Up, up and away

Friday the 25th, the day before departing for the long journey to South Africa, began @ 6:45 am with the team, the coaches and the Regional Ministry of Education Director arriving at our house one and a half hours early to go to the doctor's office for the final vaccinations (Rabies #3 and Polio).  Where else in the world does a culture arrive early and with absolutely no notice of the early arrival?  Needless to say, it was going to be a long day and an even longer journey to Johannesburg. 

The day before departure was action packed - final packing, vaccinations,  a visit to the National Museum and Palace, lunch with the Cambodian Football Federation, traditional Khmai flower ceremony with "His Excellency" the Minister of Education (and six other "Excellencies") and dinner with the parents who were arriving in Phnom Penh in the afternoon.  The ceremony with His Excellency lasted almost three hours and included many speeches, meat pies, flowers and countless bowing.  Cambodians love a good ceremony and a chance to give a long-winded speech.

The team, outfitted in their new adidas tracksuits and first pair of closed-toe shoes ever, got to the airport three hours early for the flight to ensure all eleven people and 22 bags got checked through from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur to Johannesburg.  The parents, who had come down to Phnom Penh to see the team off, traveled to the airport in the back of a Hilux pick- up, fourteen people crammed together Cambo-style.  Good thing Cambodians, even adults, are small! 

Tragedy was narrowly averted as the Malaysia Airline Agents initially refused to check-in the team without the South African Visas.  Luckily, the Malaysia Airlines Manager arrived, grabbed the Accreditation Letters and escorted the team through check-in.  Even with the special treatement, it still took 2.5 hours to make it through check-in.

The first of many technological obstacles occurred in the Phnom Penh Airport.  (Sidenote:  during the many months of training, we emphasized the importance of hand washing after using the bathroom.)  Heang (team coach) came to me with an apparent 'bathroom crisis'.   Heang asked me to assist him in the bathroom ASAP.  Turns out the boys were all standing around the Men's bathroom sink perplexed, soapy hands out because they could not figure out how the sinks worked.  It was a motion-censored faucet.  I reached down and passed my hand across the sensor.....water...Gestalt!  The second mini-obstacle occurred when the team needed assistance on how to use the water fountain.

The flight to Kuala Lumpur was quite an experience for the first time flyers.  Each movement of the plane led to excited "oohs", "ahs" and "eeks" and squeals of delight.  The team loved the Malaysian food and thought the seats were big and comfortable.  Again, good thing Cambodians are petit.

The Kuala Lumpur airport is a beautiful, modern airport with lots of moving sidewalks and escalators and filled with expensive  stores like Harrod's, Louis Vitton and Hugo Boss.  It was other-worldly for a bunch of kids from rural Cambodia.  The team spent the ten hour layover truly getting to know the KL airport; they visited the airport rainforest, rode every inch of the escalators and moving sidewalks, ran up and down the staircases, cruised the duty-free shops, watched World Cup matches on TV while lounging on giant cushy coaches, slept in huddles and gazed in wonderment at the mases of beautiful people.

Finally, at 1:00 AM, it was time to board the ten hour flight to Johannesburg.  It was hard to believe we were almost in South Africa after over seven months of preparation.  The team loved being plied with food and drink, but ten hours on a plane is agonizing for a teenager, especially ones who can't really watch the movies in English.  Luckily, most of the team slept at least half of the flight.

Since the team is considered an official delegation of the World Cup, we were able to pass through a special customs line for those with WC Accreditation.  It was smooth and easy.  The Football for Hope team, George and Luciano, were patiently waiting to meet us inside the baggage claim area.  We made it!  South Africa greeted the team with smiles and arctic breezes.  The bleary-eyed Cambodians huddled together to stay warm while waiting for the team van.  The first question asked while traveling on the highway to the Team Village was, "Why aren't there any motorcycles on the road?"

It is going to be an incredible two weeks for the team.  We'll send updates every few days on their progress.  For now, they will play - rest - play - rest - play - rest ......