Since it's the World Cup, and since having cable at home is apparently very expensive (around $100/month I've been told), I had to look for venues to watch the games. Places are divided into "mzungus" ("white") pubs (i.e. "Bar de Albi", ca sa ma refer la o veche zicala romaneasca, intoarsa pe dos) and local pubs. Of course, I first went with the white crowd to the most accessible places, just a few minutes away from my house. One of them in this category is actually run by a Moroccan (he was delighted when I told him I visited his country a few months ago), and there's promise of couscous and tajine dishes on the menu in a few days (he even offered to cook some for me and a few of my friends one evening, before they are officially released). Until now, though, there have been brochettes, pizzas, lots of beer (Mutzig, Primus and Amstel), and double Red Label whiskey (they don't serve it in any other quantity...)
After a few nights around these places, one of my colleagues, Joseph, decided it was time for me to venture out to the local pubs, so he gave me lifts and introduced me to his friends. First we went to a Kenyan bar, where the top of the beer menu was warm Skol beer (!), but then he recommended the best place in town for pork and cheap whiskey in large quantities. So here we were, at the end of this dirt-road full of pot-holes, in an upstairs lounge, that looked pretty much like a private dining-room, being served royally. I didn't quite understand the thing with measuring alcohol, so I asked for a glass of Martini, which greatly confused the waitress. Joseph explained again that here "a glass" will actually be a 330 ml bottle, that you can take at home, if you cannot have it all on the spot. Somehow the idea intimidated me a bit, so I just settled for some whiskey from his own carry-on bottle.
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