Party Rock Anthem

USM party... Let me give you some deets. Think of a frat house from college. Then throw in some middle aged men, some 20 somethings, some 30 somethings, several young, skankily clad Nigerian women... And then add alcohol. Yea... that's what it was like. I mean, don't get me wrong. It was plenty of fun to people watch and such. But seeing old... like visibly old white dudes getting up on young Nigerian women... kind of skeezy. Ok, really skeezy. Well no matter, it was still fun. Throw in some Jack and Coke, Sam Adams, Heineken, etc. Everyone's having a grand ol' time. It was a little weird getting drunk in front of my boss though. It's not something I'm totally comfortable with... so I definitely behaved. I don't know what's standard protocol in the expat world, but it definitely seems like there's a fuzzy line between not allowing work and social lives crossing. Anyway, I made friends with the Ms. They seem like good people to be buddy-buddy with if anything ever goes south. These boys look sooo young. Baby-faced... faces as smooth as a baby's bum. It's kind of adorable... also kind of weird. But no matter, they are still really nice. They even gave us a lift home, which technically I don't think they were supposed to do since they were still under midnight curfew and it was past midnight. But regardless, I'm grateful. I'm excited to go to the ball they are hosting next month. I bought a ticket to it- the ticket is not a piece of paper. No, it's a thing of metal that could probably break a window if I threw it. Probably the best souvenir for an event I've ever seen. A ticket AND a momento. Can't wait to get dressed up and party a bit more in a few weeks.

Happy Africa

I love Africa. Maybe this is too big of a blanket statement. But I do. I step outside, take a deep breath, and Ahhhhh there's the smell. That distinct Africa smell. I can't explain what it is. But I love it. Even at my lowest points when I'm here, I still love it. Deep inside.

That being said, Hello! I write from a different continent in a different time zone. I have nothing special to report. I haven't started work yet so really there's nothing unique to say.

All I have to say is this: you are not allowed to complain about being here until you have been here at least a month. You have to embrace the situation and understand that this is not Amurica. Things work differently here and yes, things do not always work the way you wish or want. But this is the way things work here. And yes, maybe you didn't sign up to live in a hut in Africa. But you have to understand that your life is 1000x better than many of those around you and you may not have as many amenities as you would back at home at your disposable. Welcome To Africa. Accept it/ suck it up or please leave.