"Are you SORTED?", "OH, YES 100%", "IS IT?", "I would like a COOL DRINK", "I drive a BUCKEE", "it's in the CUBBY HOLE", "If not there, check in the BOOT", "To get to the stadium you have to go through 2 ROBOTS."
- Team Paraguay might have been victorious in their match, but on June 9th they came through for team transportation. Team Paraguay personal bus driver left the lights on the coach during the match as the driver watched the game on his bus television. END RESULT: When the team was loaded and ready to leave, the bus would not start. The driver tried aimlessly to restart the bus but only heard a click click click. Team Paraguay got out of the bus and started to reload on the fleet cars when one manager decided to try and push start the bus. Other Paraguay team members joined in and first push attempt didnt but the second attempt........VRooooooooM and the engine fired up! 1 point for TEAM PARAGUAY!!
- TEAM ALGERIA'S bus rolled up to the stadium with foggy windows. Apparently it's a tradition for the entire team to light up before a match...IN THE BUS, despite the protocol...
- DAVID BECKHAM'S transportation in Jo'Burg wasn't exactly what you would call the red carpet VVIP treatment on Match Day #1 after getting chauffered around by a VOLUNTEER driver WITHOUT an escort & getting completely LOST in the SLUMS of Johannesburg! Is this considered a security breech?
- Welcoming tean ITALY was EXHAUSTING, these athletes DON'T SMILE, & this could be contributed to their deep concentration of the game...IF THEY WERE WINNING ANY! Their long list of transport demands seems endless (& include cousins of cousins, great great great aunties, these families seemed to have multiplied by the minute, with the incoming requests...coming out of the woodwork & EXPECTING the level of service FIFA hadn't budgeted for.) They put a tremendous amt of PRESSURE on our transport system especially when they ATTEMPTED to through our team both figuratively & literally "under the bus" to impress the Italian delegates!
- We were forced to increase the security levels to MAXIMUM sercurity at the team hotel b/c team Portugal attracted a huge fan base. S Africa is know (especially Capetown) for it's large Portuguese community.
- There were over 600 VOLUNTEERS assigned to our system, they were from all walks of life. From an old army general to a Zulu tribesmen to a Zimbabwee refugees, witch craft worshippers to a school principal to teachers to a computer programmer (designed a dispatch program specifically for our use!) to a librarian to paramedics.
- The first day on the job we were asked "Would you like a blue or black pen?" The budget did't allow for more than 1 pen/person....that was the extent of our office supplies. What about all the bribe $ that was given out? Apparently, this $ was "PROMISED $"....Somehow I don't believe the 'dent' in the budget came from office supplies! AND don't think about leaving your pen overnight or the Night Staff would steal it. One pen allotment per event per manager!
- Beware of the VACUUM LADY. Don't be suprised IF she turns up, it's WHEN she turns up...ALWAYS, when it's most inconvenient! She comes by a minimum of 2 times daily & no matter how important the meeting you are at her mercy when she enters your personal space! She is a VACUUMING MACHINE, expecting you to stand up, take your chair with you & wait until SHE IS FINISHED. That loud noise? She just barrels through, you could tell her that the STADIUM IS ON FIRE & she would STILL carry on vacuuming. She's got a job to do!! It really makes you ponder "What is she thinking?" If this invasion of personal space/confidential meetings doesn't bother you, the power outages surely will! The power goes out at least once if not three times daily. During these daily 'black outs' GRAB ALL VALUABLES or they will disappear quickly. Be prepared to wait hours for the power to turn on...talk about frustrating when you have work to do! Apparently, these 'annoyances' are NORMAL here!! You can't even leave cookies overnight or the staff will eat it. This is the ONLY place I've ever had to take my ENTIRE OFFICE with me when leaving the office!
- A typical Match Day (at the stadium) consists of the following DRAMATIC EVENTS: Fire Alarms, Bomb Treats, NO printing ability, CANNOT connect to internet! Basically, everything that would take your work day to the next level.
- "Here comes Brian" his claim to fame as he was pick out of a crowd to 'try out' the newly unleashed official ball of the 2010 World Cup...."The JUBILANI." Literally, the net was 10 ft from the ball....the nerves 'as all eyes were on him' must have got to him, as the ball sailed through a window of a nearby building...........a soccer player HE IS NOT!
- GROWN MEN CRYING? POOR ARGENTINA, a team of grown men BALLING THEIR EYES OUT...I guess the famous saying, "don't cry for me Argentina?" didn't apply to them the day they lost....this cry-fest included the team members, the delegates, the coach, along with the fans. We had to supply 'extra' boxes of tissues to the Argentina team. No exaggeration, there were PUDDLES EVERYWHERE in the locker rooms after their elimination loss to the Netherlands. They CONTINUED to ball their eyes out, quivering their lips as they boarded the bus to the airport. "WAAAA......WAHHHHH.....WAHHHHH, WHY US? ..........WHY US??" Delegates grabbed us, as they looked to us for comfort! The Argentian VVIP'S were hugging drivers. The coach was on his knees (in the middle of the parking lot) & wouldn't get off the ground!!!..........& this is how we found out that 'Team Argentina" is HIGHLY EMOTIONAL.
- Before picking up teams off the 'Tar Mat' at the airport, our security team is required to SWEEP THE VEHICLE. The bomb squad takes control & uses police dogs to "SNIFF" the area. These dogs trained in S Africa undergo a different training than what we are used to in the Western World. In the Garden Route, we saw the dog keeper CHASING the police dog through the parking lot....yelling "Come back here, Zeus, come back NOW!" The police could NOT control there own dogs, which made the security team appear NOT CREDIBLE but none-the-less entertained us in a very stressful environment- there's almost nothing you could do but LAUGH! On another occasion, the police dog took off & let a big ole #2 'toilet stop' right beside the team bus door. Once again.....NO CONTROL OVER THESE DOGS, but funny as heck! On occasion #3 the dog was 'on duty' signaled to sniff the vehicle as per their training. The dog started scratching & clawing around the back of the van. The police called for the Bomb Squad to check out this vehicle as the dog signaled for potential danger. The dog continued to yelp, scratch & claw aggressively around the ground below the bumper. The Bomb Squad is almost certain they is a bomb planted in the back of the van....as they yell "back up everyone, we have a potential threat." Brian, stepping back watching this situation unfold, sees the driver walk up to the vehicle chewing a KFC chicken wing as he starts laughing hysterically a the current situation. He tells the police "There is NO BOMB in my vehicle, just the chicken bones I put in the drain in the behind the van. The doggie wants the bones." After 2 hours of deliberation, it ended. UGGGGHHHH. These re-occurring situations are proof that some things will never change here...
Sara, you made my life so much easier! THANKS for you're commitment & patience, even where there was none left to have. You were more than just a volunteer....
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