And....I'm back. The last two blogs were lost to technical difficulties :( hamna shidha, it's happened two times before that. Something like 5000 TZ Shillings and four hours of work lost. It works all right though, because I pretty much hated those entries anyway. Trying to say too much too well. So, here's what you all missed:

Homestays. Fun. Stressful. Tiring. Learned lots of Kiswahili...but I don't ever want to speak to another Kiswahili speaker again. Lots of really awesome food (Mom, you would be so proud...I loved anytime they put cabbage, peas, beans, or spinach in front of me...but, they made it really easy. Mama Lugano does, after all, pick these things straight out of a garden, and they are amazing...). But, lots of pork (the pork part is optional...you might just get a nice cube of fat and skin, maybe with a little artery running through....mmmmmmmmmhmmmmmm) and iffy chicken. It's not the taste that's a problem...it's just realizing what you're eating :)

Oh...and we played the most intense game of soccer ever. I think three entire villages showed up to watch as we played Team "Mzee" (that's old man in Kiswahili). The field was a mixture of gravel, dirt, scrubgrass, thorns and cow mavi, with a nice valley running through one corner. Many played barefoot. The intensity was so palpable that no one wanted to sub in...so we played two full forty-five minute halves, at an nice elevation of several thousand feet, against a local team. On the plus side, the women and children watching made us feel like action heroes. Every time Eli used his lanky frame and fancy footwork to put on a show, they roared. Rugby Bryan, with the hundred mile an hour powerhouse kick, earned his share of oohs and aaahs, and every header generated a heartfelt "Safi!". Houghton soccer star Mike would head it upfield to Eli, who'd head it to Brian, who'd head it back to Mike or Eli in front of the goal, and each consecutive hit would earn a louder "Safi!" (literally, "clean," but basically, "cool!"). Everyone loved soccer phenom Lisa, who not only was a girl and red headed, but also put on an amazing display of leaping, diving, catching, and kicking. And, of course, they rushed the field yelling and screaming for every goal...including the first of the game, sent home by an opportunistic rookie hailing from the great state Michigan :) And yes, I have a picture for proof...

Post Homestay, we suffered for God in Matema, a missionary resort on the shores of Lake Malawi. Sugar sand beach, water that was cool in the day and warm at night, volleyball, cheap soda from glass bottles, tubing, and an amazing trek up a mountain stream, clambering gollum-style over rocks and swimming through pools, backpacks over heads, to a one-hundred foot cataract with a massive, cold pool at the bottom. We swam and played like little children, then splashed our way downstream again. Eventually we had to leave, so we headed off to the bush, hiking through a lush nontropical rainforest to a crater lake. We crashed down a basically vertical slope, whooping and hollering all the way, to plunge into the freezing sulfur water. Then it was up and out, and down the outside. Kayaking buddy Tim, Tender Nurse Bryan and Gangly Ornithologist Eli led out, running full steam downhill on these muddy mountain paths. Crashing through banana leaves, slipping, sliding, leaping over small ledges and desperately trying not to fall off bigger ones, piling through lines of siafu ants, clinging to trees around corners and laughing uncontrollably, I think we set a new speed record for the descent, at the minor cost of a few cuts and scrapes and near-death experiences. Afterwards we huddled under a tarp from the rain, packed in tight around the charcoal fire listening to Bwana Jon, Bryan, Eli, and Dave Moyer recount harrowing tales of all their near-death and most-frightening experiences. What better way to prepare for a birthday.

The next day was, I think, the happiest birthday of my life. I was serenaded at every meal; while on the road, we played cards and laughed. I recieved the coveted director's kiss from Momma Barb, and through the rest of the day the jealous women of the trip tried to sneak pecks on the cheek. Poor me. At dinner, I presided over the cutting of the excellently tasty cake (one piece for you, one for me...) and after laughing long and hard, we played kick the can under a full moon. Good times...I slept well that night.

And now we are here...our last lectures are thought provoking as the first, examining what religion is, and where it comes from, and how Christ interacts with preexisting religions. Today we looked at witchcraft, magic, and the spirit world, and the different ways it exists even today. 10,000 people, mostly old women, were burned as witches in Tanzania in the last ten years...mostly because witchcraft is often the only explanation for misfortune, and the old and different and antisocial are feared. It's tempting to laugh at the idea that every bad event must have been caused by ill will, anger, jealousy, and supernatural forces...but it's just as logical as saying, "Hey, bad things happen, and we don't know why." Sure, we can explain that three old men died because they were standing under a granary who's support poles had been eaten out by termites...but why were they there, the three of them, at that exact time, when the granary gave way? We have no answer...it just happened. They were at the losing end of a formula involving termites and wood and gravity.

So...lots to think about, lots to enjoy, and a little sorrow, because this time is coming to an end, and many friends are leaving never to be seen again. So without further ado, I'm heading to the Hasty Tasty Too for some excellent rice and beef with friends.