Laugh

we're not the only ones

Some of you have heard me use the expression "T.I.A" before. I've written it in blogs. I say it. My husband and a small group of our friends say it. T.I.A. -- This is Africa. It's our way of shrugging off the myriad of things that seem to happen here in Africa and almost nowhere else in the world!

Last week Niel and I had the chance to see a movie in Johannesburg. We watched Blood Diamond, which, although quite intense, was an excellent movie. Based in Africa, the movie was full of African expressions: Lekker. Eish. Ag! Howzit, China? We smiled as we heard these, knowing that the majority of the audience watching this film around the world won't understand or appreciate them.

But when we heard, "T.I.A. -- This is Africa!", Niel and I both looked at each other with a funny expression on our face: "We say that!!"

Apparently, we're not the only ones...

superbowl monday

This week was our annual Superbowl Monday Party. With the time difference, the Superbowl starts at 1:00 AM here, so we tape it and watch it the next night. The main problem with this is that it is nearly impossible to avoid finding out the scores before we watch the game. Simply signing into instant messenger, reading a news email, or opening a web browser can ruin the surprise...

I had the job of transferring the taped game to a DVD, which required that I see the end of the game. I didn't mind too much since every year I've come to know the outcome prior to seeing it anyway. Finding out that early in the day relieved the pressure of trying to avoid discovering it some other way.

This year we had the largest Superbowl Monday Party we've ever had. With over 20 Americans joining for the big event, it was time to move the party out of our home and up to the conference room. We projected the game onto the big screen and there was plenty of room for all.

A wonderful benefit of our growing staff is having great cooks around. The spread of food this year was way better than anything we've had in the past, which is great for me since the food is my favorite part of the whole party!

Of course, it wouldn't be an African Superbowl if the power didn't go out at least once. Midway through the game we lost power for about 10 minutes. Thankfully it came back on and we were able to finish off the evening as planned.

It was a great night -- good game, good food, and good fun! I quite enjoy our Superbowl Monday tradition.