Homestay

Well yesterday was quite eventfull.  I went to Swahili Class as usual, then to research methods and off to lunch (now all of that wasn't too exciting).  After checking the mail and realizing that my charger for my laptop was never going to come, I resolved to buy a universal charger at the mall.  So after class, I headed to Mlimani City to pick up a universal charger.  But, guess what.  Not one of the 7 adapters that come with the universal charger fit into my laptop.  So, I was back to square one.  As a last resort, I went into Game (a store owned by Walmart) and asked if they sold laptop chargers.  The security guard told me that they don't sell laptop chargers but that there was a technician on duty who could look at my old charger and see if he could fix it.  So, I left my charger with a mysterious man at Game, gave him my phone number, and told me to call me when he was done looking at it.  It took about an hour and he came back with my charger...but with a new plug (one with three prongs instead of two).  He plugged it in and it still didn't work.  So, he asked me to wait 15 more minutes and he would be back.  When he returned the second time, he plugged it in and it worked!  He said that when he opened the converter box, there was a small burn mark where it looked like two wires had come disconected.  He soldered the two wires together and superglued the box back together and voila, just like new! I was ecstatic!  I am pleased to say that I am typing this blog on my computer for the first time in 4 weeks.  :) :) :)  I also went to Mwenge yesterday to pick up my dress.  The tailor there was so sweet and the dress fits perfectly! I'll have to send pictures of it.  Then, Shaye and I headed to Brajec Pub for dinner with our host families.  Lauren and I got to meet our host mom, Mama Frida who is an older woman who works as an education professor at the university.  She was very sweet and spoke very good English.  In fact, she studied at Ohio State University for a while.  We asked her what her favorite foods were and she replied, "pizza and Wendy's french fries".  Hah.  It was kind of refreshing to hear somebody say something other than rice and chicken. But, she is going to teach us how to cook traditional Tanzanian food,which I am very excited for.  She lives with her niece and nephew who are 17 and 19 years old, and then she has one other girl living with her.  It should be fun to get to know everyone!  The restaurant had a buffet and we got to eat rice, plantains, french fries, chicken, beef kabobs, beans, and salad.  The beef kabobs were the best beef I have ever tasted.  Lauren and I joked about going back to the restaurant and just ordering a whole plate of beef kabobs because they were that good.  At the end of the evening, our host mom dropped us off back home at our dorm and we slept for the last time in Hall 3.  Today, we move in with our host family.  Thankfully, they are picking us up so we don't have to lug our suitcases to our homes.  I am excited to see the house and meet her pet dog, Simba.  I'll post pictures later!
Erin