South Africa.  He was surprised to find his messages on the web. I confirmed his permission after getting his message below today entitled "BIG GAMES".  Little did he know how big the US/Algeria game would really be and how much support there is despite our relative "football" deprived American sensibility.

 

BIG GAMES!!!!

Hey everyone,

It has happened. The day I was sure wouldn't come, came. I have come to understand that I am currently being hijacked. I know it sounds scary, and it is. I, alex japko, against my will, have been unknowingly creating raw material that has been shaped into.....what seems like....well.....a blog. One of you, I am not certain which (but I suspect mom as of now) has been up loading my messages onto the dreaded blogosphere. 

Anyway, we watched the Bafana Bafana game in this huge sports bar and everyone was going nuts. We went up two zero and mexico went down 1 nothing and I thought it was possible for them to get through. But, wearing a SA scarf on my neck and a flag as a cape, we watched their hopes dwindle. that didn't stop all of the city from partying and blasting vuvuzelas til two in the morning. Our place is nice and perfect for us, right on long street. There are shops everywhere and my hope to get great gifts has been restored. Though there are still no names on jerseys. Today we have to go to the fan fests to watch our boys through to the next round. Are people still giving support to the team? We expect it to be a great game. Also, daniels is nervous for Germany match today. We'll see what happens. Mom if u could do the NYU thing that would be great. Email me if u run into problems and I'll call immediately. I'll check my phone frequently. Love you all.

Al

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The juxtaposition of the independence gained through travel and life experience against the emotional and financial umbilical cords that link my amazing son to our family is on wonderful display in his most recent missive:

(Brazil/Ivory Coast Tix)

Hey guys,

So we are finally in Cape Town. We stayed at lindas house last night, which was so nice. Their cat named Jamima was so small and cute. I thinkit might be time for a few additions to our family...Joba and Cano??? We went to a nice lively restaurant to watch the Spain game. They were incredible. Linda helped us out so much. She made us dinner, wrote multiple pages of suggestions for things to do in town, and drove us around so we could get familiar with the area.

By the way, the soccer game in joburg was crazier than anything else I've ever been to. We had so much fun with James and his friends, singing songs at the top of our lungs driving past fans (when we passed some japanese or korean fans we blasted "kung fu fighting"). It was great to see drogba score a goal, and we went crazy as kaka got sent off. Then we went to this crazy indoor casino/palace that I think is just like the Venetian. Getting through the airport was fine, and the flight was easy too. We are now heading into town on a train and are the ONLY white people. It's pretty crazy. People are singing songs and begging and we are having a grand old time (daniels looks nervous). Today we are going to the fan fest to watch bafana bafana play their last game...going to be wild. Last question. How much rand did you give me? I just want to make sure I had all of it. Love you all. 

Al

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

What can you say, besides smile, when your newly graduated son sends you a message like this after arriving in South Africa?    

 

Whaddup Fam, We arrived in Nelspruit yesterday afternoon as the Chile game was going on in that stadium (its the one with the red tower supports). After finally arriving at our hotel, we watched the rest of the game with an old rugby legend who had played pro in SA and for the Zimbabwean national team. He was quite the character. Then the spain switzerland game came on and we watched with two swiss guys staying at the house...they went nuts after the upset. So then we heard that the Chileans were throwing a festival/block party to celebrate and so we had to check it out. Basically it consisted of a dancing mob of chileans and africans with very loud music and some traditional food. Then they had the SA game on a huge tv in the street and we watched the first half of the game, which was not too close, though the africans still blew the vuvuzelas as loud as possible. This morning we woke up at 430 to go to kruger. It was so cold! Soooo cold. We huddled under blankets till the sun warmed us up, but there were few animals to see in the morning. But after a nice breakfast, things picked up. We saw a ton of elephants, buffalo, giraffe, hippo and even some rhinos. It turned out to be a great experience and we were packed into a jeep with six chileans who were still recovering from the night before. Matt, hope the tests aren't giving u trouble and I think the next season is in DC. Mom - my moves are timeless. Dad- you need to give me the name of the wine u want and thanks for letting me know about james. Talk to u all soon. Love,Al