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World Cup reunites teacher and student from Cape Verde
In a room filled with about 30 Cape Verde fans, two people who knew each other 35 years ago, 6,000 miles away on the island of Santiago, were reunited at a World Cup watch party.
OAKLAND, Calif. - In a room of about 30 Cape Verde fans, two people who last saw each other 35 years ago on the island of Santiago, about 6,000 miles away, were unexpectedly reunited at a World Cup watch party in Oakland.
It was a chance reunion for Jill Tucker and Ivan Silva, who had not seen each other since 1992. Tucker was Silva's high school English teacher while serving in the Peace Corps.
The World Cup is known for bringing together people from all over the world through a shared love of soccer, but the pair called their reunion "magic."
"You could say coincidence, but it felt more like magic to me," Tucker said.
Soccer sparks ‘magical' moment
The backstory:
Tucker, a San Francisco Chronicle reporter, looks back fondly on her time in the Peace Corps. Tucker taught English in Praia from 1990 to 1992 to dozens of high schoolers. Silva was one of them.
When she saw that Cape Verde was making its debut in the World Cup, she went looking for a place to watch. She came across a watch party at Open Test Kitchen downtown.
"I wanted to be around Cape Verdeans to watch the game and be with people who loved Cape Verde like I did," she said.
Their paths crossed again as they were cheering on Cape Verde.
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What they're saying:
"I see Jill. I’m like hi, why do you have a Cape Verde shirt on? What draws you to us, our little island?" Silva recalled.
"And I said, 'Oh, I lived in Praia, I taught there for two years.' And he all of a sudden got really, really still," Tucker said.
"It clicked right away, I knew it was her," Silva said.
"And he just went, 'I was your student.' And I think we both went, 'This can’t be,'" Tucker added. "I sort of joked, I blacked out for a second and go, 'This is not possible, how can this 13-year-old be my student?'"
But it was possible. Even though Silva is no longer the 13-year-old boy who played soccer in the streets of Praia, he never forgot the impact his teacher had on him. When Silva moved to the Bay Area in 2002, he began searching for her.
"I remember the songs, she would bring a little boombox and played music and we would read the lyrics," Silva said.
A connection made for a lifetime
A week later, the two are reunited again at Bushrod Park, where they shared an embrace.
Little did they know, they had spent the last 20 years living within a mile of each other in North Oakland. Their reunion embodies the heart of the World Cup.
The reunion came after an impressive tournament run for Cape Verde, which wowed the world by securing a draw against powerhouse Spain. The team eventually earned a spot in the knockout round.
"We thought we were going to play three games and go home and be proud we made it, and all of a sudden we’re getting results," Silva said.
Cape Verde is scheduled to take on Argentina on Friday, and Open Test Kitchen plans to host another watch party for the match. Silva has already shared news of the reunion with his former classmates back in Cape Verde, and the duo plans to stay in touch and watch future matches together.
The Source: KTVU Interview with SF Chronicle Reporter Jill Tucker and Ivan Silva