Makes the people come together

One way to know it's summer now here is to notice that all major football (European-style football) tournaments are organized around this time of the year. Last January DRC was in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup (and we didn't have internet, for political reasons), this year it's something called African Nations' Championchips, meaning that only players who play in their national league qualify. Something like a Euro Cup where Christiano Ronaldo can't play.

And this year it's organized by Rwanda, and they were in the same qualifier group with DRC, and the first leg was played here in Gisenyi (the first town on the Rwandan side of the border; on a nicer day it can be seen from the canteen), and even the border was open until 10 pm (instead of 6).

The last qualifiers were this past Saturday, with no else than the semifinal at stake. Our tv doesn't really have channels these days (we used to have Al-Jazeera and some local gospelly thing), but we didn't quite need it: critical masses were watching it at the petrol station across the street, and in (and outside) of a pub just down by the roundabout, and were loudly expressing their feelings when DRC scored. And then when DRC won! Fiesta was on, just like last year, cars, motorbikes, flags, people, up and down the boulevard. Our guard came upstairs to tell us that one of the cars has the lights left on, and when we congratulated him, he basically melted into a puddle.

The semifinal was on Wednesday, and they won again, extra time and penalty shootout and all that jazz, so Sunday is the final, root for the Lépoards!

Side note: it's interesting also because it makes one wonder how much it is possible to identify with the country we live in, and whether it depends on time, or something else. If I was still living in Luxembourg, would I rather write „we won”? I still talk about the Grand Duke's family as if I know them personally (well, I was present twice when they waved from the balcony, that should count, no?), but is it just a question of getting used to? Clearly, I can't really identify or sympathize with the current president of DRC, but I mainly like Xavier Bettel because we've both been bonnevoisins, (and because he initiated and pushed through the law about same sex marriage), but I don't exactly follow his policies. When I was living in Angers in 2007, and people around me often referred to Sarkozy as „your president”, I always kindly reminded them that he's about as much of a Hungarian citizen as I am a French, and, besides, they voted for him, not me, so... start with the man in the mirror.

(The other way to know it's summer is that the days are longer. One certainly notices the sun setting and six instead of half past five.)