This adventure we call life has taken us to places we never dreamed of. Little did I know 18 years ago what I would be doing now or where we would be living. I couldn't have imagined this wild ride, but I am so thankful to be walking this path with him.
For the last few years on our anniversary, CJ and I have been able to celebrate in some pretty unique ways. This year has ended up the same.
For the first time in almost 50 years, the SEA games (basically the Asian olympics) is being held in Myanmar. Although almost all the games are being held in the capital city, Nay Pyi Taw, a few events are here in Yangon.
We discovered a few days ago that there would be a soccer match between Myanmar and Indonesia on the date of our anniversary, so we thought we might try to go.
Getting tickets to stuff going on here is not as easy as it is in the USA. You can't buy them online. There's no ticket booth. There's not even a phone number to call.
So how do you get tickets? You basically have to get lucky.
Today while CJ was in language class, I headed down to the stadium to see if I could figure out what the deal was. Also remember, there is a communication barrier.
I asked about 10 people including policemen and SEA Games officials and they all told me the same thing. They said I had to wait in this long line, although I arrived at the right time and was pretty close to the front. Still I would have to wait for 2 hours before they would start letting people inside the stadium.
I wasn't even sure if, once inside, I would be able to buy the tickets. But I waited...
I even made a few friends while waiting in line. I was the only white woman in a sea of mostly young Asians, but once they discovered I could speak a little, well, I became quite the spectacle.
I was glad to have acquired the attention of a few of the security guards especially because they really guarded my safety when the line finally opened up and everyone began pushing their way to the front. It was a little scary at first, but I was never in any danger thanks to all my new friends protecting me.
But of course, once I finally got through the maze of barriers and people and got inside they told me I couldn't buy tickets for my family, I could only buy one ticket for myself. "Only one per person, ma'am," the guy in charge kept saying, despite my protests after having waited for two hours and being told that I would be able to buy the four tickets I needed.
But... it wasn't to be.
When I came out, our family friend, Jimmy, had been waiting on me and he told me that there were scalpers selling tickets outside and maybe I could buy from them. "It's worth a try," I thought. We decided it would be best for Jimmy to try to acquire the tickets to hopefully prevent price gouging of the foreigner, so I waited nearby while Jimmy went off on his quest.
While I waited however, one local guy came up to me and asked me what I was doing. I explained that today was my anniversary and I was trying to buy tickets for my husband as an anniversary gift. That's when the guy pulled out his ticket and gave it to me and said, "Here take this ticket."
I replied that I couldn't do that and said I would need to buy four tickets anyway.
He said, "This ticket is a present. Please take from me and use however you wish."
I just love the Myanmar people!
Anyways, to make a long story short, we got all the tickets we needed and it was a great night of fun and celebration. It was especially neat to share in our Myanmar patriotism with everyone in attendance at the game. There was not a single person among the 30,000 inside the stadium that wasn't wearing a flag or the country's colors. And despite a close loss, the crowd never stopped cheering for their home team. Everyone wanted to talk to us and have their picture made with us. We enjoyed the unity we felt with all our fellow countrymen. I can't think of a better way to celebrate our anniversary than where we were with our family and friends tonight.
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| This gives a whole new meaning to the word "to-go cup" |
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