this is africa

you are in your car, all the necessary papers, stamps and procedures passed and up to date

a kid dressed in a policeman uniform asks you to stop, demands to see the papers

mmmm it all looks fine, he scratches his head, goes to the front of the car, asks to see if the lights are working properly (it's midday and full day light), goes to the back, mmmm it all looks fine......but, still....

the driver gets down, they go to the back of the car, negotiate

the kid demands a contribution but we don't have the exact amount for the 'road fee'

(this is when africa kicks in) no problem, i'll give you the change!??!!

and off he goes to find it! like if it was a shop or a restaurant!

he leaves to get the change, we are boiling inside the car

eventually the driver asks his superiors to give us the change cos we cannot wait any longer (??!!)

no problem, here you go

we leave, i'm gobsmacked

Theatre in Kigali

Avec Carte d'identité, un jeune auteur et interprète fait se croiser la Grande Histoire, celle d'un pays et de ses conflits, avec les hommes et les femmes qui l'ont peuplée. Si l'on (sou)rit beaucoup au spectacle, on ne saurait oublier que Carte d'identité est l'histoire authentique de Diogène Ntarindwa.

D'origine rwandaise, Diogène Ntarindwa est né en 1977 au Burundi. Il a rejoint le Front Patriotique Rwandais à l'adolescence, et est démobilisé à 19 ans. Après des études de droit au Rwanda, il entre en 2002 au ... Conservatoire de Liège. Particulièrement attaché au Rwanda et au drame qu'a connu ce pays, Diogène choisit aujourd'hui sans fausse pudeur de nous offrir le récit de son existence: une guerre qui le ramène sur les terres de ses aïeux, l'exil, le questionnement sur l'identité, le souci de mémoire...

Au travers de ce témoignage, c'est une galerie de personnages touchants, dépaysants souvent drôles, qu'il interprète: son professeur d'histoire africaine, ses instructeurs, ses camarades d'école avec lesquels il joue à la guerre avant que la guerre ne les rattrape, son père et les anciens – ceux qui ont les cheveux blancs de sagesse – qui faisaient semblant de comprendre la BBC à l'écoute des nouvelles du front, sa mère qui n'a pas pu s'opposer à son départ pour le front...


A one man two hour show, with huge resonance to the present audience, with whom as opposed to the european public, share the same very peculiar history, crossing the Big History with the Small History. Bravo!

politics in your cutlery

that China is an increasingly big economic power is by now a fact
that Africa in general is being swamped by Chinese goods is also well know
that China wants a spotless record, in particular in light of the Olympics is clear

all of this came together yesterday, in my knife!
it read: "stainless china"

cohabitation

when you come to Africa, you come ready (or should do) to find all sorts of animals in different shapes and sizes, and to cohabit with them to a degree
i am not a particularly animal friendly person, being a natural urbanite, but i believe in respecting their space, as much as them respecting mine (tho i understand the limitations to my approach)
i don't kill insects unless i have to (i know, debatable for animal rights groups, jains in India etc) and that is generally when they are bad for one's health, i.e. mosquitoes, in particular in malaria infected places (fair enough no?); the rest are gently broomed out from my house, with the sole exception of geckos
but they also say that Africa has the power to change you, i just thought i was going to take slightly longer; i have just been talking to a lizard, kindly requesting him or her to leave my office..... in Spanish.... what next?

obvious...or maybe not

there are different types of people around here and a wide variety of reasons why they are where they are

some, because they believe in something, others because they are running away from something else, or because they are earning what they would never do back home, some look for adventures, and others because they can lead royalty life for a small fee

what they all have in common normally is that none have family or friends around

and the avenues they take are, becoming workaholics or leading a terribly hectic social life
both need to be managed with great care for the danger of burning oneself is everpresent

the joys of flying

business class when you had been told you may not even fly due to "overbooking madam, you are on stand by, next flight available is in 10 days"
you are pampered with champagne as you take down your sit, followed by a selection of wines from a big bottle, none of those little ones, and an a la carte menu with proper cutlery, fresh fruit at will, ice cream de luxe and a complementary box of expensive belgian chocolates!
to compensate for the luxury during the flight, the luggage came the very last, after 1 hour 45 minutes of wait

it's official

moving house is a pain in the arse
you definately need good friends to give a helping hand
you require inmense amounts of patience
and a good sense of humour is certainly recommended
best of luck!

just like the Cinderella sisters

they got there in order to check that everything was ok before signing and therefore embarking on a new ladder.. adulthood passes through the baptism of ownership at some point
they waited and not the lady, but her parents came to show them around; they didn't have a language in common so they tried several until communication was at least comprehensible
when they reached the fourth floor and opened the door, they realised to their dismay that the mean mean woman, just like the Cinderella sisters, had removed every single light and so only cables hang from the ceiling, from all of them, including the loo and the cave!
mean mean tiny awful woman had also closed down the electricity sources and so at least they didn't have to worry about lights, for there was no electricity either!
mean mean lying woman had even taken the curtains despite promises stating the contrary
they only hoped that she didn't get what she wanted when she needed it
mean mean lying awful woman didn't deserve any better