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Sunday, June 27, 2010

A loss for one nation is another nation’s win Part II


A loss for one nation is another nation’s win Part II
I awoke early this morning ready to meet a few other Pisi Koa to watch the US win in the World Cup. We were all pumped from our own victory the previous day in soccer that we knew the US Soccer Team could be just as effective a team as us. We all had plants to meet at a bakery with a nice big television set to watch the game.
I walk over to the bakery, open the door and am stunned by the silence. There is no one there. I immediately call one of the people who is sure to be there, and I found out they had to go to another place. In Samoa, technology can be difficult. This can be something as difficult as sending text messages or sending credit to a phone, or something less difficult as turning on the television. They had the difficulties with turning it on.
Plan B, we go to this hotel that has a television set in the restaurant. I arrive there late, and huddled around a table are 2 other volunteers and our country director. We are all gazing at this tiny 13 inch television set hung up high on the wall. There is little sound, and the station that is airing the event neglected to put a clock on the screen, so we are clueless as to how much time remains in the game at all time.
We were losing when I arrived 1-0 to Ghana. After some time, the US received a penalty kick and we tied it up. The group of us were so excited that we began jumping for joy. We had some guests at the hotel give a little chuckle and join us in cheering on the US.
The game went into overtime. It was intense because we were having trouble seeing the screen, did not know how long the overtime would be, and could not see what was happening all the time. We finally were able to move our seats, and a waitress helped us by turning up the volume a little bit. Sadly Ghana scored their winning goal, and the US was not able to find a way to catch up.
The US ended their run in the world cup today, but Ghana still has the possibility of being the first African nation to win the tournament.

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