South Africa currently has a lot of:

1. Vuvuzelas

Reports from the States indicate frustration and annoyance at these little musical instruments, but I will defend them as both fun and festive. I hear them in the background at all times of day: the joyous sounds of the World Cup. The only time I wanted to break one in half was on the 20-minute shuttle ride between Durban stadium and our car when five local teenage boys seemed intent on deafening everyone in the bus.

2. Men
Yes, men are stereotypically more into sports than women, but I've never been at a sporting even where I have been so obviously outnumbered. At the Apartheid museum in Joburg, tons of men. At Cape Point, tons of men. On my township tour, I was the only woman. Every restaurant and hostel is full of men. But I'm not complaining: last night I watched the Ghana game with a suave Argentine who bought me dinner.

3. Seattle-ites
Almost every other American I meet here is from Seattle. No joke. On my first day, I spotted a guy with a Sounders scarf, and it turns out that he is from the neighborhood next to mine. There were 8 Americans - including me and Seth - watching the USA vs. Algeria game on a small TV in our hostel owner's personal bedroom. (The hostel bar with the big screen was showing the England vs. Slovenia game.) FOUR of us - 50% - were from Seattle. Yesterday I met a guy who teaches first grade in a Seattle suburb. We watched the Brazil match together at the Cape Town Fan Fest park (see #7). I love my city!

4. Kentucky Fried Chickens

There are surprisingly few American chains here. No Starbucks. No Wal-Marts. But tons of KFC's. Every small rural Black township we drove through had one. The city is littered with them.

5. International Flags

While the Vancouver Olympics were dominated by the maple leaf, South Africa is decorated with the 32 flags of all competing nations. It's easy to feel welcome here.

6. Flat Screen TV's

Every restaurant, bar, store and shopping center has a TV showing the World Cup matches. Between these TV's and the car radio, I have seen or heard probably 90% of the games. The two days that there were not any games, I hardly knew what to do with myself.

7. FIFA Fan Fest Parks

For people who do not have match tickets but who want to have a match-like experience, FIFA installed huge screens all over the country. Even the small rural towns have them (see second photo). To enter the area, you have to go through a security check point, and they sell all sorts of stadium-like food and beverages in there. It's a blast to watch and cheer with so many people - locals and tourists - out in the open air.

8. Gloating Dutch Fans

They annoy me now. They threw cups of beer up in the air all over the fan park every time they scored against Brazil. And they celebrated in the streets all night long. I got heckled the rest of the night for wearing my Brazil jersey. I took this picture before Brazil lost.