My Journey to Tanzania Africa: A Weekend In Dar

So this weekend we all stayed put! It was still pretty exciting. We started out the weekend on Friday by going out to dinner at an Ethiopian Restaurant. It was my first time and it was very interesting. We all sat around this wicker table thing in really low chairs. Then our food comes out on the is bread stuff in all bowls. Everyone pretty much shares. We are then given stripes of this tasteless bread stuff to scope and eat what we ordered in the bowls. It all the main dishes are very spicy and flavorful and they have to be to make the bread stuff worth eating!

Saturday Kelly and I went with our friend from work Gordean. He took as to the other side of the city, we crossed the fairy, and then got to a beach. The weather was kind of bad so we just hung out and chatted. He was a really nice guy. He went to UDSM and now works for YOSFO. He wants to go back to school and get his masters in Business Administration. He has a twin brother and 2 younger sisters. He is very soft spoken and shy. He is also shorter than me. Men here are not normally tall. Every once in a while there will be a taller male and then he is really tall! Saturday night we where told that this restaurant was hosting the party of the month. So we thought we would go have dinner there and check it out! Not what we where expecting. A supper fancy place, people not dressed like how we normally see them, we were dressed up to go out and where still under dressed! The food was ok, but we were really not feeling it so we left before the party really got started. There were a lot of "older" people there.

Sunday myself and Kim went to Nasra's brothers home. Her brother Bashere and his wife Stella. The are very nice and very well off for Tanzania. Bashere went to Findland for his masters in Environmental Science. He now owns his own environmental consultancy firm that is contracted out by the Government. Stella works with the Dean of Students Office at UDSM. She has been to the U.S. to teach Swahilli at a university for a semester. During her time in the US her brother was going to school at Idaho State! I couldn't believe it! She has even been to Idaho! So in other words they speak great English and they send their oldest son, Abdul (5) to and international private school! He can already speak English flawlessly and without hardly an accent! I was blown away! This kid is going to be the next President of Tanzania! or do great things - hopefully.While at Nasra's brother's home we where made lunch. Pilau, it was delicious and fish, which was not. It was quite difficult to force feed myself the fish. It was just sooo fishy and had bones in it!

Later Sunday evening Burlesque was playing at the movie theater! and I loved that movie and wanted to go again. So I got all my new friends on the hall together and we went! It was great to watch all my Tanzanian friends watch the movie and then explain lines like " he bats for the other team"! It was great! They really enjoyed it and I am going to be buying that sound track and movie as soon as I can!! P.S. Lauren and Anna Marie - it was still the best when I watched it with just you guys!!

Anyway - it was one fun, interesting, and learning experience this weekend! Enjoy the few pics from my weekend!