So we made it to the orphanage and once again, things are awesome! I’d say this is a pretty good birthday present J Well, I’m sure you are all dieing to know everything that’s been happening, so I’ll fill you in from where I last left off. On Sunday, the day after the Maasai Trip, I went on a tour of Arusha with one of the locals, named Ally. Once again we walked. That is one thing I have noticed about Africa, they walk everywhere, it’s awesome. The only cars on the road tend to be safari 4X4’s or daladala’s, everyone else walks. So after touring the city for a bit we went to a museum which talked about the history of Africa and Tanzania and also about all the wildlife and bugs in the area. Now this wasn’t your typical American museum, more like a house with a few signs hanging on the wall here and there, but it was still really neat. Beside the museum was a local church and the entire time I could here them singing and clapping, it was so beautiful! One of these Sundays I hope to make it out to a church here in Arusha. After the museum, we went to a local market, and boy oh boy was that fun! So the tourist season doesn’t start up until June, so right now, I’m essentially the only white guy around. So I think it’s fair to say that I was quite the popular person walking through that market. Out of about 100 different little shops side by side, I think I went in about 95 of them. And every shop sells the exact same thing. I started asking people if they handmade the crafts and they all said yes, but when I began to realize that about 10 different people have an uncanny ability to make the exact same thing I became suspicious. But that’s the fun part about it. So after walking through the market I ate at a very tiny local place that serves food essentially only to the vendors, but I somehow found myself inside. So I ended up getting a rice and chicken stew combination thing, not really sure what it was but it was pretty good. The whole time I was eating everyone around me was laughing and having a good time, so I sat there and smiled at them pretending like I knew what was going on. Well I later found out that I was the source of their amusement because the entire time I ate with silverware. In Africa, they eat everything with their hands. The other thing I learned about Africa is that a burp is considered to be a sign of appreciation to the cook and that you enjoyed the food, whereas a fart is still considered to be rude. And people pick their nose all the time in public, anyway, all of that was for you Krissy, I knew you would appreciate it. Anyway after food I went to a bar and we watched some more football, soccer that is, not American football. At this point Paradise and the rest of the guys began to realize that I only drink water and so I told them the whole medicine story and everything. They said that it was a very noble thing to do, ha, how about that!! Anyway, then I went back to my room for a bit and waited to be picked up for dinner. We ate at a local place called the African Queen where I ordered a chicken pizza. However this is not your typical Italian pizza, its more like a calzone with vegetables and chicken and other stuff I’m not sure what it was, but it was good. I got to talk with some other volunteers while I was there and then we got a call and its time to pick up Hoss and Grim. We picked up them and went back to the restaurant where we planned a safari for the next weekend. So on Friday we will be heading to Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and the Ngorogoro Crater. So that will take 4 days and we will get back Monday. It should be a blast, so expect some good pics to be posted soon!! Now we are sitting in our room at the orphanage and we are waiting for the kids to come home from school. We actually have a private room/house outside of the main orphanage. It’s pretty cozy and I get to sleep in between Grim and Hoss, aren’t I a lucky guy. The orphanage is located on the top of a small hill from which you can overlook most of the region. There’s a few rolling hills around and then past them Mt. Meru lies behind them. If you look the other way, you can see Mt. Kilimanjaro in the distance, it’s absolutely beautiful. The orphanage is the most modern thing around us, everything else is almost entirely made from the land. If you look out the window from our room, you look down upon the tops of thousands of trees, it feels as if you are in the middle of a jungle with no one around you. It makes me want to just take my sleeping bag outside and sleep under the stars. I think I might steal Grim’s mosquito net and use it one night. Surprisingly, the bugs are better here than they are back home, there will be an occasional fly here and there but compared to Louisiana, I feel like I’m living in Paradise. Right now Hoss and Grim are both trying to get some sleep and Hoss keeps swatting at a fly who doesn’t want to leave him alone, Grim on the other hand is out cold with flies just sitting on his arms, I guess he doesn’t mind them too much. This will be quite the interesting trip with both of them, I am really looking forward to the stories that will arise. Oh and for all of you who really are reading this only to find out one thing, no I have not ate fruit yet. I am still holding strong J Well I hear kid’s voices out back so maybe I should go see what’s happening. I will try to post this as soon as possible, I’m sorry if it takes a week to post. Anyway, I hope Pennsylvania is still surviving without us and I can’t wait to come home and share photos with everyone. I already have over 350 pictures and it is hasn’t even been a week yet. I will talk with everyone as soon as I can.