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Published: April 1st 2009
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GOAL!!!
One minute in and they already scored...nice Hey All!!
Twice in one week?! Yeah, I'm in a generous mood...and I'm kinda backlogged! So I thought I would play catch-up before taking off on another far-flung adventure.
So, this past weekend marked my second extended visit to Kumasi, and while the quantity of the itinerary was relatively small it was more than made up for in the high levels of quality! What was the mission this time? Cheer on Ghana's national football team the Black Stars, as they took on Benin in a 2010 World Cup Qualifier Match!
While this was once again an independent trip, there were so many ISEP people going it might as well have been an ISEP sponsored trip! There were about twenty four or twenty five of us that left, all on different days and different times.
My party of eleven, departed Saturday morning at elven, but didn't actually leave the city until around one thirty...courtesy of Nkrumah Circle...Have I ever mentioned just how much I despise the Circle station? Anyway, the ride up was the same as usual, long and bumpy. However, the skies were blue, the clouds fluffy, the breeze cool, and for once, the road open. Consequently,
The Match
Ghana's in white, Benin's in yellow it was a good day to travel!
We arrived at the city around eight..ish...and ate dinner at the Sanbra Hotel...Great pizza with real cheese...man, I miss real cheese...so good. When we eventually arrived at our hotel (picked for it's strategically convenient position ten minutes away from the football stadium!) we had a little trouble checking in. Apparently our reservations got...well...I'm not really sure...We were told that their rooms were all occupied...Then he told us their were a few available...But that they were reserved...oh!...wait...hmmmmm....whatever...you would think that with a name like the "Justice Hotel" you wouldn't run into problems like that...oops! My naivety is showing! At any rate, it was nice to finally grab a bed, cool down and relax, take a shower...wait...scratch that last one, the water didn't work in our rooms...groovy. Still, we had A/C so I can't complain too much.
The game didn't actually start until five in the evening so the majority of Sunday was spent purchasing both our tickets and Black Star merchandise, exploring the city, and watching Kumasi turn into a game day football frenzy freak fest!!! It was great! One couldn't help but get pumped up! It was GAME DAY!!
The
actual game was extremely enjoyable, the atmosphere in the stadium was contagiously electric, rife with anxious anticipation, nail-biting suspense, and pure unadulterated screams of euphoria! The Black Stars scored in the first minute! ...and then nobody scored the rest of the eighty-nine minutes... but they still won!!! And it was awesome!!! An incredible experience to be sure, and most certainly not one I will be soon to forget.
Following the game we quickly worked our way back to the hotel. Fortunately, I travel with smart people, people who think ahead and take the extra initiative to plan ahead as well. We hired a Tro Tro out to take us straight from our hotel to the literal doorstep of our Hostel back in Legon...definitely the smart move.
Needless to say, it was a great weekend, and great to be back! I could finally grab my bed, cool down and relax, take a shower...wait... the water's out at our hostel?!? ...sweet...... Oh Ghana, gotta love it! ^_^
Stay frosty gang,
Jonathan
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Thomas
non-member comment
Wow
Everything you are looks so fun jon. I'm jealous!