Knock Knock!

Knock knock.........Who is there?

Am back to my blog,missed you all.

Ok where shud i start from,alot has happened between the last post and today but will summarise.

First, work is driving me nutts,i was given a very huge project to run on business consultancy and i am starting from scartch,i mean no concepts,no resources,no nothing.So i ave to develop so many resources and tools that i will be using in the field in by Jan 3rd 2008.

Today is deadline for AIESEC uganda MC application!I had convinced my self to run for a portfolio that is my new love which is Non corporate management and as i write now i have not filled in even my names and date of birth.But its never too late i have got till midnight so we are talking about 6 Hrs.Wish me luck on this one.

The biggest user centered system is up! You know what am talkin about www.myaiesec.net (Oh my Goosh its so pimped!,that i have forgotten how to use it,which adds to my never ending daily tasks).Every day i am putting in 1 hour to learn how to operate this new system.When i finally get it,then its going to be my PLAY GROUND and i wont even compete with Kaka da FIFA 2007 WORLD PLAYER!!!!!.

Christmas is around the corner i am not in the mix yet! I am so damn busy to hear the christmas songs and see people shopping,being busy would not be a big issue,am actually using it as a scape goat but da real prob is i am as hard up as a beggar,do you feel my mix? Thanks to God i have no one emotionally affiliated to me otherwise i would be in big trouble.

Besides this i have gotten a huge surprise Christmas gift from my Boss!Guess what it is????Got it ,No....Not yet!Oook let me spill it,he has offered to install at my parents home in Jinja a solar Home system,i am so happy i could not get enough of thanking him.You should have seen me smile up to my ears.

Got to go i have already written enough,ok not enough coz i told its a summary.Tomorrow is IDDI at where is the Pillao?Knock knock.................. who is there?Pillao!i have an open invitation to Mai's place for lunch.
As preparation for the climax of IDDI (pillao Eating) i am not eating anything till 2moro so that i can show them what i got?I mean you need to have talent like mine to get an open invitation for IDDI!

Lost and Found

I have not done anything constructive today apart from printing promotional material and developing some new ideas.

But i am super happy i have left home at 4:00 pm and on my way to the printery i found a lost Buddy.Every day i have been thinking about him and now i found him.

He is one of my best friends called Jack pony;way back in High school we used to share the same breakfast,Reading books and we used to do rotational home visits.Jack used to pay for my trips for field work and used to house me all the time coz i was a really broke a**.


Thanks be to God i have met him briefly and i cant wait for the big reunion on saturday.

Trip to the Capital City of Northern Uganda.

When you hear northern uganda what comes to your mind is the war and kony the Imbecile responsible for the death of so many innocent people.

But this is not what i witnessed when i got to Lira(capital city of Northern Uganda),its a very busy and good town infrastructure wise and its very safe (No Gun shoots).

I travelled to lira on saturday being my first time i was very anxious and nervous coz its northern uganda you know!.I woke up early packed and was in the bus by 9:30 am.The bus took forever to get full so i had to chill for another 2 Hrs reading the New vision as i kept drawing pictures of what Lira looks like in my mind.

12:15 the bus starts to move and there we went,passed through various towns like Bombo,Luwero and as we got to Nakasongoro,the bus got some mechanical problems and the engine was smooking like a chimney.

We stopped for 2 hrs and then set off,midway the journey at a place called Bweyale,it was time to stop again.This time the fault was getting worse.The driver added water in the engine and we were off again.

From kampala to Lira its ment to take 4 Hrs but we took approximately 8 Hrs.I was so tired my knees were aching thanks to being tall my legs could not fit in the space in between the seats.

The view of lira at night is wonderful,there are street lights,so many hotels and people there enjoy a social drink called Malwa.Why i call it social is that you seat in acircle with other people and then drink from the same pot with various long straws.This drink is accompanied with local dances and music with tales.

The 2 nights in Lira were awesome!I slept in one of the best hotels around called Town view Hotel.I also took a Moto ride around the town and saw the late Milton Obote's home with his statue welcoming visitors in the compound,IDP's that are now demolished since peole have relocated back to their homes.

Business was good there i met a very positive and enthusiatsic solar dealer who motivated me more to give him as much support as i cpuld and even promised to go back.

COMING BACK FROM LIRA.

Monday morning i was up by 6:00 am,took a really cold shower and had for break fast which is on da house or return ticket as my friend chris likes calling it.9:45 am i was leaving Lira town.

The bus i boarded seemed very good,and i thought i would be on time for kampala.it was a smooth journey a part from the chicken that we shared the bus with and kept jumping on my feet until Nakasongora.

In Nakasongora there is a police check point and as soon as we left the check point the bus got a flat tyre.In side me i wanted to make alot of noise to the driver for putting scrap tyres but then i asked my self how bad could it have been?Imagine this bus was over speeding(just like they always do) and had a flat tyre?By now i would be in hospital.So i had to change my thoughts there and then.

After 2 Hrs of tyre fixing we left Nakasongora only to get another flat tyre in Luwero.This time the driver just continued as if nothing happened till kampala.I cannot believe i am now back to kampala but fweecks...... thanks to GOD.

Today's Reflections.

Right now i am seated in the Free Energy foundation office in Kampala and the whole day i have done nothing apart from reflecting about my life ( where i have come from and where i am heading),my work at the foundation and my AIESEC work in Rwanda.

I have gotten memories of my university and when i joined AIESEC,the positions held,learnings and mother of screw ups i have had,the fun and sadness,successes and failures.

Talk about failure, i lost a very tight race as MCP for AIESEC Uganda 07/08.I felt bad after but i consoled my self with the fun i had as chair for national conference in Tanzania.Now i have been thinking about the 47 exchanges to be raised and realized in Rwanda and my mind has been racing with a lot of thoughts and the biggest question of what if has been popping up.

Deep down inside me, my subconscious mind is talking to me and telling me that we can realize the 47 exchanges and the other part of my mind is cautioning me that time is running out.its a bit scary up in here but i have a very very strong BELIEF and HOPE that we will come out smiling at the end of June.

I know Da usual suspects are doing whatever it takes to make it happen!No doubt.........i trust kevo,peace,crissy,freddie,sam and Yvette (you guys are an amazing bunch and don't forget that what makes us tick are the differences we have in experiences,passion and the fear of not failing).

I have not done anything today apart from thinking and i feel damn tired,but i guess its one of those days when you need to stop and strategically refuel.

Tomorrow will be a new and inspiring day i have to finish my preparations of traveling to Northern Uganda and i have not given up on my trip to Indonesia for the one conference so i am looking forward to it.

sign out now as i listen to one of my French favorites Comme un fils ( can u hear that stuttering guitar in the background?)

10 STEPS TO MENTAL HEALTH

ON saturday i attended AIESEC In Makerere University LC meeting and the LCP shared with us the 10 ways to be mentally healthy.

1.Accepting who you are.

2.Talking about who you are.

3.Keep Active.

4.Learning new skills

5.Keeping in touch with friends.

6.Do something creative.

7.Get involved in various activities.

8.Ask for help if you donot know something.

9. Take time off to relaxe.

10.Be serious with NOTHING!

KLA HIGHLIGHTS.

Ahaa i am back to my blog!I missed it since the last post so many things have gone down,will give you some sneak previews.

Today kampala feels different,there are not so many cops on the streets,no silens of police cars speeding off as they take the Number 1 citizens of 50 countries that attended CHOGM.

On saturday 23 rd Nov 2007 as the Queen of Great Britain was adressing
members of parliament in kampala opposition parties and othere religious people were protesting and on the banners were some interesting words like;

STOP HOMOSEXUALITY in uganda.

ZIMBABWE NEEDS AFRICA.(this comes after Zimbabwe was suspended from CHOGM)

CHOGM FOR THE POOR PEOPLE.

Every thing has been on the stand still,very many army and police guards on the streets.,some of the roads closed and people are complaining that they havenot benefited from CHOGM.Ugandans want quick cash and thought that CHOGM will directly put some coins in their pockets but all in vain.

I believe CHOGM has benefited uganda in terms of global positioning and improving the infrastructures in kampala.many roads and hotels have been built and also we have got so many people coming to visit the tourist potentials in uganda.

Through the meeting i liked the speech of Outgoing secretary general who re echoed the role of youth in contributing positively to the global issues.

Top on the agenda of the meeting was Climatic changes and global warming,Rwanda's joining the Common wealth amongst others.On the whole the meeting has directly and indirectly benefited uganda





SHOW ME YOUR MONEY!

Friday went to visit my dad,it was good seeing him a gain and asking me those hard questions of How,Why,When?

Then watched this program called show me your money,a competitive show with people who have entrepreneurial ideas and want to put them into action.

I found it quite interesting and challenging as they present their biz proposals and the tough questions from the panelists.

A couple of business ideas struck me like the biogas idea,herbal tea and herbal dental medicine!This is a very good intiative and hope it continues.

Still on that same day i was shocked by the level of intelligence that GOD gave to some people.I read on the internet that we africans utilise less than 4% of our brains but this time around i saw someone who uses more than 5% and it seemed like a dream to me.

OK let me spill it there is a guy here in kampala who has been Nick named MR COMPUTER coz he is very good at mathematics and algebras.He was hosted on a TV show and people asked him very tough calculus questions and to their surprised he answered all of them minus a calculator.

I couldnot believe it but this guy can tell you how many minutes you have lived on earth but telling him the dates of birth.Dont you think this is amazing?

Anyways Kudos for him and i hope he gets the best out of his talents.

NEVER SAY GOOD BYE

I know its always hard to say good bye especially to the people you share with a common dream.

Many times i have said good bye to my friends thinking that i will never see them again only to be shocked by how small the world is.

Back then when in my first year at the university i had a mentor who i looked up to in everything, at some point i wished i could photocopy his brilliancy,hard work and achievements.

But time came and we had to part,it was one of the saddest moments of my life coz he had to fly back to UK and being the Ugandan i was i thought i would not see him again.

Two years later on a Sunday evening i recieved a call and guess what it was him,back in UG,very anxious to meet me again.Imagine the huge smile i had on my face to be a bit specific
i was smiling up to the ears!

Same stories have been happening to me,i did not think i would see Kevin and Kristian again,so i bid my farewell to them only to meet them again in Rwanda,all on Neutral grounds (kevin from Kenya,Kristian the Neutralized Kenyan from Norway and Me,Myself and Julacris from Uganda).

From that day i never say good bye but SEE YOU THEN!

For my close friends in Rwanda who think they will never see me again;shame on you coz i am just a text,email,flying kiss and 9 hours bus drive away.


Saturday 10th of November was the day i left RWANDA and i am already missing it.

I Miss the amazing team DA USUAL SUSPECTS that i have been working with(by the way thanks for the gifts i love them especially the lipstick Ha ha ha ha!Imagine all the Galz in Kla want to kiss me).

I miss my first love in Rwanda (macedwani),the early shower and CHK (pronounced as SIASKA),Rubangura,Umujyi,not forgetting my favorite hang out places Seminar room 2 in SFB, crissy and peace's room and KIST Canteen.

And for some of you who are still day dreaming like me wake up coz i am in kla and get ready to read the next post about highlights in the city where we have CHOGM inflation,security and business.

MURAKOZE CYANE! NABAKUNDA CYANE! YEGO !

MYTHS VERSUS PROVEN FACTS AND LOGIC.

To day has been eye opening and challenging due to the interesting discussions we had with Dr Femi from world vision as part of the ASK Training.

The doctor re emphasized that we are the future and we need to be very proactive and also challenge things and not to follow hear say from people especially about HIV/AIDS.

Since AIDS was discovered in Africa there have been so many myths about it and people have believed them simply because we do not have the right information or our cultures bent our thinking towards a certain direction that is contrary to the real scenario. Some of these myths have led to increased spread of the epidermic, reduced life span of the infected people and later death.

I have been affected by HIV/AIDS because I lost my dear Auntie who because of too much belief in witch craft refused to accept that she was infected .The signs and symptoms of the virus were so visible on her body but strongly believed that some one bewitched her and she never went for treatment until the day she was laid to rest. She left behind one son and daughter. May her soul rest in eternal peace.

Other Myths are;

That when you have malaria and go for HIV testing, you might come out positive even if you have the virus.

Drinking a lot of milk can prevent HIV/AIDS.

In South Africa it’s said that having sex with a virgin will cure AIDS. The younger the virgin, the more potent the cure. This has led to an epidemic of rapes by infected males, with the correspondent infection of innocent kids. Many have died in these cruel rapes.

Eating a lot of garlic cures HIV/AIDS.

Mosquito bites can cause HIV/AIDS.

ARV’s cure HIV/AIDS.

This list can be endless but the point is that lets not rely on these un proven facts and as youths and university students we should challenge the people who say such things. If we do this I believe we will save the lives of people who would have contracted the disease or died of this scourge.

For those of us who thought that know everything about HIV/AIDS, we are simply lying to ourselves and will pay dearly for being ignorant about what kills 60% of people in sub-Saharan africa.

TIA!

This message is so touching for me and those who are in AIESEC Africa where we have to wait for a person to finish so that you can write a proposal that you have to drop tomorrow,its 8:00 pm,you skipped lunch to save transport for tomorrows marketing call and you have carfew at home!


Please read on below from Habib (African GN Director 2006/2007)

My dear Africanos,

I'm writing you from the riverside of the Wouri River, in my native Douala. I left Rotterdam 8 days ago. I'm now resting from the frenzy of my past seven years in AIESEC and preparing myself for other exciting challenges.

First of all I wish to apologize for not writing you before leaving office, or not replying all the emotional mails you sent me. I wanted to finish off my job and take some time to reflect on our common journey.

I believe it all started in Romania, at IPM 05, when I met some of you, newly elected MCP, disappointed by the picture Africanos were giving. There was the normal "strong" AIESEC Countries and GNs, the very ones that matter, and there was that bunch of people in the corner, singing "one Africano" at each sign of misfortune. After numerous years of underperformance, Africa was clearly an embarrassment for many generations of PAI.

The selection of a non African Director by Brodie was more like a "let's try something else", than a well thought through decision to get Africa finally back on track.

The seed of change could be perceptible in the new generation of MCPs, who had had enough of the disrespect. The years 0506 has been a breakthrough year, thanks to the energetic action of the GN board, with the introduction of the Empowering Africa program.

But Africanos were still the guys in the corner. It was not about the stereotypes-full perceptions of the others; it was about who Africans think they are. It was not about our brand, it was about our identity.

The year 0607 was about reconnection with what Africa truly is. Africa is cheerfulness, but also ambition and fighting spirit. It is commonly acknowledged that it take much more to be an AIESECer in Africa than in any other part of the world. All of us have had the stomach screaming for a meal while browsing, everyone has once gone to a business meeting with malaria symptoms, and everyone had directed scarce personal health or school-related funds to finance AIESEC. Everyone has waited hours to have access to a computer to type a proposal.

We all went through this, confident of the contribution we were making to the present and future generations of Africans. Matter of factly, there is no other chance like AIESEC for Africans. As MCPs, we have been the new Prometheus, fighting for a brighter Africa. The challenges we overcame, the tears we cried, were all part of the challenge of beating the odds.

Can I ever take out of my mind the sight of Akobe the Ivorian fighting in Dakar for Senegalese youth, Benis the Togolese in Cotonou for Beninese, Landry the Cameroonian for Gabonese, Christian the Ivorian in Freetown for Liberians, Kevin the Kenyan in Rwanda for Rwandese? No need to mention Moyo and his team, giving everything to rescue his Nigeria from the sink, Abey against all and everyone to lift South Africa up, jemimah and Phil making history for Kenya, Naoufel silently but relentlessly building a giant in Morocco, Paul growing AIESEC in a defunct country, Boi keeping Botswana beyond sea level, Gaspar raising Tanzania to greatness, Vincent cracking all records in Ghana, and Samy the team captain, brilliantly hosting the world in Egypt. What can I say about the wonderful AIESEC members there, team leaders, project directors, LCVPs, LCPs, MCEBs?

You guys are my heroes. The GN board and I did nothing but to share our passion and hunger for achievements. At the end the year, the legacy is impressive: 54% growth in a global organization that grew only 2%. In 2005, it was challenging to be an African, now it's good to be an African.

For all you that made me proud everyday of my term as Director, thank you. For all of you that ignored the challenges to make it happen, you can be proud of the pace you have set. As it takes darkness for the light to shine through, it took all these challenges for your leadership to filter through. Simply keep shining.

We all passed the torch to a team led by JC, another Africano, a team that is far more talented than ours, a team that also starts on a firmer footing. They have the ambition we had. They know the difference between the ambitious and the utopist is not how high the bar is, but how much drive is invested to reach out. They will match their ambition with the same culture of action and passion for achievement we had.

To all warriors of 0607, you can rest assured the GN is in good hands. You can proudly take the passenger seat and enjoy the show. Open your hands if asked, but your fight now is to use the light in you to brighten Africa. The time has come to make a difference outside AIESEC. For having been blasted by you this year, I have high expectations from you. Rock your future.

I will be permanently available for you on msn (ewanebane@hotmail.com), facebook, gmail (habibewane@gmail.com) or on my blog http://habibewane.myaiesec.net.

If by chance our winds blow in the same direction, I will be delighted to offer you a hug, a beer and a tap in the back.

Keep shining.

Habib

Weekend in "TARINYOTA'

Its been a good Monday for me i have not done much apart from reading and replying mails,reading new vision and going out for one marketing call but some how i feel happy:)

I guess this is attributed to the weekend in Tarinyota,saturday was good it all started with Umuganda (general cleaning in Rwanda),our one bedroom and standing house had a face lift.I mean its super clean and now we can allow visitors so you are all welcome!

After Umuganda i went to KIST for pioneers preparation where i noticed that i so bad at dancing after trying out the kinyarwanda and i almost got bone dis locations coz i forced them to move in direction they had never moved before but any way its a great dance that i need to learn.

Then it was time to go home and ended up watching movies till 4:00 am on sunday and retired to my bed.Being the Julius who likes movies i woke up at 7:30 and continued from where i had stopped,i was joined by kevin and then before we knew it we had missed prayers,lunch and almost missing Dinner! We finally had dinner and continued.

Up till now i think i am still in the safe mode (chiling and sleeping and no worries) but hopefully i will wake up tomorrow.

Do you ever have enough time?

The difference between people who are successful and those who are not can be described what they do with their time or how they spend their time.

Many times i have heard people say they donot have time or saying that i wish i had enough time i should have done this and that and then here comes the big question DO WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME?

I cant believe today is second November just a few days to Christmas and also it hits me hard that i have more 7 days in Rwanda.I am definately going to miss the language ( My favourite kinyarwanda word is OH YEAH or OH YA!) and the senegalese food! plus the great people and friends that i have created over time.

My First 'Home" kigali Hotel and the New Home where i dont even know my neighbours and cant talk to them coz most of them are Francophone but they like Ugandan music.

So many things have happened for the shortest time i have spent in Rwanda that i have not noticed until now which have made me believe that there is time for everything its just that we do things and not notice,we are not conscious of where we came from and also do not celebrate our little successes which may be as small as waking up every day to go attend that lecture.


I do not believe in there is no time or i wish believe in creating time and when i do i make it worth my while so no I WISH.........

SO as i count down to my last days in Rwanda for this year i will not say i make the most out of them but what i will do is to remember the good times i have had,what i have achieved,continue with my plans as usually coz i hate last minute rush.

I have to go for the MC meeting before i get late.

Mc Meeting is finished and we open another agenda.

We are seated in Peace's room having a drink celebrating coz sam has finished university.I have taken some drink i dont know, i think i am getting tipsy and i have to stop writing coz i ma not sure of what i will write next...

6 Months of Solar!

Well today i feel so tired after a long day of walking doing marketing calls.I managed to visit 5 NGO's Congs Julio!

mean while the whole morning i had no clue where my mobile phone was Imagine! But i was not worried of loosing it coz here in kigali Mum's did anout standing good job of punishing kids who took stuff that didnot belong to them.

I am a lucky bustard again coz its the second time i am forgetting my phone some where and i get it.The first time i forget it at some eating place to describe it in luganda i would simply say kikumi kikumi'(Place where you have to mind business and business here is your food/eats,the ambiance,cleanliness is NOT YO BUSINESS) and this time around i have forgotten it at the papetterie.AKI JULIO YOU ARE A SERIOUS JOKER.YOU FORGOT THAT ITS A MOBILE PHONE NOT A LANDLINE.


The Most exciting news is that today marks six months of my internship with solarNow.

i have learnt alot in solar and i have been inspired to do big things regarding solar energy in africa.So i am now free like the wind i can be blown in any direction except the fact that the wind needs to blow me in such a way that it wont cause a sunami.

Any ways i am so damn happy of what i have been able to do in my internship.I have come out as a proactive learner,a person not afraid of trying new things and off course very adventurous but what the Heck? its been fun and challenging!

So i will retire to my humble dwelling place (Nyamirambo), a place where you can find anything from old car spare parts to third hand clothes.

Je t'aime.

Virus attack.....

For those who have laptops or Desktops you should be very familiar with the pains that viruses bring to us especially after a long day of hard work on writing a proposal or your end of month report...


Yeah right i am so pissed right now i cannot do anything on my laptop coz its been attacked by viruses,i have been changing anti viruses due to their inefficiencies until a friend offered me kaspersky that had proved to be Worst enemies with viruses.

My best moments have been whenever i insert a flash that has viruses,the sound that kaspersky makes when it detects the viruses is a re confirmation that your laptop or desktop is a NO GO ZONE FOR DA DAMNED VIRUSES.

Right now i am still seated in the office downloading a trial version of kaspersky after the one i had got expired(I did not that i had a trial version, oooooouchhhhhhhh!),but exactly thats my point where can you get a full version of these anti viruses without the sun burning so hard on your pocket that it puts a huge hole in it.

OK,please wish me the luck i badly need to get the anti virus, i am so psyche-less,hungry and the same my mind is racing with all these to do's i have pending coz i have a virus infected laptop!

Hope when i retire to bed i wont have computer Virus night mares.

The search for exchanges!!!!

Its 7:23 pm ugandan time,6:23 pm Rwandan time and i am seated in the Great lakes Energy office over looking the beautiful night view of kigali.Wow it looks like NY city!!!!.

I have just come back after a long day of researching potential TN takers to participate in the AIESEC Global internship programme.I managed to visit 5 NGO's and i am very happy because i got some high Po's so mos def i will be raising exchanges for Rwanda.

very tired indeed just chilling for a few minutes and will head home(Nyamirambo) to meet kevin and we continue with the agenda for the night.

Am off catch you tomorrow.

Good nite.

Cyangugu XP

Its 7:15 am still in the bed contemplating whether to get out of bed coz its really cold up in here, All of a sudden my phone goes off and to find that Amri is already waiting for me at great lakes where we are supposed to meet before we leave for cyangugu.

We delayed booking so we missed the comfortable bus and then we opted for a matutu where we had to be packed 4 people per seat and I was complaining until I was told that its really handy for people to seat 4 especially for the cyangugu trip.

7.45 the matutu leaves the park and we head to cyangugu thru kamonyi,gitarama.Before we reached Butare town city we branched of to the way that takes us thru gikongoro to cyangugu.

On our way 3 ladies boarded and they carried polythene bags and lemon which I later learnt that they could prevent them from throwing up because the road has many corners. It’s a 6 hours drive from Kigali to cyangugu Passed thru nyungwe forest the weather changed there and then, it’s a one and a half hours drive to the next town. The road through the forest has so many corners that makes you thin that the car will loose balance and fall off easily.At around 2 pm we had reached the city center called kamembe, a very busy center with so many commercial activities going on.

The Host.

On arrival we passed via Amri’s grand ma,s place where I tasted true Rwandese food that’s the Bugali and small fish mixed with G nuts, also had Ugali from Burundi called Rowe(really tasty and sweet, it can replace Bread).We then headed to Amris brother where I later came to learn that it was going to be my new home for the next 3-4 days. It was a really cool place I felt like home because I was eating well cooked food not the hotel type and at least had options for what to eat.

It felt being part of family life where you have people taking good care of you, I mean you eating nice, boiling water for you to shower and sleeping in a mosquito net you know it doesn’t get better than this.

More excitement came as I had a one on one with a pretty chic, we discussed various topics ranging from world issues like civil wars to technology shaping the world and we ended up in a heated religious argument and the climax of the day was the MUSLIM Wedding that we gate crashed in……………

Weekend at the shores of Lake Kivu.
From kamembe city center (cyangugu), it takes you about 10 Minutes to the DRC border on a motto (bike).That was the first place we went to, took some cool pictures in the boats which were being manned by ladies, who offered to give us a boat ride but I was so scared of my safety.Our next stop was Lake Kivu; the cool breeze welcomes you as you get close to the shores. The scenery there is breath taking, the water, island view and terrain are worthy for tourists, couples and families on vacation.

My stay at the lake was so rejuvenating I felt like I was in my wonderland, chilling listening to the sounds of the water as it hits the rocks, watching birds swim and sipping a cold “fanta”.I had a wonderful time and on Sunday I decide to stay home watching movies till 1 am.

Monday was time to leave for Kigali.In Kigali imagine I got sick of malaria even after sleeping in a mosquito net but TIA…………

catch da next post!

What a day?

My day started at 11 am on thursday 18 th oct 2007,me and kevin get out of the new house and our next stop is at World vision office in Kacyiru.

The ASK project is soon starting,trainees are in the country from uganda aand being trained at world vision.We went to evaluate how they are fairing with their trainer.

At the gate it so happens the gate keeper knows luganda and was very excited to learn that i also speak luganda.This made our entrance very easy though kevin had been there for a couple of times.

Meeting was done in 15 minutes and headed back to kigali,finding taxis is as hard as finding Nsenene in owino market when its not the seaason for it.
Any ways after 20 mins of waiting we finally got one.

The day was really first coz of the many things we had to do.The highlights came when we finished the AIESEC member meetings and headed for an un known destination,it was only christine who knew the place.We later learnt that we are going to a friends place.Treated to J&B,V&A,Amarula,the night was great.

Chatted at the same time watching news and one story was showed of politicians fighting in the Nigerian parliament over what i do not know coz my kinyarwanda is not up to date.This intrigued me for the fact that these are our African leaders who cannot lead by good examples and donot understand the concept of dailogue and to them fighting is the way to go.What a big shame!

11:40 iam off to bed and as i write this i have just woken up only to realise that i cannot shower coz the tap is always locked at 8:00.

Oouch Lets see how this day will be!

Transition in between countries.

Just when you think that East African countries have many similarities we tend to for get the differences even though they are minor.

Yesterday 16th oct 2007,at 5:00 am i was awake,cross checking the bags to see if i had carried everything that i needed for my next trip to Rwanda.The bus leaves at 7:00 am and i had to be on -time because unlike the buses to other East African countries the one that goes to kigali always leaves on time especially the day you decide to think that its going to be late like the others.

It takes 8-10 Hours from kampala to kigali based on the route used (Katuna or katigumba).Unlike the trips i had taken earlier on this time i decided to use the kagitumba route because my friend (kevin) tells me it has a very beautifull scenery and being the adventurous type i had to use it.

I agree with kevin that kagitumba route has a breath taking view (the landscape) and its not as scary as the katuna route because the roads are flat.

The entry points is shaddy,No directions of where to go for passport verification.At the boarder i had to help people who could donot fill in the entry cards,which was exciting for me,having people queuing so that i can help them.I could not fill all of them because the bus would leave me.

At the Uganda/Rwanda boarder almost everything that you have is checked,it was irritating because i had to unpack all the clothes in the bag yet they took me 20 Minutes to pack them.

When iam in uganda there are things i miss about Rwanda like the good roads,beautiful girls and the my internship with SolarNow.

Compared to uganda our roads were pathetic,imagine having a man hole instead of a pot hole in the middle of the high way( I mean Jinja kampala road),no wonder most of the cars are in DMC.But this is changing thanks to CHOGM and the coming of the Queen,this is definately the most outstanding advantage of CHOGM to some of us who are not 1st class Ugandans.

Its because of CHOGM that we will have good roads,hotels and improved security ( kampala has surveillance cameras on the streets) and hope these wont collapse after CHOGM is gone.To me CHOGM has manifested that local Ugandans do not need these facilities,so we have to wait for Visitors to have them.

Just like in Kigali, its a miracle to have musical shows,Local Drama and youth fun,kampala is gifted by this,you can fail to decide where to hang out on a weekend because all the places are happening.

Welcome to My blog!!

Hello,

Welcome to my blog.

This is the third time i am opening up a blog,the last 2 times i forgot my passwords and everything about blogging.

This time around i am not going to disaapoint any one i will be posting loads of stories,thoughts,escapades on my blog.

Enjoy the redfings that will be posted and would love some exciting comments.

Yours,

Julio