Watching the World Cup in Phnom Penh at Score Bar.
Helloooo lovelies! So the World Cup is onnn!! Woohooo. What an amazing time to be patriotic, watch games with friends over some beers and generally have lots of fun while rooting for your favorite teams, yeah? Well unfortunately it is also a time where people get to be super racist and xenophobic and my friend wrote about it here. It's a short but very good read, so click on that link :)
On Monday I went to Nerd Night- which is an amazing event where 3-4 people get to talk about something they are nerdy or passionate about. These people use power-point slides and are allowed 20 seconds per slide for 20 slides. The event is held once every two weeks on a different location each time, and anyone can do a presentation, all you need to do is contact the organizers by email or through their facebook page.This week Nerd Night was held at Score Bar which is basically one of the best sports bar in Phnom Penh which is open 24 hours and is playing all the World Cup matches live. There's a big screen and other smaller TVs all over the bar to watch from. Anyway during the Nerd Night presentations, I found out that Nigeria was playing against Iran that night at 2am. I really wanted to watch that so I decided to stay on after the presentations-which ended at around 10pm- and wait for the match. But first I had to watch the German/Portugal match...
Now I am going to be honest and just admit that I literally know NOTHING about football. As in it is embarrassing how little (or nothing) I know about football. I am the true definition of the blonde bimbo when it comes to football. I ask questions that make people's jaws drop coz of the sheer ignorance- yeah I do! Only my boyfriend can stand my questions, and that's only because he loves me, otherwise not many people would haha. I know so little about it that I really didn't care who won Germany? Portugal? No idea. BUT I ended up supporting Portugal coz that's what my lovely friend was supporting! I know, I know, guys don't hate me plsss...just take as I am lol.
Anyway I still had a good time. The place was packed to the maximum...the Germans/ German supporters had on white jerseys, and the atmosphere was fiery. The cheers at the goals, the gasps at the near goals, all the beer..it was awesome!! I took a few horrible pictures on my phone :)
Anyway after the match alot of the people left and there was only a handful of people watching the Nigerian game. Partly because it started at 2am and most people work the next day and mostly coz not many Nigerians and Iranians were there to watch. BUT I was there!! With a handful of Nigerians and my God I had an awesome time!! No, the game was rubbish, but watching it was soooo cool. I LOVE Nigerians, they're up there on top of the list of my favorite peoples ;) There is something about these people!! First is their language/accent. Most Nigerians speak Pidgin English as a second language and maaaan I lov it. Pidgin English is basically a mix of some English words, some other words and basically very bad grammar...to make something that sounds like English, but isn't quite English. I have picked up a lot of pidgin, so I can basically understand a lot of it, I can also speak some of it, but not quite well. But am just glad I can understand coz I think it is brilliant, and it makes everything soooo fun and funny :) at least to me :) But other than their pidgin English and awesome accents, Nigerians are funny, they are hard working, they help each other, they are the most hopeful people I have ever met, they have a very rich culture that they are so very proud of, they have unique food, their banter between each other is sooo interesting :) They are passionate people, they are persistent (sometimes a little too persistent ;) ) They see opportunities and go for them. And for all of these, I just love these people.
Anyway, a few pidgin words and sentences and their translation to English to give an idea of what am talking about :
On Monday I went to Nerd Night- which is an amazing event where 3-4 people get to talk about something they are nerdy or passionate about. These people use power-point slides and are allowed 20 seconds per slide for 20 slides. The event is held once every two weeks on a different location each time, and anyone can do a presentation, all you need to do is contact the organizers by email or through their facebook page.This week Nerd Night was held at Score Bar which is basically one of the best sports bar in Phnom Penh which is open 24 hours and is playing all the World Cup matches live. There's a big screen and other smaller TVs all over the bar to watch from. Anyway during the Nerd Night presentations, I found out that Nigeria was playing against Iran that night at 2am. I really wanted to watch that so I decided to stay on after the presentations-which ended at around 10pm- and wait for the match. But first I had to watch the German/Portugal match...
Now I am going to be honest and just admit that I literally know NOTHING about football. As in it is embarrassing how little (or nothing) I know about football. I am the true definition of the blonde bimbo when it comes to football. I ask questions that make people's jaws drop coz of the sheer ignorance- yeah I do! Only my boyfriend can stand my questions, and that's only because he loves me, otherwise not many people would haha. I know so little about it that I really didn't care who won Germany? Portugal? No idea. BUT I ended up supporting Portugal coz that's what my lovely friend was supporting! I know, I know, guys don't hate me plsss...just take as I am lol.
Anyway I still had a good time. The place was packed to the maximum...the Germans/ German supporters had on white jerseys, and the atmosphere was fiery. The cheers at the goals, the gasps at the near goals, all the beer..it was awesome!! I took a few horrible pictures on my phone :)
Anyway after the match alot of the people left and there was only a handful of people watching the Nigerian game. Partly because it started at 2am and most people work the next day and mostly coz not many Nigerians and Iranians were there to watch. BUT I was there!! With a handful of Nigerians and my God I had an awesome time!! No, the game was rubbish, but watching it was soooo cool. I LOVE Nigerians, they're up there on top of the list of my favorite peoples ;) There is something about these people!! First is their language/accent. Most Nigerians speak Pidgin English as a second language and maaaan I lov it. Pidgin English is basically a mix of some English words, some other words and basically very bad grammar...to make something that sounds like English, but isn't quite English. I have picked up a lot of pidgin, so I can basically understand a lot of it, I can also speak some of it, but not quite well. But am just glad I can understand coz I think it is brilliant, and it makes everything soooo fun and funny :) at least to me :) But other than their pidgin English and awesome accents, Nigerians are funny, they are hard working, they help each other, they are the most hopeful people I have ever met, they have a very rich culture that they are so very proud of, they have unique food, their banter between each other is sooo interesting :) They are passionate people, they are persistent (sometimes a little too persistent ;) ) They see opportunities and go for them. And for all of these, I just love these people.
Anyway, a few pidgin words and sentences and their translation to English to give an idea of what am talking about :
- How you dey- How are you doing.
- I dey fine- I am fine/ I'm doing well
- How far- Hi
- Wetin- What
- I no no- I don't know
- Wetin dey happen- What's happening/What's going on
- I wan chop- I want to eat
- I no agree- I do not agree/ I disagree
- I go land you slap- I will slap you
- Na so e suppose be- That is how it's supposed to be.
So I totally enjoyed sitting down with these passionate Nigerians watching the Nigerian team play horribly. My Nigerian friends were not happy and my God, their expression of this (using pidgin English), their accents and overall their Nigerian quirkiness just made ME sooooo happy (I know that makes me sound so bad, but I can't help it) I laughed so hard- they were laughing too at times- and although I do not really care about football...I had a blast!!
I can't wait for the next game against...Argentina?? Oh God, unless they've played already!!
Ps. I've got a couple of pictures, but my computer is being such an ass right now....so ill add them up later :)
Ps. I've got a couple of pictures, but my computer is being such an ass right now....so ill add them up later :)
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