Elfenbeinkuste has nothing to do with elves

The end of another nice evening of bed rest and soccer - it's a hard habit to break, saying soccer, even if one throws in a fake German "zoccer" on accident every so often. (me? no!) I know enough to know that I know too little to write about these games in earnest, but the Netherlands-Ivory Coast match was really, REALLY good. So many "Chancen" - shots on goal - and such beautiful athletic play. The stadium was literally all orange - Netherlands are "oranje" and their fans are manic; a few of the players from both teams are also competitors in European professional leagues. I find myself cheering for the African teams (especially when against former colonial powers, like the Portugal-Angola game), although everyone says that the politics of citizenship and what countries will spend to build a good team makes every place a bit suspect. But still. They're pitched as the Cinderellas here, and who doesn't like an underdog among all of the multiple-cup-winning Euro teams? I guess the US is an underdog, too, and I did cheer for them the other day, too. And Sweden, for my mom.

McFee brought me my homework, and we hung out here during the games speaking too much English for our own good - but it is a relief sometimes. I have a theory that you should give yourself one free afternoon a week to speak your mother tongue (probably while shopping or eating ice cream or laying in some park, to be really indulgent). Believing perhaps that this will make the temptation less to slip into it daily, I have yet to see if it works. 5 more weeks to try, though! Really, here, you're only as immersed as you want to be.

The other fantastic thing tonight that literally brought McFee and I to an open-mouthed standstill was the hip-hop group Blumentopf's performance of a "RAPortage" about the latest German win, smack in the middle of the half-time sportscast. They even incorporated Angela Merkel, the new Chancellor (who has been at all of the games). And old pictures of the German coach ("Bundestrainer"), Jurgen Klinsmann, in his mullet-haired days. When I find a reputable link, you'll find it here. I promise. It won't be the same without the awesome graphics and animation, but still. I wouldn't want anyone to go without.

But here's a question to end with: if the German Chancellor, Queen of Sweden, and various sundry other heads of state are at these games - and at all of their team's games - who would (or should) the American representative be?

And also, a shot of a few German fans the day before the Weltmeisterschaft began, at the Brandenburger Tor in central Berlin. It is serious, and serious fun...