Life in Tanzania is great of late. We've been having a lot of fun and some surprises! On Thursday I was floored when Anna, Erin, Bre, Gerard, and company surprised Lindsey and I with a birthday party! My half birthday was in September and hers was October and so they figured that her being 20 and 1/2 and me being 21 and 1/2 they could have a 21st birthday celebration! I was so unexpected and fun! They had cake, which is about the hardest thing to find in Tanzania and wine, and Lindsey and I both received tapes of our favorite Tanzanian music, mine being "Hakuna Muguu kama wewe" (There is no God like you). On top of that, Anna saw a Chelsea football jersey that had the logo "Fly Emirates" on the front and in honor of my flight to England on Emirates Airlines she bought it for me! We had a great time chatting and spending time with our great LCCT group!



The fun continued Friday when I went out to eat planning to meet our South African friend Des. Unfortunately one of the kids in her youth group injured himself so she had to nurse him back to health, so I was sitting at Addis in Dar, a great Ethiopian restaurant by myself just listening to English-Swahili-and...Norwegian?! I couldn't believe it! I thought I heard Norwegian. I finished my great meal and honey wine and walked over to these two girls and asked if they were from Norway. They were actually from Sweden (close enough that I could understand some of their words) and so I sat with them and had a great chat, not to mention a ride halfway home...it's all about hitchhiking here in Tanzania.



Saturday was crazy! At first I went to DARUSO, the local bar type place on campus to watch the Arsenal-Chelsea football match (football being soccer of course.) I was blown away! There were about 300 Tanzanians squeezed around one TV, all sitting in the cheap plastic coca-cola chairs and yelling at every move or "tsking" at bad plays. When one team would score the place erupted with plastic chairs and tables being flung airborn. It was great fun...but one odd part was not a single woman! It was a testostorne filled room and the only reason I could walk to find a chair was because a ray of sunlight keep a small space open. Monkeys were jumping off the roof on to nearby trees and the whole scene was quite a memory. After the game, I worked on a project with a Tanzania friend named Ally and went to the opening party to celebrate the formation of an Anti-AIDS club on campus. There were the hottest Tanzania groups, like the Unique Sisters, and guess who I would run into at the concert, but the Swedish girl I met the night before! It is a small world even in Dar. A group of us went out dancing after the Anti-AIDS club concert and one of the Swedish girl's friends knew some great salsa moves so I tried to pick those up. We stretched our limited amount of money just far enough to get us home.



Sunday was of course church and IDOLS! Yes, South Africa has a version of American Idol and we had to watch the last one...I was thinking how much Adam St. John would have loved it! There were two girls left and both were incredible, but the worse singer, (but white one) of the two one...personally I think it reflects racial tensions in S. Africa but the others tried to assure me it was because her voice was more pop where as the other girls was more gospel.



This week has been quiet with classes running and actually a day of clouds and rain! It was heavenly. We all put on our pants and felt like we were at home. now though it is back to its hot self. I'm having a great time though because i've really rediscovered the enjoyment of reading...analyzing the bible, reading novels and playing guitar. It will be quite a change to go back to Luther and have to work again! Also, Anna and I have started up quite a chess rivalry. We bring the pieces that anna bought and the paper board we made (because we were too cheap at the time to buy a real board) with us everywhere we go. Hopefully I'll be able to match up with the Bergans when I come home!



Today I'm going to try to throw the disc a little bit and go to a choir rehearsal...otherwise, another chill day in Africa!