Birthdays, BJz, and Booze Gone Bad

Ah yes, HOME. Tony, Sarah, Josh, Dana, Kristine, and Becca enjoying the delicious home cooked meal Tony and the boys prepared for us. What hospitality!

Because Tony LOVES America!

Hi! It's me again... or still. I know I left ya for a good three, or more, weeks there, but I'm not finished sharing quite yet. I was kind of busy living life the past few weeks in Gulu and couldn't be bothered to blog and then I returned 'home' to Wisco and life just kept happening and I just didn't know where to pick up on here. Anywhooozlebees (thanks, Jane!), I'm just gonna go ahead and pick up where I left off, chronologically speaking.

Things that start with B are pretty much always a winner in my book. Badgers, Brewers, Beer, Bustin' a Move... you get the picture. BJ'z was no exception and it was the local watering hole a few of us made a stop in our weekly routine. Here, we got to hang out and socialize with some of the Invisible Children guys in such a fun atmosphere with trivia on Thursdays (we never won) and some intense dance sessions (see obvious sweat stains to prove the intensity). I loved the set up and the vibe there and not only could we hang with our boys, we got to meet some awesome new people as well. I won't soon forget the ridiculous team names for trivia or equally ridiculous dance moves we witnessed at BJ'z, but I'm documenting the amazing smiles we couldn't help but don whilst there.

Bonnie and Josh connecting over linguistics and T-shirts... or something like that.

Me, Bonnie, Beth, Pepito, and Jane, probably singing "One by One".

Jane, me, and the birthday girl, Andraya, post birthday cake that our resident Home Ec teacher baked for her!

Dirty, I mean FLIRTY, Thirty for Andraya! Get it, girl!

 Okay, so it's no secret that I enjoy socializing with beverages. BJ'z was a great place to go for the social dancers in the house, but not everybody was all about that. SO, after hearing several people mention how much they missed wine, I decided to have a Wine Wednesday at our place.

I put quite a bit of thought into the selections I made at Uchumi (local supermarket), and here's what the following bottles of "wine"ended up being:

1. A bottle of white (I hate reds), which I could tell because it said "Blanco" on the side. It was also "made in  Uganda", so I felt good about buying a local product.

CHEERS! or should I say, "Kopinakanaka" (there is not actually a word for Cheers in Luo, so John made that one up).

 So, we Cheersed and drank, what turned out to be Vermouth. Guess I didn't read the small print close enough. Whoops. Undrinkable. "Don't worry, guys!" I reassured the ladies, "I got three bottles! Let's try the second one!"

Second selection was another white (again, hate reds), and was another local product (made in Kenya) - insert back tapping here. I knew I was taking a bit of a risk on this one as it was Pineapple Wine. Poured another round. Cheersed another time. Spit it out a second time. It actually tasted more like turpentine or that Off! in the background than pineapple or wine. Whoops x2.

"Okay guys, no biggie!" I stammered. "There's still one left!" This was the "safe" bet I made as it was a white, still, it was Italian, and it was definitely a wine, made from grapes. If only I could get it open...

 And the verdict is...

"It's drinkable" - Rachel Metzger

YES!!!

 Okay, so Wine Wednesday was not the hugest success from an enjoying wine standpoint, but it was pretty hilarious, and hey, I did get this blog out of it! Note to self: read the entire label of all potential alcohol bottles before purchasing next time.

Done and DONE!