Happy Anniversary!

Happy one month in Africa!  Today we are also celebrating Nidal's Birthday (she is turning 22!).  Right now we are all congregated at the Godde's house for cake and singing.   This morning we had Swahili as usual, but then, surprise! the power went out yet again.  According to Paulina (our Tanzanian ACM coordinator), the power never goes out this much.  Apparently the drought is having a major effect on the hydroelectric power plants.  So, we did not have human evolution class yet again (this is the third class cancelled this week).  We rescheduled it for tomorrow, so will have to go it to then, but we only have two classes tomorrow so that will be nice.  And next week, we cut back to only 2 hours of Swahili which we are all so excited for! 
Haha, if only you could see this birthday cake that they have for Nidal.  It's plastic wrapped and in the shape of a heart...and James just put a huge candle in it.  Oh, Tanzania. 
Today it was sunny (no more rain) which was nice.  I checked out my homestay house this morning (I just walked past it) and it looks pretty nice!  I am so excited for homestays!  We are beginning to think about fall break, which is only two weeks away.  I'll have to start looking into some lodging for us in the Usambara mountains. 
Dinner this evening was a little bit disappointing.  Since the power has been out all day, they cafeteria workers haven't been able to cook very much food, so they only had rice and liver or rice and fish.  I tried the rice and fish but it wasn't too great.  It was way too fishy for my taste.  But, on the bright side, Beatrice was back at work!  And, I got invited to go to Beatrice's house and Josephine's house on Sunday! I am very excited.  We will see if it happens though.  This weekend trip is to Mbudya, an island off the coast of Tanzania.  We are all looking forward to relaxing on the beach and snorkeling.  Well, I'm off to study a little for my Swahili exam tomorrow.  Adios!
Erin
Swahili word of the day: Rafiki (Rafeekee) - Friend