People around the world gathered in homes and public places to watch President Obama´s inauguration -- from Kenya, the land of his father, to Iran, where state television ignored the event.
Nairobi
Crowds of students -- future doctors, politicians, engineers and others -- gathered hours early on the sprawling green lawn of Nairobi University, where three big-screen TVs were set up to broadcast the inauguration of Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan. [break]
The mood was celebratory. Homeboyz Entertainment, a group of deejays, would be on later. Red, white and blue ribbons were tied to big white canopies. Vendors sold postcards of Obama and the words, "I do solemnly swear." A young man walked around with a homemade sign that read, "From Black Power to Barack Power."
Engineering students Ntabo Maranga and Wycliffe Ogega said they felt a sense of relief that the day had finally come. Like many young Kenyans, they said they identify more with Obama than with their own political elders, whom they hoped Obama would shake up by example.
"His election has already offered a great challenge to leaders here, through his values," said Maranga, 27.
In particular, students said they hoped Obama would shame politicians into rising above tribalism.
"When people speak of Obama, we don´t say he´s Luo Obama," said Ogega, 27, referring to Obama´s Kenyan ethnic group. "We say he´s Kenyan. We hope he will help us see each other as Kenyans instead of certain tribes."
Not far away, Kadiro Ganemo, an Ethiopian immigrant, suggested that such hope stretches beyond Kenya.
"He´s not just for Kenya -- he´s for the whole world," said Ganemo, 28, who is not a student but joined the celebration because he didn´t want to watch alone at home.
He confessed that he had not believed Obama could be elected, given the racism that exists in the United States. When the results came in, he said, he cried, as he expected he would again later Tuesday. "Maybe Africans can unite like people in the U.S.," he said.
_ Stephanie McCrummen
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Anjuna, India
Esprito D´Souza, 27, hates television. But Tuesday afternoon, he was trying to rig up a set to watch Obama´s inauguration at his family´s Whole Bean Cafe "because I like his face. He´s warm. He´s peace-loving. Maybe now we can stop feeling like the whole world is so war-torn," he said.
Fewer tourists have been coming since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November, he said, and many residents of Goa state are now deeply in debt.
D´Souza hopes that Obama will end the war in Iraq and that terrorism will decrease as a result, especially in places such as India.
"We´re desperate for peace -- hungry for it, I would say. We believe Obama can make miracles. That´s what we are praying for in India, that Obama can clean up Bush´s mess," D´Souza said.
-- Emily Wax
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Beijing
At a Mexican restaurant called the Saddle Cantina in Beijing, a boisterous crowd began to gather at 7 p.m. The many Americans there were noisy; the Chinese customers, fewer in number, were quieter.
"Obama promised Americans he would protect American trade and U.S. workers, so maybe we will have arguments with the U.S. on trade issues," said Bono Cheng, 35, a private equity manager, sipping a beer and telling his friends that the U.S. economy is in such bad shape that Obama will have little control over it. He marveled at the more than 1 million Americans that CNN said began lining up for the event around 5 or 6 a.m. in Washington.
Customers in the packed restaurant stood watching a large flat-panel screen on the wall.
University student Zhou Yongfu, 21, who was eating a taco, said he had come to practice his English and to "feel the atmosphere" of the inauguration.
"I´m surprised that so many people stand in the street and that they do so voluntarily," Zhou said. "Obama pays attention to detail. When he goes to the car, he opens the door for his wife first. In the U.S., it´s always ladies first. I guess it shows that you should start with a small gesture."
As the motorcade arrived at the U.S. Capitol, the Americans at the Saddle Cantina began taking photos and speaking Chinese to their friends. The noise was deafening. Barely noticed, an old man stepped into the restaurant in a dark blue Mao suit and cap, his lined forehead lit by the television. He stared at the screen, seemingly mesmerized.
"I don´t know why tonight there are so many people in the bar, but I had heard that today Obama succeeds Bush," said Xiao Bao, 71, who has sold straw decorations for 16 years. "There are a lot of people there. Americans are quite democratic. The president must make sure a lot of people are satisfied; this is quite good. But how can they tell if he is a good or bad president? He has barely begun to work."
-- Maureen Fan and Zhang Jie
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Johannesburg
Upstairs at a bar in suburban Johannesburg, Americans and other expatriates gathered for an inauguration-watching party. They sipped cool beers on a warm night in a spot where many of them had stayed up all night to view the U.S. election results weeks before, an event the bar´s owner had since honored by hanging framed posters emblazoned with Obama´s face and the slogan "Change We Can Believe In."
Leaning against the bar were plenty of regulars, some of whom came to watch, most of whom simply came.
The patrons on both levels grew nearly silent once the inauguration ceremony began rolling on large-screen televisions showing CNN.
Applause erupted upstairs when Obama´s face appeared on screen, and one man simulated waving a flag.
"I´ve never seen this bar so quiet," owner Benjamin Gillies, 38, said after Obama´s speech.
Sitting next to him was Paris-based entrepreneur David Ndambi, who was on a business trip to his homeland. A while back, Ndambi said between sips of white wine, he thought Obama was a typical politician. Then he saw the hubbub surrounding him and the respect accorded him, and a far-from-typical politician came to mind: Nelson Mandela, the beloved icon who symbolized South Africa´s still unfolding path toward racial reconciliation.
"I have love for him. I respect him with all my heart," Ndambi said of Obama. "He´s a great example for leadership. Nelson Mandela, and now him."
Even Mandela had not lived up to some people´s expectations, he warned, and Obama would soon be fielding criticisms that he failed to deliver. But on this night, Ndambi said his hopes remained high.
"People, they pay focus to this person," he said. "I don´t know if it´s overreacting, but I think everyone is looking for a change in Obama."
-- Karin Brulliard
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Tehran
Anti-American demonstrators burned pictures of Obama on the grounds of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran hours before his inauguration, but Anni and Roya, Iranian teachers in their late 30s, weren´t about to miss their date with history.
The best friends pulled up two ornate chairs in front of the television and switched the illegal satellite receiver to CNN -- Iranian state television was running old footage of Sunday´s Arab summit.
Roya´s mother served hot tea while the women clapped their hands when Obama appeared. As the television showed millions of Americans spread over the Mall, the two women beamed with optimism.
"Obama will restore relations with Iran," Roya said. "Look at this man -- he can do it."
As Obama was sworn in, Anni pulled a tissue from a nearby box and dried her tears. "We are part of history," she said.
But 10 minutes into the speech, some of the magic seemed to fade.
Do you love balloons?
"Many presidents use the same words. Maybe Obama cannot fulfill all his promises," Roya said. "But at least he really believes in what he says. You see it in his eyes."
-- Thomas Erdbrink
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London
Perhaps it was the clapping cheerleaders or the overflowing trays of doughy pretzels, but there was no mistaking that on Tuesday night, the Tricycle Cinema in North London was emphatically partaking in an American celebration.
For Nicolas Kent, the cinema´s 63-year-old artistic director, watching a satellite-linked broadcast of the inauguration was a singularly powerful moment. "It feels like a Kennedy moment," said the London native, who stood out in a Star-Spangled Banner tie.
When Obama strode to the lectern, Kent said several words came to mind: confidence, intelligence, morality, empathy. He put his beer down on the floor four times during the address so he could quietly clap. He thought of Obama´s childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and said Obama is a "figurehead" for a culturally diverse city such as London.
Kent´s inauguration party was one of dozens across the country.
TimeOut magazine listed no fewer than 13 "Obama-fests" in London.
Democrats Abroad hosted events in seven cities, including a glitzy ball in London, arguably the hottest ticket in town (and, at $140 a ticket, probably the priciest).
The last time Kent recalled Britons being this politically roused was in 1997, when Tony Blair won a landslide victory and crowds lined the streets and waved flags as Blair was driven to Buckingham Palace to meet the queen, as is customary.
Kent gazed over at a portrait of James Baldwin, the African American playwright he befriended after he produced one of his plays in 1986.
"He would have been so overjoyed to see this moment," Kent said.
-- Karla Adam
