Birthday Boys

This past Saturday, I had the extreme pleasure of ushering in my 26^th year on this great green earth with a good mix of my friends here in Maputo. What was originally intended to be a low-key gathering of souls quickly turned into rockin good time with my tiny apartment nearly bursting at the seams to accommodate those that came to raise a glass with me on my birthday. Since it was also my Dutch friend Stephen’s birthday we decided to hold a joint party to enhance the merriment. Here’s a picture of the birthday boys before we became too weathered by the evening.

Looking around at the people at my party, I couldn’t help but be thankful for all the good people that I have been blessed to be surrounded with here in Mozambique. I also could not help but feel a touch a regret that my good Canadian friends from Maputo (Pete, Caitlin, Wes, Cathy, Courtney and Guillom) could not be with me for the celebrations. Each have moved on from this charismatic city but I certainly felt their spirits with me that night in the laughter and the revelry that filled my flat and spilled out into the Mozambican night. But this is the reality of making friends with other ex-pats in a city like Maputo, it is a constant process of hello and goodbye, forcing us to cherish each and every moment with each other before it is time for one of us to move on down the road.

My British friend John and I were also extremely excited to lead a big jam at my birthday party but the poor guy nearly cut off his hand last week when he was slicing some frozen beef burgers and is confined to a sling for the next three weeks. Despite the extreme pain, and the fact that he nearly lost two fingers, he is already counting down the days until he is given a green light to play guitar again. We both want to continue to experiment with the folk-rock afrobeats that we have been jamming out to with our African friends at various get togethers. Despite the absence of John’s mind blowing guitar solos, we managed to create some amazing music that night thanks to the scores of talented drummers that were leading the jam. What is it about African drumming that brings even the stiffest of people to their feet in rhythmic response? Perhaps that is what “spirited energy” is all about (ha ha!!)

I guess I could expound on how another year under my belt makes me feel older and wiser than before. I guess I could go on about how I feel the years slipping by me as I move into my late 20s (gasp!!). To be honest though, I love being 26. I love living in Mozambique and I love where I am in my life right now. No complaints, no regrets, no fear. 26…I’m ready for ya baby!!