The game last night did not go has hoped for the Yemen faithful. Saudi Arabia struck early and then poured it on in the second half winning the match 4 goals to none. Saudi Arabia's first goal, I was told, came in the opening minutes off a free kick near the Yemen goal. The ball was crossed and headed in by the taller Saudi Arabian players over the undersized Yemeni squad. That set the tone for the rest of the evening.
I was getting a hair cut during the game. As the updated score came into the barber shop and it became clear the ol' fightin' Yemenis were going to lose, the barbers conversation turned from how the game was going to noting how the entire Yemen team was from the north and that there's only one player from Aden. If there were more southerns, why, we all know the outcome would have been different.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Football Fever
has come to Aden. Tonight is the opening match of the Gulf 20 football tournament pitting the host country Yemen against Saudi Arabia. Aden is typically fairly quiet but excitement for the match has people out honking their horns and basically making noise with anything they can find. The past couple days I have been hearing what sounds like wailing camel noises (not that I know what wailing camels sound like) from the streets around my building. It turns out those large plastic horns (a la World Cup South Africa) made it to Yemen. Fresh Yemen flag adorn dashboards or trail behind cars like capes. One kid hanging out the window of a bus waving a flag tried to hit me with it. Not cool.
If the atmosphere in the city is not crazy enough, get this: The game is free. While it is hard not to go to a free soccer match, I think the same bet for me is to avoid the crowds and pandemonium at the stadium and watch on TV. The organizers must be nuts. Free? I guess they really want a big crowd. I heard that this is the only free match of the tournament.
For more check out www.yemengulfcup20.com
If the atmosphere in the city is not crazy enough, get this: The game is free. While it is hard not to go to a free soccer match, I think the same bet for me is to avoid the crowds and pandemonium at the stadium and watch on TV. The organizers must be nuts. Free? I guess they really want a big crowd. I heard that this is the only free match of the tournament.
For more check out www.yemengulfcup20.com
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Dinner with the Yemeni Space Program
I can't remember if I've written about this or not. Apologies if I have.
Do you all remember that scene from Apollo 13 near the end of the movie when the astronauts re-enter the earth's atmosphere? The world watches with bated breath as the space capsule breaches the atmosphere and seemingly bursts into flames. The fate of three heroic astronauts hung in the balance that day. A similar instance happened over dinner tonight. In the balance? My beans.
Yemeni chefs love, read LOVE, to crank up the gas when cooking. From my seat I could see the roaring foot high flame curl around the poor pan in which my dinner to be either cooked or incinerated. I remember asking my parents at some point why we baked cookies at 350 degrees for 11 minutes and not 450 for 6 minutes. More heat, faster cooking time, cookies in my belly sooner. It's a win win. Yemeni chefs totally embrace that logic. To their credit, no meal arrives cold.
I hope I'm not ruining a good movie (or history story) for some of you but the astronauts survive. Fortunately, my beans did as well. And they were tasty too.
Do you all remember that scene from Apollo 13 near the end of the movie when the astronauts re-enter the earth's atmosphere? The world watches with bated breath as the space capsule breaches the atmosphere and seemingly bursts into flames. The fate of three heroic astronauts hung in the balance that day. A similar instance happened over dinner tonight. In the balance? My beans.
Yemeni chefs love, read LOVE, to crank up the gas when cooking. From my seat I could see the roaring foot high flame curl around the poor pan in which my dinner to be either cooked or incinerated. I remember asking my parents at some point why we baked cookies at 350 degrees for 11 minutes and not 450 for 6 minutes. More heat, faster cooking time, cookies in my belly sooner. It's a win win. Yemeni chefs totally embrace that logic. To their credit, no meal arrives cold.
I hope I'm not ruining a good movie (or history story) for some of you but the astronauts survive. Fortunately, my beans did as well. And they were tasty too.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Face lifts
Don't worry, I haven't done anything drastic. Aden, however, is getting a drastic makeover in anticipation of the Gulf 20 Soccer Tournament that will be held here November 22 to December 5th.
The Gulf 20 is a regional tournament for gulf states. The participating countries this year are: Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, and the Emirates. For those counters out there, you're right, that's only eight countries. I checked the schedule and there are only 16 games in the tournament. I'm not sure where the 20 in the title comes from.
The government allocated 120 million Yemeni riyals, almost half a million dollars, to build, repair and refurbish stadiums, roads, and public spaces. It seems almost anything that can be painted is getting a fresh coat of paint. Aden will look nice! Not that it looks that bad now but it will looker nicer. While the new appearance is a welcome change, it sense that it will be a veneer that will fade when the tournament and tourists leave. I'm interested to see what the hangover from the tournament is like.
And then there's the 30,000 army troops sent to the Aden and Abayan area to protect teams and citizens. A British friend of mine was joking that Yemen would have real security problems if the British national team and its fans were coming. Ha.
The Gulf 20 is a regional tournament for gulf states. The participating countries this year are: Yemen, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, and the Emirates. For those counters out there, you're right, that's only eight countries. I checked the schedule and there are only 16 games in the tournament. I'm not sure where the 20 in the title comes from.
The government allocated 120 million Yemeni riyals, almost half a million dollars, to build, repair and refurbish stadiums, roads, and public spaces. It seems almost anything that can be painted is getting a fresh coat of paint. Aden will look nice! Not that it looks that bad now but it will looker nicer. While the new appearance is a welcome change, it sense that it will be a veneer that will fade when the tournament and tourists leave. I'm interested to see what the hangover from the tournament is like.
And then there's the 30,000 army troops sent to the Aden and Abayan area to protect teams and citizens. A British friend of mine was joking that Yemen would have real security problems if the British national team and its fans were coming. Ha.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)