Haha, I love how Megan knows every single one of my passwords.....I don't even think I told her what my blog password was, she must have just went through the list of obvious Zach-password possibilities until she cracked it. Thank you though, that was a good way of informing everyone of my honest intentions to update despite my current technilogical handicap. Anywho,seems like forever since last I graced your presence with a new post; again, on top of what Megan said, very sorry for that. It's been kind of a crazy week, what with classes starting (or not starting, depending on how you look at it), registration (which one would normally assume to take place before the start of classes, right?), kiswahili, and the normal everyday adventures that only Tanzania can provide..........like being stared down and then chased by a 3 foot monkey holding an empty bottle of Gin. No joke. But anywho, while it has only been a week it honestly seems like forever. Not a ton has happened by comparison to all the other crazy things I've done over the course of the last month and a half, but definitely enough worth writing a new post over. For starters, I'd like to first thank everyone for the very sincere, very inspiring, and very comforting comments you left after my last post. Special shout-outs to Mama Mkubwa Booz (big mama booz) and Mama Pat for their unwavering motherly love, encouragment, and support. Nothing makes a guy feel warmer inside then two heartwarming comments from his mother(s). As you might have been able to tell, I was kinda feeling a little down and out about my Tanzanian misfortunes and struggles. Really no big deal when looking back, but significant enough at the time to send my mood southward.....and considering that I'm already in the Southern hemisphere, that's enough to turn even bozo the clown's smile upside down. The point is, while this country has significantly blessed and continues to bless me everyday with so many amazing opportunities, insights, experiences, etc., etc., I feel like it all comes in such a large dose sometimes that it can be somewhat overwhelming....... to say the least. Everyday is an adventure in Tanzania, regardless of whether or not you were looking for an adventure in the first place, and if there's one thing I've learned since stepping foot in this beautiful yet CRAZY country over a month ago it's that the minute you think you know you really have no idea. One must always be prepared to expect the unexpected, because the reality is that most things here are in no way what they initially seem like and nothing ever seems to go as planned. Which, in many ways, is part of it's charm. The fact that Tanzania is SO different from the States is what makes it so fascinating.........as well as, at times, so aggrivatingly hard to deal with. For a pampered American mzungu like me, living in Tanzania is an adventure, a challenge, a safari, a kick in the ass (a pain in the ass), a vacation, and an educational experience all at once. Which is exactly what I was looking for in the first place but exactly what I don't want sometimes when I'm feeling home-sick. What I am starting to realize though, is that even when things get unbearably frustrating to the point of constapation (which, in reality, is never a problem here...) it's really just a blessing in disguise. My life has been inalterably changed forever due to the experiences I'm having here, but I honestly wouldn't trade it for the world. And even when I feel like nothing else other than a hott shower and a cheeseburger can make me feel better (not to mention some quality fun time with all of you!), it's important for me to recognize the value and sheer priveledge of my time hear, and that I should never wish the time away because before I know it it'll all be over. Long story short, no need to worry about me; life is tough and sometimes I get so depressed and homesick I kinda feel like a big pile of shit, but life is also amazing and at the end of the day I really have no room to complain about anything. And in the words of the great Bob Marely, 'every little thing is gonna be alright'......and in less than 100 days I'll be home! But anyway, back to my life. Last time I wrote it was a Thursday and today it's a Friday. Meaning that I have week to catch everyone up on. So about last Friday then......all that's really worth mentioning about last Friday is the crazy "International Student Mixer" that took place on the roof of my dorm....Hall IV, Block D (represent...). In total I think we had 7 countries represented that night: Germany, USA, Austria, Norway, China, Uganda, and Tanzania. Basically, the Germans were crunked by 8:30 and by the time the Chinese showed up at 10 everything was out of control.......in a good way though. No unneccesary drama, no party fouls, no late-night upchucks, just quality international-student love coupled with intriguing conversation, roof-top dancing via laptop i-tunes hip-hop shuffle, and plenty of fish pizza (I'm sure you can appreciate that Dad!). However, my roommate Sam from Boston (my third new roommate of the eventual four that I will have had in Tanzania....my fourth and final, and actually Tanzanian, roommate moves in either this weekend or the next....complicated story...) bought six new glasses for the occasion and now only has four, my German friend and neighbor, Arni, had a bit of a rough morning-after, and we didn't actually order the fish pizza. We ordered, or at least meant to order and thought we ordered, cheese.....but hakuna matata! Oh, and did I mention alcohol was involved? I think at one point before the party moved to the roof we had like 25-30 people in my room. Which, if you can imagine, is considerably smaller than mine and John's was last year.....hehe. Good times. As for Saturday, if I had to describe the day in one word it would probably be 'ridiculous'. Start off with some french toast for breakfast, a little mid-morning roof-top yoga, maybe some journaling or a little afternoon emailing as the day progresses and you've got yourself a pretty solid and relaxing Saturday. Throw in a Tanzanian National soccer game against Burkina Faso with seats 20 ft. away from the President (Jakaya Kikwete) and I'd say your simple Saturday turns into one of the most ridiculous experiences of a lifetime. No joke folks, I saw the Tanzanian national soccer team play a REAL match AND saw the freakin President in the same day at the same time. In what was an opening round match of the now-underway 2008 African-Cup qualifyers (finals slated for Summer '08 in Accra, Ghana), the Tanzanian Taifa Stars ('taifa', in kiswahili, means 'national' or 'nation', and the swahili word for 'stars' is 'nyota'......but i guess they didn't like the sound of Taifa Nyota?) rounded fourth-seeded Burkina Faso in a 2-1 thriller.....AND, in front of a sold-out home crowd! This was also head coach, Maximo's debut on the Tanzanian international stage. Kikwete just recently hired the new Brazilian coach to help his team finally qualify for African Cup finals.....and boy are they well on there way! (*knock on wood*) The stadium was absolutely nuts and when the Stars scored the deciding goal I'm pretty sure I would have wet my pants were it not for my lack of hydration that day. Absolutely unbelievable.....I only wish I could describe it better. Some of my favorite moments: Tanzanians climbing and dropping off of the 30 ft. wall behind the general admition stands in order to sneak a peak at their newly re-vamped team, and everyone rushing the field at the final whistle......not to mention Kikwete's sweet Tanzanian sport suit coupled with matching hat and sunglasses.......which we saw him wearing only after his Mercedes Benz motorcade drove into the stadium and first did a few laps around the feild before dropping him off at his seat. Yeah, pretty crazy. As for the rest of my week.........kinda boring, especially in comparison to that. Like I said earlier, I've just been relentlessly trying to figure out my class schedule in order to finish this whole registration process. The University serves just over 17,000 students, but is estimated at only being able to adequately accommodate between 12 and 13,000. As you can imagine campus is generally a nut-house, especially these past two weeks as everyone has been constantly struggling to figure out there back to school stuffs. On top of that, this is the first year that the Univ. has decided to switch over to an American semester system, where as before they always used a system similar to that in England and never started much before Oct. 1. We're (as in us LCCT students) also in the process of finishing up our beginning Kiswahili instruction and hoping to also organize some times within our schedules for volunteering as English tutors at the nearby Primary School, so I'm just kinda working through a bunch of transistions right now and have to do my best to remain patient. In other news, tonight should definitely be an interesting night; supposedly the "party of the year" is going down at a local beach hotel/resort, complete with locally famed Bongo-Flava talent (Bongo-Flava is a type of reggae-hip-hop music that's very popular in East Africa), and swimming, dancing, and volleyball contents. I'll be sure to give an update about all that....otherwise, thanks for your patience in receiving word from the Motherland. I'm sorry I couldn't offer any more right now, but it's been a long week and an equally long day and I'm ready to unwind with some quality Bongo-Flava madness! Keep it real and stuffs and don't forget to drop me a comment, they're always the highlight of my day. Peace and Love.