Round the world with football Using World Cup to teach Geography By Cecil Pinto
“You have to watch as many World Cup matches as you can.” My ten year old son Desmond could not believe what he was hearing. After years of insisting that he watch less TV and do more reading, here I was actually encouraging him to watch FIFA matches. Well if you can’t beat them join them. I had a plan; to teach Desmond geography using World Cup soccer countries. So there we were with his School Atlas and my half-baked knowledge. “Let’s go by continents, Desmond starting with South America. Now this big huge country here is Brazil. Read out to me the currency, national language and capital city. They are all on the last pages of your atlas” “Real, Portuguese, Brasilia. Dada how come they speak Portuguese?” “Like Goa, Brazil was captured and ruled by the Portuguese for many centuries.” “Then Dada how come we don’t speak Portuguese?” “Because we have a much more superior language – Konkani! Anyway Brazil is famous for coffee, music, dance, samba…” “Batatwada with sambhar!”, chimed in my younger son Fabian. “No, no. Samba is a type of music and a dance. Schools that teach samba dancing organise huge floats at Carnival time that millions come to watch.” “And some people watch from home!”, Beatrice added from the kitchen. “I appreciate all art forms”, I responded. “Yes, sure, we know what forms you appreciate. Ha!” “Anyway Desmond, Brazil is also famous for producing the greatest football player of all time – Pele. But more importantly Brazil is home to the cashew plant which the Portuguese brought to Goa and thanks to which we have Cashew… “Nuts?” “Yes yes! Nuts and other products from the cashew tree. Let’s move on to Argentina, the second biggest country in South America.” “Hold on! Peso, Spanish, Buenos Aires.” “Aires Rodrigues!” muttered Fabian. “So Dada, Argentina was ruled by the Spanish?” “It’s not so straightforward. Argentina has been ruled by many countries. Although they do play a lot of football and have produced greats like Maradona, the national sport is ‘pato’ which is played on horseback and involves a ball with six handles.” “Dada, maybe Maradona thought he was playing ‘pato’ and that’s why he used his hand in that clip they keep showing on TV.” “Possible. Argentina is also famous for being the birthplace of an intimate ballroom dance called the tango. But keep your voice low otherwise your mother will insist in coming out and giving a tango demo. Let’s bait her anyway.” I raise my voice a bit, “There’s a famous song in the musical EVITA…” On cue Beatrice started singing, “Don’t cry for me Argentina. The truth is I never left you. All through my wild days, My mad existence, I kept my promise, don’t keep your distance.” “We move now to Chile, this thin strip on the West coast. Your turn Desmond.” “Peso, Spanish, Santiago.” “Remember those pictures I had shown you of tall heads sculpted from stone?” “Yes, Easter Island.” “Exactly. The island is a province of Chile. That’s all I know about Chile. Let’s move on to Uruguay, a relatively small country sandwiched between Brazil and Argentina.” “Peso, Spanish, Montevideo.” “Madagascar!” Fabian muttered, referring to his favourite video movie. “Dada, where’s Madagascar?” “We are sticking to World Cup finalists!”, I replied, while making a note to myself to find out where on earth Madagascar was before Desmond did. “In Uruguay they use a weapon called bolas to capture animals. It consists of two balls at either end of a cord. This is thrown to entangle the animal’s legs. Let’s move a little North to Paraguay.” “Guarani, Spanish & Guarani, Asuncion” “Because of its central location Paraguay is referred to as Corazón de América, the Heart of America. The culture there is a fusion of Spanish & Guarani.” “Dada, their language is Guarani, their currency is Guarani, their cuture is Guarani – why don’t they just change their name to Guaraniland?” “Good suggestion. We move further north now to Central America and the Honduras.” “Lempira, Spanish, Tegucigalpa” “Like other countries in that region Honduras contains vast biological resources. It is a bio diversity hotspot.” “What does that mean, Dada?” “It means that numerous plant and animal species can be found there.” “Is Goa a biodivers spot or whatever?” “Goa, because of it’s proximity to the Western Ghats, was a biodiversity hotspot but unscrupulous miners, industrialists and builders continue to pollute and destroy our land and kill off plant and animal life. They collude with corrupt politicians and…” A voice from the kitchen interrupted and reminded me this was about geography and culture, and not about my pet peeves. “Ok, lets move further up to Mexico.” “Peso, Spanish, Mexico City.” “Before being captured by Spain in the 16th century Mexico was home to advanced civilizations like the Mayas and the Aztecs. Mexico has given the world great cuisine like tacos, enchiladas, tamales and burritos; great drinks like mescal and tequila; great music and musicians like the mariachi bands…” Beatrice burst into song in the kitchen, “La cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no puede caminar, porque no tiene, porque le falta marihuana pa' fumar.” “What does that mean, Dada?” “La Cucuracha is a Spanish folk song that became famous during the Mexican Revolution. The lyrics are changed every time to reflect current events. What your mother sang translates as ‘The cockroach can’t walk anymore because it has no marijuana to smoke?’” “What’s marijuana, Dada?” “Marijuana, heroin and cocaine are drugs that are illegally trafficked from Mexico. Crime is a major problem there with organized crime being run by cartels. But let’s look on the bright side. Mexico gave us the brilliant artist Frida Kahlo who painted ‘pain and passion’ using intense, vibrant colors. Mexico also gave us the great rock guitarist Carlos Santana. Now here’s my chance to burst into song. “You got your spell on me, baby. You got your spell on me, baby. Yes, you got your spell on me, baby, Turnin’ my heart into stone; I need you so bad, Magic Woman I can't leave you alone. I got a Black Magic Woman. I got a Black Magic Woman.” Beatrice obliged by dancing out of the kitchen in her apron, with a rolling pin in one hand and a cheese grater in the other, singing, “South of the border, down Mexico way. That’s where I fell in love where stars above, came out to play. And now as I wonder, my thoughts ever stray. South of the border, down Mexico way.” (to be continued…) ---------- The column above appeared in Gomantak Times dated 8th July 2010 =====
