On Friday I went with Charles, Emma and JP to a concert at the Nile Hotel Gardens. The show was a big reunion for a bunch of the local artists who were in the past fighting with each other. Also they had a group called Gidi Gidi Maji Maji as special guest in from Kenya.

We arrived at the show around 9pm, a little after it opened. There were loads of people at the show, which was good to see. Performances were already going on, from some of the less prominent local artists. One thing that you will notice about the local artists here in Uganda is that they do a lot of miming. Most of the time they just dance around the stage, mouthing the words to their own songs yet not singing a word. Other times they may sing the main line, but overall still let the pre-recorded song do most of the singing. We were all a little disappointed to see this, but hoped that the better artists in the group would do a little more singing.

As the artists started to get better we did notice a slight change in the entertainment. They were singing more and there on stage performances were generally better. It started off with an artist named Michael Ross who is the Ugandan version of Usher. His dance moves were Usher to a T and if you could here his song you might even think it was him. After Michael Ross we got performances by Little Axe and a guy named Toolman, who was sporting a flashy male thong, and a pants that were riding too low. Lets just say I was happy when he left the stage.

After Toolman we started to get to the more serious Ugandan acts such as Bobi Wine, Bebe Cool, and finally the main star Chameleon. Bobi Wine and Bebe Cool both have great songs but can’t really seem to get it done on stage as they did a lot of miming. As for Chameleon he seemed a step ahead of the 2, as he would at least sing most of his songs. You could tell also that the crowd favored him the most. After Chameleon was Mr. Raga D. If I could understand his music I probably would have liked him the best, as he had no underlying vocal tracks, just the music and his voice. Thus I would have to say I found him to be the best out of the Ugandan scene.

Finally after Raga D we got the main attraction of Gidi Gidi Maji Maji. This rap duo from Kenya really showed the Ugandans how it is done. They had an amazing DJ scratching in the background and they put on one hell of a show. Everyone went crazy when they played their latest hit song Unbwogable (unstoppable). Gidi Gidi were short and sweet as they only stayed on stage for a total of 3 to 4 songs. After them we saw the return of Bobi Wine (the ladies wine), Bebe Cool, Chameleon and Raga D. The finish was a little overdone with the group all hugging and praising each other and saying they were sorry for their past fighting.

All in all a great show and well worth the entrance. Only downside to the show was that I had my cell phone lifted when I was standing in line, which is now majorly inconveniencing me.

Also in addition to the show we got to see some crazy stuff before and after it. Right before the show on our walk to the gardens we witnessed some man doing Karate on his wife. He finished his beating with a karate kick to her back. It was quite sickening to watch actually, and I was amazed at how unhurt the woman seemed. We wanted to step in but didn’t know the circumstances. What was good however was that when we approached them they stopped the fight and the girl had the chance to flee. The next messed up thing was saw was on our way home from the show. We were driving in a special hire on our way home when a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) pulled in front of us. The driver seemed to be quite drunk as he was swerving back and forth. Finally he swearved too much and ended up falling off his bike. He slide on the pavement for quite a good stretch until finally coming to a stop. Miraculously we didn’t run him over, as well once he came to a stop he jumped up to his feet and seemed un-phased. His bike went relatively unhurt with only a flat tire.

Just a quick note. There is a person around where I live whom wants to sell John Paul (my roommate) and me a monkey to have as a pet. How cool is that? Granted I am not sure if it is worth the risk of all the sicknesses monkeys carry.

Also I have started growing a bit of a goatee, not sure if it will stay but I have put up a pic of me with it in the pictures... How about you tell me whether it should stay or go? Also I have been contemplating growing my hair out a bit, what do you think? Longhaired Stefan a go or no?

Anyway hopefully now that I have settled into work the updates will be more often!

In early January I attend a Salongo celebration for Ayub. Salongo means the father of twins in Luganda, which is a great honor to be. This celebration took place a little outside the city at his parents place. It was a grand event that went on for most of the day. It consisted of a lot of praying by the Muslims (Ayub is a Muslim) followed by a bunch of speeches by his father, and a bunch of the people in the crowd. One thing to note about the celebration is that the head Sheik of Uganda was in attendance. He came with a big group of security, and somewhat stole the show from the twins, but such is life. Anyway after the celebrations we indulged in a fine meal of local foods.

I spent the remainder of my time off from work hanging around Kampala still waiting on my passport. I had friends to keep me company though as I spent most of my time with my friend Emma, and a girl named Sara who works in Johannesburg for SchoolNet Africa. She actually works with Rob and Megan two former VSO/Netcorps who I did my training back in Canada with!

On the 13th I started work. The first week was mainly spent getting acquainted to the new work environment and chasing my passport. I finally got my passport back on the 15th, which was also the day that Sara left back to South Africa.

Over the weekends of late I have been going bowling at the new mall that has been opened. It is a brand new facility, and looks as though it could be a building in any western city. The bowling alley is nice, a 10-pin alley but only 4 lanes. It is usually always packed, but you never really have to wait too long. I have been off and on with my bowling but on average shoot around a 100. It’s not great but I am getting better.

I have still been going out dancing once in a while, but I am finding it harder to find people to go out with at times. Since the departure of Murad and the other VSO’s each weekend really has become more of a mystery to me. Granted I don’t mind too much.

One thing I am tending to do most weekends now though is attending church. The service out here is quite different from that back home. There is a lot more singing and clapping, and less of a structured way to the service. Rather it is more energetic, and seems to be more targeted at the youth. It is good non the less, something I don’t mind attending when I am free Sundays. It also gives me a good excuse to eat Ethiopian food, as the church is located very close to an Ethiopian restaurant.

Anyway looks like I am starting to get used to working again, as well as working at the new company. I think things could get busy with work, but nothing I can’t handle. I have seemed to get into a good schedule as well. Up at 7, at work by 8:30, home at the latest 6. The only quark I have about the new job is that most of the people there don’t take lunch. Not to say that I can’t take lunch, it just means that I have no one to go with. Plus since the office is in a kind of residential area, it makes it harder for me to find food. If I want I can hike down to Kampala road (by the SchoolNet office) where I will find a bunch of restaurants. Actually that is what I do on most days. Although on hot days it can be a real pain, but I suppose I sure am getting my fair share of walking in.

One annoyance that I find with the new house/residence is that all the taxi drivers that take me to and from home want to rip me off. I know the prices of what it costs to ride the bus, but they continually try to get more from me, or not give me the correct change. Some days I really get angry by this. Who says there is no racism in Africa, there is, it’s just against the whites! Anyway it isn’t too big a deal, it’s just the common expectation that whites have lots of money.

Anyway this Friday I hope to attend a music concert of some local Ugandan artists as well as a few really good Kenyan artists. I think the show should be a blast and am really looking forward to it. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

Just a few new snaps I took from December.

The month of December was a hectic time for me, as is reflected by the lack of updates on this site. Anyway in the beginning of December I really started to notice how soon my departure date was coming, and really wasn’t ready to leave Uganda. I started looking for opportunities for myself to stay longer in country. The first place I looked was at the company I helped develop the SchoolNet website with. I quickly sent a brief email to the boss of the company asking if he knew of anyone who might be in need of my skills. Shortly after this time I received an email back telling me that he himself would like to bring me on.

After a few more emails I met up with the boss and we discussed salaries, terms on contract, etc and finally settled on a contract that will keep me in Uganda at least another 6 months.

While this was going on I still had to prepare to leave, as I was unsure of the outcome of the discussions. On the 29th of November Ali, Murad and me had a goodbye BBQ up at Murad’s house to have one last event where we could bring all our friends together to say goodbye. We hired some people to do the BBQing as well as bar tendering which turned out to be a blessing. It turned out to be a really nice event that most of the guest I am sure enjoyed.

On the 7th of December Ali left Kampala and Uganda for that matter to go back to his roots in Tanzania. It was sad to see my roommate leave as we had some good times in Kyebando. With Ali leaving, the house was a bit lonely. In the evenings I would invite the local kids in to watch TV with me. Anyway it was time for me to leave the house (actually whether I liked it or not, SchoolNet was getting more volunteers in and needed the house for them!), so I proceeded to VSO where I inquired with Rose if she knew of any available houses/apartments. She told me she would ask around and get back to me. She did quite soon after that and told me that another VSO, John Paul had a two-bedroom house close to town, and that he wouldn’t mind if I moved in.

Anyway I had a bit of time to think about moving in, as my new boss wanted me to join him in Arusha, Tanzania for a needs assessment. I left for Arusha on the 9th of December arriving on Tanzania’s independence day. We spent the first day relaxing and preparing for the next day in our posh hotel. The work in Arusha was decent, yet consuming, as I was unable to really explore much of the city let along the area. One thing I did get to experience about Arusha though was that they make great BBQ’s. It seems to be a very common thing for most of the eateries. You can go to most pubs or restaurants and order a kg of chicken, goat, beef, whatever and they will roast it up for you along with banana, poshu, and many other things. It is really tasty, and very cheap, much better than eating at the hotel and a lot easier on the wallet.

We returned from Arusha on the late on the 12th. That weekend was Murad’s last weekend in Uganda as he was set to depart for Cairo early morning on the 15th. The few days that were left before his departure I spent with him. I dropped him at the airport with Sam from VSO and our friend Emma at roughly 2am Sunday morning.

A few days after Murad left I checked out JP’s (John Paul) place. It seemed nice enough, and he seemed very happy about me moving in. I moved in at the end of the week (20th of December). Sam L from VSO helped me do all the moving which I have to thank very much. I had to purchase a new bed and mattress, which cost a little more than I had anticipated, although I did a great job on bargaining for the bed frame. I brought the guy down from 95,000 USH to 55,000 USH.

After a busy weekend of settling I was given a bit of free time to myself in the house as JP left for the East to spend Christmas with his Uncle. Christmas morning I attended a nice Christmas church service, and in the afternoon I joined Emma and his family for dinner. It was nice as we feasted on Chicken and Pork with some very delicious matoke.

The next week I spent settling in a little more to my new home as well as running around preparing myself for my upcoming job (trying to get work permit etc). New Years Eve approached sooner than expected. JP came back from the east and spent New Years up at Murad’s old place with some other VSO’s. I on the other hand went to a Tevin Campbell concert at the Nile International Hotel. It was decent, good local music to start, then the fireworks, which actually were quite good, after the fireworks was Tevin Campbell. After the concert I treated myself to a nice Mexican beer (Sol) which was actually brewed somewhere in Europe. All in all the night was fun, and just as I left for home it started pouring rain, which was good timing on my part!

Overall the month of December was pretty crazy, not knowing whether or not I was staying, not knowing where I was going to live, and all the while trying to decide on how to spend Christmas and New Years. I think things turned out quite nice though. I was able to settle into my new house, which has turned out to be a really excellent place, I am close to getting my work permit, and I have been able to really relax before having to start my new job.

Once I start working I hope to update this page a little more often as things I think should be a little less hectic than they have been in the past few weeks.