Its always nice to see old friends and evening functions provide a perfect opportunity; given that parallel sessions may not promote "catching up".

It was time to catch up with Remmy Nweke and Brenda Zulu; we had a chance to remember the old times

We were all happy when they announced that food would be served before kick off; it was a better plan compared to waiting till half time or eating when the game was going on.

Then it was time for testing MTN knowledge and those who were good at it were rewarded

But not all were lucky; she could not believe that she got the answer wrong and missed the gift pack!

It is the talk of town, buzzing on twitter, facebook; people just can't stop talking about Ghana and what would happen if it upsets Uruguay: Africa will have won and reached a new football high.

Everybody is an expert on football now, and hypothesizing on what Ghana should or should not do is common. This morning I took a taxi and the driver could not stop talking, giving me his run down on Ghana and how Michael Essien must be feeling bad that he is not in the team.

For a guy who can not speak proper English, I must say he was good; he gave me his analysis of what he thinks went wrong with African teams and how Portugal pulled a fast one on Ivory Coast by scoring seven goals against North Korea; meaning that the goal difference would remain far more superior.

Online, even my American friend, who I never thought had interest is sports beyond basketball, emailed me to say "go black stars". I think its great that Ghana knocked out the US, I guess it raised some awareness.

At the Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, fans are gathered chanting and singing while others are blowing the vuvuzelas. It seems people have gone home or their teams are eliminated because the noise is not as much.

The radio stations have been running analysis from morning and it seems the belief in the Ghana team has gone higher. People are impressed that the team may not have renowned stars like Cameroon or Ivory Coast but is playing as a team, which is vital in the games.

Whether Ghana wins or loses tonight, there will be no doubt that African hopes were high and that the people who believed in the Black Stars even before the kick off were right.

Ends

The version looks a bit sophisticated compared to the common one that requires lots of energy and skill

I think they can grow head muscles with the stuff on the head...

It looks massive- jokes aside...

Alexandra neighborhood is famous, but unfortunately for the wrong reasons; it was the heartbeat for xenophobic attacks and the soaring crime rate has not helped the image either.

I have been longing to go to Alex, as its commonly known, because every time I tell my South African friends that Soweto suburbs is probably better than most Kenyan middle class estates, they always advise me to go to Alex, apparently because its worse.

Many friends have said how they have never or can not step in Alex because of the way the place is infested with criminals and every time I passed by young men and women, I could imagine that they are probably honing their skills by mugging people or doing drugs, which is not exactly alien.

The idea I had about Alex was something else; maybe rivaled by the American drug and gangster movies and the idea of a crime infested neighborhood, that has been over dramatized in Hollywood.

I got a chance to visit by accompanying a friend who was going there on official duties; the fact tat I look South African worked in my favor although there was no significant threat that is out of the norm.

The visit was timely, I know understood the reason why foreigners like the place; and maybe the problem of xenophobia lies somewhere else but demonstrated through killing the hapless neighbors, just because you cant get to the real culprits.

First, Alex is not a slum by Kenyan standards (because thats what am familiar with) ; they have tarmac roads and if there was a fire, at least the fire engine would access the place; Alex is more like the upper lower class or lower middle class in many countries, if that makes sense.

So, what people think is appalling, is probably what foreigners are used to and maybe the rent is far cheaper. Plus for some people, they are used to places with no order or no authority e.g if you escaped war or poverty, then you don't mind so much the place and besides for some of the criminal activities to thrive, chaos is vital.

Am only using the argument to understand why foreigners like the place; although that may not necessarily be the issue.

The bone of contention is the rising crime rate and the fact that some people dealing drugs are so rich, they are untouchable.

On my way back, I had a conversation with an old man, who made the issue clearer; he argued that there are some nationalities that are known for dealing drugs, perpetrating criminal activities and getting away with it, just because they have money or power to influence.

Just like in many communities where people feel frustrated by people or the system they can't reach, they start fighting or killing with whoever is the representation of that figure.

So, in the old man's opinion, the xenophobic attacks were more to do with frustrations with the system, rather than nationalities. He argued that previously, South Africa was very comfortable with other nationalities but that has since changed.

That is not to say that its guaranteed that if the issue of crime was sorted, then the animosity will stop; there are no such guarantees but that would be a start.

Then there is the argument that the animosity is all about jobs that are taken by foreigners. Who is to blame, the employer or employee? None. but the debate is far more complex than that.

There is not much you can understand by taking to people in an afternoon, but it helps!

There is something about sports and booze; we see it more in football and rugby but am sure it happens in other sports too.

But during the world cup, the beer consumption goes up; indeed just before the world cup, i remember pub owners in the match cities saying that they were stocking on beer big time.

German and British fans top the list; you can imagine how the fans celebrate the team win or loss. At the world cup stadium, fans just get beers, you don't see many holding cans of soda, I guess its not cool.

You can imagine the beer that will be consumed on sunday when Germany meets Britain. It will be great for the local pubs.

The funniest was these South Korean fans, a man and woman, who were sharing some booze, which had straws and was carefully packed on the head.

I think beer is one of the indicators that the fans are spending as they should; that is why the big footballing countries should stay in the draw; the economy will be much better am sure.

There has been many theories advanced on why football attracts fanatical support; for some, its the game of the poor and middle class, who have all the time to play in open field while the rich are locked in gated communities and high flats playing video games and watching TV. I think the case of Brazil and the rise of most footballers from humble beginnings can reinforce this theory.

For some, football is the game that unites all religions, its a universal language that people play the best way they know how. Just look at the support on the field and TV audiences.

For some, football is the game of men and not for sissies although I think rugby players would contents this, given that football players are known to fall down and complain at the slightest touch. The other day somebody commented on twitter that he was surprised Ronaldo did not fall down when he was given a high five after the Portugal game with Ivory Coast.

For some, football is the game that surpasses all ages, both young and old; it is a time when you can celebrate in a stupid way and your kids, workmates and other folks will not think you are acting immature.

For some, football transcends gender, both men and women get emotional although Africa is yet to accept that women can be true football supporters and contribute to intelligent football discussions.

The gender aspect is still an issue; ever wondered why parents take their boys to the stadium and not girls, yet you see youthful women and older ones on the stadium; is it that we are jumping a gap in the support or girls are not interested in football at an early age?

Anyway, what is football to you?

Of all the people who get nice seats, I envy the photo journalists and their huge lenses

Its always fascinating when you hear the amount of money companies sponsoring the world cup are spending just to be part of it.

One can be forgiven for asking whether they recoup their investments. In some cases, you don't have to know the figures; just look at the amount of advertising MTN has paid for in the last six months, look at their fan park, look at the advertising material produced; look at Sony's advertising stands at the Sandton- its big money.

I had a chance to go to the Sony 3D experience dome and its a worth while experience; Forget that they promise to show game highlights and they end up showing the game for less than two minutes. Its a 15-minute commercial and 13-minutes showcase Sony products in 3D.

I think Sony is going to recoup its money because it has an audience from several countries, who can then buy the products back in their countries. Even if they will not buy the expensive 3D cameras, am imagining, the other products will be taken up.

Sony's strategy was very targeted, one stand for the youth, showing the games and other products for the age group, another for the basic who do not know where they belong and the 3D experience for the hi-tech or those who have nowhere to go and are out to kill time.

MTN has managed to keep the buzz up with its "Ayoba" advertising; which means cool; when I was for the Argentina game, I remember fans shouting Ayoba. They would sing in Spanish then shout Ayoba, making it so catchy.

Am imagining that for most world cup folks, MTN is the only network and probably the network has sold lots of sim cards and airtime. If not that, even solidifying its continental position is still something.

That may be a big win for big corporations, but even the smaller businesses have won, hotels, restaurants, shops, and other businesses have all adjusted their prices to be "world Cup prices", the cabs are even worse, its so expensive to travel.

The shopping malls have these signs that say discounts but when you look at the prices, there is no change if anything the prices are up, but you know there are people who cant buy unless they see the item labelled "on sale".

Even the hawkers near the stadium, they have hiked prices and when the Vuvuzela complaints were on a high, they were stocking ear plugs and I wondered, who would wear ear plugs in the stadium?

So, big or small, international or local, businesses are winning big with the World Cup because its Ayoba time!

The other day I was at Mandela square late in the evening, it was cold and chilly but for the football fans who have braved worse winter weather, I guess it was nothing.

There were groups of fans, chanting slogans and working hard to outdo each other.

One corner, Argentina fans were singing their voices hoarse, Brazil was in another corner, Mexico was somewhere in between and Mexico was just there, then there were these two Swiss fans, who had painted themselves red and were only in shorts.

I guess the fans have different ways of expressing themselves and believe it or not, the stripping helped attract more women to their side; works well huh? In all these chaos, I happened to be standing next to a cute guy, from one of the South American countries; he did not speak much of English but he had a lisp and I made sure he talked and talked, forget that I was not getting half of what he was saying.

It was a pleasant atmosphere that allowed people to do things they would normally do, talk to strangers and just jump up and down. Vuvuzela or no Vuvuzela, the place can get noisy.

So, in all the mayhem, I got to know who are the noisiest fans of the day- Argentina- I think they can out-shout the vuvuzela.

In all my travels, there is one thing I have loved: visiting communities that are similar to mine; seeing them do things or eat food that I can identify with.

That is why when I got an invitation to a Xhosa/Zulu wedding, I could not miss it for anything; its literally killing two birds with one stone. It was time to witness all those things I have read online.

It was the wedding of Phangisile Mtshali and Sihlwele Manciya and I was the international guest, she made it sound so exotic!

The wedding was in Umthatha, about 200 kilometers from East London; this was also an opportunity to remember my history; what I had learnt about the Transkei homelands during the apartheid era; the scenery is great but the twists and turns can pose challenges to unfamiliar drivers.

In most African traditions, a wedding is a long affair that can take a whole weekend and this was no different; there was a traditional as well as a "white" wedding and it reminded me of how weddings have been commercialized in Kenya and the union between the two families is not a big deal especially if one does not have the money.

The Ceremony

In a nutshell, the wedding was at the groom's place and the bride's family came in huge numbers, there is a lot of meat and slaughtering going on, the bride's family comes with their goat, which was part of the Lobola, as their contribution to the whole cooking affair; the two parties must confirm that its one of the goats given as part of the Lobola, lest they bring some skinny emaciated animal with chewy meat.

The two families have to exchange gifts; the bride buys for the groom's family gifts and vice versa. This, ladies and gentlemen is not a joke; its an expensive exercise and am sure the family regard you in higher esteem than other Makotis if you bought expensive stuff; am sure that is what most in my Kikuyu community would do.

After all the ceremonies, that is when the bride earns the title "makoti" which means daughter-in law. The whole family embraces the new bride and show her around; assuring her that she is no longer a stranger.

The food

Whenever am in South Africa, I love eating Samp, which is a mixture of maize and beans, more like Githeri, only that its done differently. I think the main reason I love it is because the maize is first undressed while our maize is cooked with the crust, which can be rough on the throat on the chewing and swallowing exercise but the Samp is very smooth.

The meat is very soft, maybe because it is cooked over a long period and the selection trumps our boring wedding dish of overcooked rice, black peas and beef. The setting of the tables can tell you much; but again, I was a visitor, so I was impressed because this was all done in a village and not in a 5-star hotel, so it told me the level of detail that went into it.

The meat impressed because it was fresh and in plenty, again, in Kenya we are meat lovers and this played into my food loving hands lol! That is the part of the tradition that the old men in my community like, so that they can claim that women and children don't eat this and that part, women don't come to the fire when they are in the barbecue process while in truth, they just want to eat all the best pieces.

The dancing

For such a long ceremony, it is important for the crowd to be engaged mainly through ample entertainment. There was a mixture of traditional and modern music, and boy, you have to love it!

In this ceremony, you have a right to get up and dance if you feel the rhythm is great and if you like, you can grab the person next to you, female or male and you can take the stage, albeit for just a minute.

I knew it was going to be an interesting day when I saw one lady; the oldest Makoti in the family dancing to the music just before the church ceremony started; minutes later, she was joined in the dance by young girls, who were showing such exuberance of youth, which makes the whole ceremony interesting.

If I thought the dancing at the church was great, I was wrong! I didn't know that men can swing their waists that well that the dance becomes more sexy! Forget the Congolese dancers, they fade in comparison to the Zulu men, the movement and rhythm to the beats made everyone get on their feet, it doesn't matter whether you are a good dancer or not, just get up and shake it!

Well, well, enter the bare chested girls; and the whole thing changes, I thought the Zulu dance of throwing up the feet was a boys affair, I was wrong, the girls did it with much vigor and energy, I wonders why they add weight later in life, they don't even need the gym, just keep dancing; its sufficient exercise, but what do I know?

The dancing went on till after the ceremony at 9 pm, the catering team was so kind to leave the music in as they removed the decor, I imagined that back home, they would have switched off the music so people can go away; no, these guys appreciate entertainment. And yes, the youth were the majority among the last dancers, way after 10 pm.

The whole dancing affair taught me a knew lesson in engaging with people, its like crowd sourcing entertainment; when the Phangisile and Sihlwele were coming from the photo shoot, and from the change over to evening wear, people kept on dancing, showing off their skills, making sure no one was bored and if you were not on the floor, you were taking pictures.

In the end, I learnt a vital lesson; these are not shy communities; they are expressive, whether old or young, you all have a stage. It reminded me of how pretentious my society is; its rare to find men and women dancing together freely like they did.

Making new friends

This must be the most satisfying part of the ceremony for me, because for all the people I interacted with, we will no longer be strangers; we know that if they are in Nairobi, whether announced or unannounced, they can always say, hey, we met at that wedding!

For me, I was lucky to have Simangele and Nandi (another Makoti) to translate those things that I didn't understand and answer some of the stupid questions I was asking, which made me fit in even more.

There were also other people whose names I cant even recall but I remember sharing conversations about president Jacob Zuma and his many wives and how women would have to queue for his attention and why we would all look for a side dish, just like one of the wives did.

You should have heard the conversation gravitate around how waiting for the turn is bad just in case you are not psyched and whether it is practical for modern men to be polygamous and satisfy all the women.

Then there was the discussion about the makotis and how some families think that they have found a new "slave" every time there is a new girl in the family which reminded me of the hostilities between mothers and daughters in law back in Kenya. The expectations seem to be common.

In this era of professional women with careers, manicured nails and designer suits, I think it can be considered unreasonable to expect what traditionally, a woman who was not working was expected to do. In some cases, you find that the families expect too much from the daughters-in law while the women born in that family are just as lazy... er...... committed.

Finally...

My advantage is that I can fit in many African communities, they will always look at me as one of their own, until they speak to me, until they realize that I am not aware they are speaking to me.

For instance; in the evening I joined some people on the fire, and someone was talking to me, he must have been talking for two minutes non-stop before he realized that I had no idea. The fire was hot and I was down memory lane; stepping on the fire stones in a way that would make my grandma throw something between my legs just to alert me that my "shop" was too exposed, that is if I was wearing a skirt.

The fire became a new meeting place and for the people to share their stories and the alcohol, you should have heard the cheers when the boxes with alcohol were brought in; the excitement! New stories were shared, which made it such a nice evening.

In the end, it felt more like home away from home and reminded me that people get chances to catch up and learn during these ceremonies.