Who is David Beckham?

I think I had forgotten the international language of football. I have been working with subsistence farmers in some very isolated areas of Northern Mozambique for some six months now, and football had never really come up much; I had concentrated on doing my work, and trying to get to know these extremely poor subsistence farmers through the numerous silly sociological methods I have been pounded in with at university…

Then, someone asked me if I could bring a football to the community. The proposal amused me a bit, and I thought, “what the heck…”, and brought a cheap ball for my next visit. This made me suddenly a coveted person among the youngsters in the community, as well as suddenly gaining more trust with the rest of the farmers. After kicking the ball around after a short official meeting, young lads were asking me if I would come and play with them sometime; they asked me if I knew how to play.

I smartly told them I was a David Beckham without the haircuts.

They looked at me completely clueless, and I realized they had no idea who David Beckham was.

Maybe these people are not “underdeveloped” at all!