Alot can happen in only a few days.

I haven't had a chance to write up even in my journal what has been going on for me these last three days. So here is my on the spot recollection.

I have been able to meet people through the hostel. Fantastic!!! I did really need that company of people here. And it has been wonderful. Went on Saturday to an small island, Kigamboni, it has a number of private beaches, 3000tsh to enter, they are safe and that is important since there are bandits in the area, oh yeah and they wield machettes.

The water was amazing. My first time in the indian ocean. Wow, so warm and very low salt level. It was such a nice treat to go there with Nat, another Australian who is not the biggest fan of other Australians. I wonder how Brenden and him would get along. Nat and I had a lot of similarities in our life paths and experiences. It was great to have some really good talks with him throughout the day. We took the ferry over to the island and rode a Daladala, minitaxibus, cost only 200tsh each way on the daladala and 100tsh for the ferry, wow. Transport doesn't have to be expensive.

Got my sandles repaired by a street shoe man. He was really nice and helped nat and I find food to eat also. Some really good roasted chicken. The flavour was awesome. Yes! I ate chicken. hehe.

That night a good friend from the hostel and I went out to see the town at night. We went to a seaside cliff and stood in the gusting shore winds and talked about self-respect and confidence. Interested that we did since the next day he gave his notice at the hostel. hehe. We then went for a ride and stopped into a nightclub, I had to go back to the car since I had my knife on me, there was security at the club. Tons of people in the place. Really great music. My type of mixes, two DJs throwing it back and forth. I danced a great deal. So much that the power went out. hahahaha, yep even the night clubs run on city electricity. So, me being me, I said, "I don't need music to dance." I go on the danceful, infront of maybe 200 people and start dancing by myself. The crowd starts to holler and cheer. Soon and woman joins me on the dance floor, turns out she is a prostitute, wasn't surprised to be honest. While we are dancing suddenly a beer bottle is thrown from the balcony and smashes on the dance floor. Nearly hitting us. I get off and throw my hands up in disgust by the action. I was, like usuall, enjoying being the centre of attention. It was a fun night that ended shortly after the bottle was thrown, I say goodbye to the hooker and head out to the car, she follows, I happily say no again!

We got home at around 4am, I slept til 2pm, a good long sleep. Felt like I caught up on all the sleep lost the other days. So what do you do on a Sunday afternoon in Dar Es Salaam. Take your bike out for a nice ride, find a group of ten 15year old boys also riding/racing on the roads and join them. Ride all the way out of town to their homes. The best way I can describe this experience was breathtaking. To have the kids want to have me join them, show me their homes in the slums, and ride with me all the way back into town at night, on the highway, and without any lights was breathtaking. Such loving spirits each of them had. I was thankful to join them and take them all for a soda drink at the local drinking spot in the village. They are fast. I was thinking about this whole exprience for me and thought about what it must be like for the youth to see someone like myself riding a bike, to be interested in joining them for their Sunday bike ride. All of us there saw it different ways, but no matter what each one of us had a storey to tell. I am glad I could show them my spirit and happiness to ride the city streets with them. A powerful moment I hope not to forget. and holy crap was it scary at night with the buses passing within a couple of feet. As the boys would say, "night night, so slow." And we did, go slow.

Nick