And Bielefeld exists!

I accidentially found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielefeld

Ndali Lodge (2)

The weekend was fantastic!
We had such a blast. I would definitely do it again. Although, I might consider doing the tourist stuff, too next time. Well, because this time there was no opportunity to do the chimp walk or anything else. We arrived late on Friday, had our first drinks before dinner, continued drinking during our poker session, went to bed in the early morning hours, had breakfast/lunch, went to Fort Portal to a party, went home, played poker, slept, had breakfast/lunch, reviewed a business plan and went home to Kampala. There was just no tim for a anything else.

Among the other guests in the lodge was a very highly ranked representative of the diplomatic corpse and his wife and on of his daughters and therefore, we were told to behave. And that was what we did. However, their daughter decided freely to stay longer in Fort Portal and nobody asked her to become (sea) sick during our ride home (I am glad, she did not vomit!!!) and nobody forced her to play poker with us…. And she scared me to death and caused almost a heart attack, when she kept on raising my bets, while I had four aces on my hand.

And I like the owner of the lodge. He is funny chap, although, I do not understand his taste of women but since we did not agree on whether Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Anniston is more attractive. However, we therefore agreed that we could go out without interfering into each others’ hunting area.

An additional toothbrush in the bathroom...

Do you have a spare toothbrush at home? I do have one, yes, just in case I need to replace one. But would I use two at the same time? No, I won’t. Well, the mystery of the additional toothbrush in our bathroom will probably continue and as long as my personal freedom and the amount of hot water is not going to be adversely affected, I will not complain… ;-)

So, there are only 12 days left in this country. Hm. When, I came here I counted the days to my departure, too. However, in those days there was another motivation behind it.

Ndali Lodge (1)

Okay, since there are only few days left, I will not follow my usual pattern this weekend. I will not be at Bubbles, neither will I be seen at Rouge. I will be close to Fort Portal at Ndali Lodge.

I get used to being away from Kampala… Well, I have to since my flight will be on September 6th.

Blogger for Word 1.0 - a test

This is test whether the MS Word add-on really works.

Sunburn

I am almost two years in Uganda and I have had only three sunburns. This is unfortunately no sign for regular appllying of sunlotion but rather the poor proof of a life in a window-less office ;->

Yesterday, I finally watched Garden State. I liked it despite the very "American" happy-end. Well, aren't we all looking forward to those happy ends although we know that the real life is quite different and more complicated?

Speaking of complicated. I am still not sure, where I will spend my life for the next few years. Since both of my current employees have not moved yet, I applied for a dream job in another town in Germany. The likelihood that I will be chosen is pretty slim. But hey! I managed to submit another 7MB of application documents and the HR manager sounded very nice on the phone. Cross fingers for me!

If I ever come back to Uganda, I will bring proper Nivea creme. The one I bought here made me very "shiny"... I looked terrible - not that that would be unusual, but I mean even more terrible.

On Satruday night, my roommate finally comes back for his home leave! I must say that I made a good choice moving into his house. He bears my mood swings, doesn't go on my nerves and he knows how to behave... Well, I have just another three weeks left until I move back into my apartment in Frankfurt...

Online Courses

Since, I keep on complaining about my deteriorating French, I signed up for an online "course" at
http://u.about.com

I think it is a nice idea.

Movie: "The Island"

Okay, whether you like that genre or not, the film is a must just for reason:

Scarlett Johansson

I decided that she is going to be the mother of my children :->

Wild Water Rafting the Nile with “Nalubale Rafting” - a must in Uganda!

I had a wonderful day on the river Nile on Saturday. I went on a full day rafting trip with “Nalubale Rafting”, a new rafting company in town. It was just great fun the whole day long – despite some near death experiences ;-) But I admit it is a stupid idea to try to swim a waterfall upstream and to check out the toughness of stones underwater with your shoulder and knee – but hey, now I know how my clothes feel in the washing machine ;-)

The whole trip was extremely well organised. We were picked up at Blue Mango and when we arrived at the company's beautiful premises in Jinja, the breakfast¹ was already ready. During the trip most people could have another valuable hour of sleep (or however else they wanted to treat their hangovers).

After a short but comprehensive safety instruction and the hand over of the brand new “personal” equipment (helmet, life jackets and paddles), we headed off to the river shore, were we boarded the rafts. Unfortunately, not everybody was allowed to enjoy the rafting... Two Ugandan ladies, who could barely swim, were asked to do the trip on the safety boat. A wise decision, considering the fact, that they already screamed, when they had to jump into the calm water where we started.

I do not want to describe each rapid, water fall etc. Everybody should go and enjoy it on their own! It is just an awesome experience and I will definitely do it again. Next I will do a kayak course and a two day rafting trip. And I will definitely chose “Nalubale Rafting” again. I prefer them to their main competitor adrift. Adrift is not bad (definitely better than the other two (?) rafting companies), but Nalubale is just more personal, and they have a better concept for their trip. They do not stop for lunch. You have yummy sandwiches, fruits and water on the boat. Thus, you do not get bored on the long stretch after lunch without rapids etc.

1Breakfast was tea/coffee, delicious pancakes and fruits.

Governor voted best drinker?

I do not agree with the following squib! I absolutely do not agree with it. The best drinker must be this huge mzungu teenager, who drinks 15 (fifteen!) shots at once out of a big glass and can still stand and talk. Well, but since that teenager is not a Ugandan...

Anyway, when I read that gloss, I could not resist to start smiling... :->

Tumusiime Mutebile voted best drinker

QUESTION: TB, this Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile chap, isn’t he the governor of Bank of Uganda? That aside TB, is it also possible we could refer to him as just Emma, because Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile is a bit of a mouthful to keep throwing out.

Okay, Emma it is then, and he is the governor of Bank of Uganda. Emma, so it happens, is the toast of the nation, after being voted the top drinker in the land, according to a report in one of the Sunday papers.

I thought Emma was all into figures, interest rates, Treasury Bonds — that sort of thing. So, I don’t see how drinking comes into it.

Remember, Emma does not spend his free time pouring over spread sheets and pondering about interest rates. After jobo, and if time allows, Emma, just like you and I, will look for a place to go and have a guzzle.

TB, do you have any idea where he might go for a guzzle?

I have never seen him at Yakobos, The Deep in Ntinda, Just Kicking in Kisimenti, Little Mama Bar or Capital Pub in Kabalagala. He is above that. He probably goes to Sheraton Hotel, Kabira Club or Speke Resort Munyonyo.

And what might those drinks be TB? A Tyson Waragi, Eagle Larger or a Senator beer?

Please. Can you see Emma guzzling down a Senator? Emma has been known to quaff wine but he usually prefers Johnnie Walker whisky; black if not blue, which goes for sh36,000 a tot.

Why would Emma want to spend sh36,000 on a tot of whisky? With that money, he could buy himself a crate of beer and still have some change for a couple of spare ribs of pork at Yakobos.

True, but as I said earlier, Emma is a refined man.

Anyway, getting back to the point, you said Emma was voted top drinker in the land. Could you pour more light on that?

According to the report in the papers, Emma can really hold his guzzle. He is not like you and I, who catch five bottles and start merrilysinging. Emma apparently can handle a serious session and still do his sums before he goes to bed. And while we are still nursing our hangovers in bed the following morning, he is already in office deliberating over interest rates with not so much as a hangover.

That is impressive. Who were the other top drinkers in the land?

Other notables included Kahinda Otafiire, Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, Capital FM’s Alex Ndawula, pastor Okudi look alike Patrick Oyulu, my colleague Kalungi Kabuye, Pamela Kangwagye, among others.

Any last words of wisdom?

Anybody who has seen Emma drink will certainly agree that he is talented. I hope he opens up a drinking school when he retires, because according to research done by the Australian National University in Canberra, people who drink are better thinkers than teetotallers. Ever wondered why Emma was the darling of the IMF and World Bank when he was secretary to the treasury and why he was elevated to governor, Bank of Uganda? Think about it!

SOURCE
The New Vision

Published on: Wednesday, 10th August, 2005 by tbukumunhe@newvision.co.ug

Radio station closed

I could not resist to comment on it: It sucks. I get sick. It really contradicts all my liberal ideas. How can you close a radio station?

Monitor's Kfm radio closed

THE Broadcasting Council (BC) yesterday indefinitely closed Kampala’s K-FM radio station, a subsidiary of the Monitor Publications, saying it breached sections of the electronic media law.

At 4:18pm, K-FM, formerly Monitor FM, was closed. The last item to be aired was a song, Ndiku Digi by Ngoni.

The radio was taken off air as the programme, The Edge, was running.

Before the song, Conrad Nkutu, the Managing Director of The Monitor Publications, read on air the letter from BC secretary Okullu-Mura.

The letter, titled ‘Suspension of broadcasting license’, said, “Following receipt of numerous complaints and listening to the recording of your programme, Andrew Mwenda live of August 10, 2005 aired between 7:00pm and 8:00pm, the Broadcasting Council has discovered that the programme offends the minimum broadcasting standards enshrined in the first Schedule of the Electronic Media Cap 104/2000.

“The Broadcasting Council has decided to accordingly and with immediate effect suspend your broadcasting licence in order to carry out further investigations into the matter.”

The letter, served by two BC officials, was copied to the minister of state for information and the Inspector General of Police, Katumba Wamala.

“As a law-abiding company, we have chosen to comply and we shall proceed to take KFM off air as we pursue the matter with government authorities,” Nkutu said after reading the letter and then apologised to advertisers.

He said the closure was unexplained and lacked legal authority. “We shall do everything possible to return to air,” he said, adding that he was surprised by the closure because Mwenda was yesterday due to host the state minister for information, Dr. Nsaba Buturo.

Earlier on, Buturo told The New Vision that the BC had visited K-fm station to collect the recorded programme where on Wednesday Mwenda hosted presidential assistant on political affairs Moses Byaruhanga and Aswa MP Reagan Okumu.

The topic that night was, “Can government justify today’s public holiday?”

Wednesday was a public holiday in honour of seven Ugandans who died alongside Sudanese First Vice-President Dr. John Garang in a helicopter crash on July 30.

During the national prayers at Kololo Airstrip, President Yoweri Museveni referred to Mwenda as a small boy and blasted him for reportedly publishing stories prejudicial to regional security and ordered him to stop henceforth lest he clamps down on The Monitor newspaper.

The BC action triggered a mixed reaction from the staff at the Monitor headquarters in Namuwongo, a Kampala city suburb. While some looked pensive, contemplating their next move, many just laughed off the move, saying it was expected. Others mingled with journalists from other media houses who had gone there to pick the news.

While all this was going on, an apparently disturbed Mwenda was swaying in a black leather swivel chair on the fourth floor that houses Nkutu’s office. Sources said he was under strict orders not to talk to the press.

Sources said the Government was angered by Mwenda’s statements that were interpreted as demeaning the person of the President and the presidency.

During the prayers at Kololo on Wednesday, Museveni threatened to close newspapers for meddling in security issues.

On the talk-show, Mwenda said, “We shall be playing the voice of Mr. Yoweri Museveni in his attack on me and I am going to launch a counter-attack on him.” He then played a sound bite from Museveni’s speech:

“I am the elected leader of Uganda, I therefore have the ultimate mandate to run its affairs. Now, I will not tolerate a newspaper which is like a vulture. When people are crying, the vultures are happy. Any newspaper which plays about with regional security, I will not tolerate.

“I have been seeing this young boy, Mwenda, writing about Rwanda, writing about Sudan, writing about the UPDF, he must stop. And this other paper called The Observer, (writing) what has been said in the army. ... this is not how a country is run. Red Pepper also, I thought those were young boys busy with naked girls, now if they have gone into regional security, they must stop. These newspapers must stop or we shall stop them from writing. If they want to continue doing business in Uganda, they must stop interfering in security matters.”

Mwenda then shot back, “First of all, no one is going to stop, at least me, I am not going to stop. If he closes the newspaper and I am out of the job, I will seek his job. I will get him out of Nakasero (State House), take him to Rwakitura (Museveni’s country home)...If the man wants me to vie for his job, let him come and close the Monitor,” Mwenda said as he chuckled away.

Byaruhanga tried to interrupt him, “Fine, you continue doing what you are doing and wait and see.” But Mwenda retorted, “Does your president know that he has no power to close a newspaper for even one day? Does he know that he has no legal power? I think Museveni’s problem is, he is seated in State House where all of you in the movement, he says jump and you ask ‘how high?’, shout and you ask ‘how loud?’”

In a spirited defence, which turned out to be a shouting contest, Byaruhanga said the President would not close the papers personally but had asked the Attorney General to look into the matter.

Moments later, Mwenda moved onto the demise of Garang. Pinned by Byaruhanga that some of his articles posed a security threat, Mwenda replied:

“Are you saying it is The Monitor which caused the death of Garang? Or it’s your own mismanagement. Garang’s security was put in danger by your own government. Putting him, first of all, on a junk helicopter. Second, at night, third, passing through Imatong hills, and you know that Kony has stinger missiles, surface-to-air missiles, five, when there was bad weather.

“But are you aware that Garang died on the Imatong hills where you have always complained Kony is? Are you aware that your government killed Garang through incompetence? You caused the death of the man out of incompetence,” Mwenda charged, prompting Byaruhanga to interject, “I would rather you withdraw that.”

“I can never withdraw that. If the Police call me, I will say the government of Uganda, out of incompetence, led or caused the death of John Garang. They put him on the plane when it was already late. The President said that plane has the capacity to detect bad weather 100km away. Why couldn’t they detect the bad weather...?” Mwenda asked.

SOURCE
Author: Emmy Allio and Steven Candia
Published in The New Vision on: Friday, 12th August, 2005

Phone interviews and other things...

I had a phone interview yesterday. My first one ever! It was interesting. I thought it would be tougher and I was honestly considering the methods suggested by my esteemed colleagues from the States:

Interviewer: “So, you know that the job requires utmost familiarity with the various business process re-engineering methodologies. Could you name your favourite three approaches with its respective pros/cons and your conclusion for a self selected example.”

Me: “Yes, with pleasure. I have always liked the BPR theory and I was thrilled when I could apply the various methodologies for the first time ....uh, hello, hello, ... Are you still there? Hello? No, I do not speak Spanish! Go out of the line, I have an important interview.”

Interviewer: “Yes, I hear you. Can you hear me? I am listening! Continue. I can hear you.

Me: ” I can barely hear you... Hello? Hello! Damn, this line is dead, hello,hello....”

[I hang up]

Okay, that was the plot. But fortunately, I was not asked anything in this regard. They indeed thought, I would be well qualified. However, they asked the other more obvious questions:

• Why am I in Uganda?
• What do I do here?
• Why do I want to go back to Frankfurt to the bank?
• How would I contribute to the business area's success?
• And why do I want to work for that particular group?

And the worst question was the last one. I had to be partly insincere. I was told to be it. I told my HR officer, what I wanted to do and she said I had to be more open and flexible. So, I found some good arguments, why I wanted exactly that job. They actually sounded pretty reasonable – for me. However, my interview partner asked the right questions and concluded hundred percent correct that I would be better in other areas, which happened to be exactly the ones that I once listed as my favourite positions. So, I really liked him and I will – if I happen to get another job or if they conclude not to take me – tell him how right he was.

My CV has so far been pretty straight forward. Although I keep on saying that being in Uganda in my current job was something advantageous – it is not. It fits. But whatever will come next will be somehow crucial. I will decide what I will do the next decades now. I definitely have to finish my Ph.D. soon, in order to have a back up solution.

I told a good friend of mine recently, that I somehow envy them. They all stayed or returned to my home town. They have this stability in life that I am somehow longing for. Right now, I feel being in equilibrium with me and my environment.

Speaking of equilibrium: I learnt yesterday that this amazingly funny girl from Canada will leave this country soon. Well, I hope she follows her friend's example and returns. Or, that she really found her Mr. Big in South Africa. She would indeed deserve it. So, another one will be gone soon.

And in a few weeks, I will have to give my farewell speech. Or maybe not: Saturday, I will go rafting on the Nile with this new company ;-)

But will I miss a country, in which a private radio station is closed for broadcasting critical or shall I say publicly controversial opinions which is not fully in line with the government's opinion? I hold back with a comment on this for a while...

I was actually again very surprised, when I came back from another South Park evening on Tuesday and I saw those groups of soldiers in camouflage uniforms and on Wednesday, when I saw this big gun mounted on Hummer¹. I mean, they even stopped me with my bicycle this time. I could not “cruise” up and down on Upper Kololo Drive that time. It used to be the best place to have a look at the functions on the Airstrip.

1A car, which I would not mind driving at all – just to compensate other physical deficiencies ;-)

Open Office and a new room mate...

OpenOffice

This is a premiere. I am using OpenOffice Writer to write this blog. Why? Well, I heard that its functionality is as good and comprehensive as the commercial equivalent MS Office. And indeed, I am positively surprised. Its look and feel is almost identical and so far, I did not miss any functionality. Moreover, it is for free. I think I am going to use it for while and if I do not miss anything from the Office package and if I do not have any compatibility problems, I am going to stick with it. Especially since I am planning to buy two new computers soon.¹

New room mate

Oh, since Saturday, we do have a new room mate. What shall I say? There are always some surprises... I do not like people who consider everything as common good and who disregard privacy. It is not that I do not mind if someone uses my mp3-player, bike or reads my books. However, I appreciate it if I am asked before. Well, 24 days left until I can enjoy my own apartment again.. And it is hopefully only a matter of time before I ship my whole stuff back to Uganda.²

1 Well, I want to have a smaller laptop with a higher resolution, which I can carry with me and a high-end desktop for my “home office”.The latter will have a 19” flat screen as well as a DVB-T receiver so that I can watch and record TV shows and films on the PC. Moreover, it will be my wireless access point etc. Ah, I have already outlined. I will be able to remotely access the thing and thus, when I am still at work and some favorite shows, I could access my home computer and start recording it. Ah, day dreams and a computer prospect and a nice combination...

2 Okay, this is the reality check for my previously outlined day dreams. I will then of course not buy additional computers. This would be simply stupid. AND I HATE MOVING !!!

This government in unbelievable…

... but at the same time so normal for this country: a combination of good intentions and poor planning and worrying execution: the public mourning day in honor of the victims of the helicopter crash.

So this government decided to announce a public holiday Wednesday in the late afternoon – for Thursday! Initially the rumors were that the holiday would be today. So on Wednesday, not being sure, what to believe, I asked everybody when I went home, whether the rumor was true. When I called my boss, he confirmed that the GTZ had received a memo from the ministry announcing a public holiday for Thursday, thus I went out[1] and at like close to midnight, I was told that it was not a public holiday. Great. So apparently, the government cancelled the holiday at around 9 p.m.

What is this? Is it a test to check, whether people believe and do whatever the government tells them? And what is about the people who went upcountry to their kin in the villages? Who is to blame them to believe the first official announcements? If the real public holiday is tomorrow, they have two days off. Hm. That makes me thinking. Neither do I have a radio and nor a TV. How am I supposed to know that I should be in the office yesterday? So, I should have stayed in bed and kept quiet.

So this government decided to announce a public holiday yesterday in the late afternoon – for today! I went home, asked everybody, whether the rumour was true, called my boss, he confirmed, I went outand at like close to midnight, I was told that it was not a public holiday. What is this? Is it a test to check, whether people believe and do whatever the government tells them? A reaction speed test?

And what is about the people who went upcountry to their kin in the villages? Who is to blame them to believe the first official announcements? If the real public holiday is tomorrow, they have two days off. Hm. That makes me thinking. Neither do I have a radio and nor a TV. How am I supposed to know that I should be in the office today? So, I should have stayed in bed and kept quiet.

---

[1] Actually, that other French speaking lady wanted to meet me. But then she cancelled it and postponed it for three weeks. Interestingly I keep on reminding me on my friend, who met this French lady in Atlanta ten days before we all left the U.S. and now they live together in Frankfurt. Isn’t that cool?

I knew it...

I could also simply delete the previous post and forget it. Why? Well, I did dare to contact that lady and what happened! Correct, she will be on leave just shortly before I leave. Well, maybe the god(s) will send me back to Uganda sooner than I think.

So, I think I should call it a day and remember the wise thoughts and recommendations of my best friend at the university: Behave like a Striker and never let go and give up.

But I will stick to the more wiser:
If you love something, let it free.
If it comes back to you it's yours,
if it doesn't it never was!

This may now sound "desperate" but it is not I call it realistic ;-)

Days to wait until she calls….

Well among the blog ideas that I had before, there were those thoughts about the time that apparently has to pass before a woman calls a man.

On Saturday I received two text messages from a very good friend of mine who intended to forward my mobile phone number to one of her friends including a characterisation of me in colloquial French.[1] Well, a couple of months ago, the same friend wanted to set me up with her but I politely refused (Why?). So, we met again on Friday and it was really nice talking with her. Anyway, so I now know that she asked for my mobile phone number. But does she call me? No, of course she has not. She does exactly what I usually recommend to my female friends and my sisters. She lets me wait. But what is its intrinsic value? There is none. Okay. There is one. I become nervous. So the plan has indeed worked out so far.

Surprisingly, I took the initiative to text my friend[2] and asked for her number. I had to, because she leaves for West Africa today… She kindly provided it but what am I going to do now? Well, if she does not call, it would also be fine. She is gorgeous, intelligent, funny, speaks French and everything but as usual I have already been wondering, whether it could work out.[3] I hate it. I really have to consider every single outcome/development, really everything before I make any move. But I have not learnt my lesson yet. This time I turned down an invitation for a probably nice party on Friday just to have time for a possible kind of date even before I even spoke to her. Isn’t it just insane? Yes, I guess it is.

---

[1] Okay, I confess it. I immediately understood, what she told her about me. My (passive) French is not that bad. In addition I asked my best friend (who lived and worked in Paris for long time) for his translation and both were identical.

[2] My friend asked me yesterday, whether her friend already called me.

[3] And indeed, it could - somehow possibly.

Weltpolitik hautnah

Yesterday, I was triple-booked for dinner (or more precise around dinner time), but politics helped me solving this co-ordination exercise:

Barbecue with some (official) Americans, (birthday) dinner with a very nice French friend and dinner with friends. To cut a long story short: I ended up with a barbecue, which ended early; an orange juice while I handed over the brithday gift and a dinner with friends (although I skipped the starters).

And what was the reason? Some phone calls. The first vice president of Sudan was missing... So, the barbecue ended earlier than expected, my friend became extremely busy calling N.Y. etc and my dear friends were so kind to accept my apologies to joining them after their starters.

And this week another friend will leave me... I hate it.