As blogged before, the Africa Cup of Nations has taken over Gabon & Equatorial Guinea. Gabon has now played 2 games and won both of them and everyone is reveling in pride and joy over their team's performance. To be honest, it's been so nice to see so many smiles on the streets over the last week. People are sporting green, blue & yellow, Gabon's colours, and the excitement in the air on game days is infectious.
There is a park a few blocks away from us and they have a large screen set up for spectators to watch the games. When Gabon scores it almost feels like we could be in the stadium. Cheers erupt, taxis are honking and vuvuzelas are blown up and down the streets. Joe drove home from work at halftime for Gabon's first game and he exclaimed just how dangerous it was to be on the roads. Taxis and minibuses were packed to the brim with people hanging out the windows waving flags and scarves. Vehicles were flying down the road doubling the speed limit, honking and swerving. There were people dancing in the streets and exclaiming their excitement to complete strangers.
Because we live right down town, we're right in the middle of all of it and even though the noise does get old hours after the game has ended, we're happy to see everyone so happy. I can't even imagine how crazy it will get as Gabon continues in the competition. (We have 1 game left in the opening qualifiers although with the last 2 wins we've secured a spot in the next round.) The only thing I'm worried about is what happens when we lose, especially if it happens to be against a rival?
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