Movie night

I acknowledge that part of the reason I wanted to come to Africa was to experience a completely new culture and really break out of any sort of routine I had created for myself. However, just eight days into my cultural immersion, I realized I was desperately in need of something familiar. So it worked out perfectly when a few of our co-workers called to say they were planning on hanging out and watching a movie at another friend's house. My housemate Jenna and I joined them, and after a long day at the office (I can't go into many details, but I joined this department during one of its most unexpectedly busy and chaotic weeks in a long time), it seemed perfect.

I assumed that people watched movies on their computers here, but because a good number of the people working here are nerds that create a lot of powerpoint presentations, everyone seems to have a projector. DVDs are inserted into computers and projected onto bare walls in people's apartments -- so much fun! We watched Stranger than Fiction (most of us had already seen it but came away loving it again -- plus, who's going to complain when the alternative is listening to the radio?) and ordered takeout -- it was almost like I was back in NYC again!

One funny/crazy thing that happened at the office today was that two of my co-workers got into a shouting match! I was the only other person in the room at the time, and it all started after one blamed the other for breaking off the office door handle yesterday (this actually happened -- I was stuck outside and my computer was inside -- luckily we got back in). They went at it for about five minutes, their words coming out so fast and furious it was if they weren't speaking English. I could barely understand a thing. When visitors came into the office, they continued to shout, unwilling to stop. I'd actually heard that this happens a fair amount here, and that soon after it's as if it never happened...though I didn't see either of these two in the same room together for the rest of the day...