EkiraboKyampaire

Clearly, it is not the 28th day-but, am certain, you, my dear reader, is accustomed to my chronic forgetfulness :( I am in Berlin as I type this- on a mission to write a book on understanding oil contracts - all this within five days! I wait to see how that actually happens :) (Am just as skeptical as the next gal, you see)... Adam Hyde, who is facilitating this, though, assures us that it is possible...especially as is evidenced by this website. The country is beautiful but cold so my walks/ excursions have only been tentative. Below, are pictures I have managed to take, despite :) the Berlin telecom tower...or at least a bit of it! Me and Susan...it doesn't look like it, what with all the smiles, but it was bitterly cold that evening! Schloss (pl. Schlösser) is a German word for a building similar to a château, palace or manor house :) the house/ castle without the fancy towers, at which we are doing the book sprint lovely leaves/ tree/ scenery :) ...

Apparently, I am a 'left-over woman' at least, so says this article :) In fact, I am two years into this status and that's not 'good news'. This morning two colleagues at work started the day off with a conversation about, 'what is the definition of a woman in African society?' The guy kept highlighting how in African traditional societies, a girl only became a woman when she was married off and had a child. The babe was livid. 'How can you be oblivious to how disrespectful, unkind and unfair that kind of thinking is?!' she retorted. 'What if the woman was simply unable to bear children? or was infertile?- does this mean she is not a woman?!' He was adamant. 'Those cases were few and far between and their rarity only went to show that such women were simply unlucky!' The babe almost had a heart attack! Thankfully, in walked the country manager and the uncomfortable conversation had to be halted. This exchange, coupled with the...

The definition of independence in most dictionaries is as bland and vague as, the state of being independent. Thus, I had to look to synonyms of the word, instead, to glean its meaning... Synonyms: self–sufficiency , self-dependence , self-reliance , self-subsistence , self-support   So, while hundreds of Ugandans trooped to Kololo airstrip for the official Independence day (Jubilee) celebrations, I slept in. After all, weekday public holidays are scarce and should be duly utilized lest one seems ungrateful. My housemate is out of the country for work so I went to bed after a lone dinner eaten as I watched Battle in Seattle - classic spinster- style and woke, mid morning to a silent house and was only 'rescued' by my neighbour's daughters who never fail to regale me with all sorts of tales. I am a single, independent woman whose commitment extends only as far as my faith, my nuclear family i.e. mom & siblings and my work. My independence has not come easy...

When in 2009, I made friends with a man who shared my love for Jazz to the extent that he knew some of the oft, least known, old skool type swing-jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Earl Hines, I knew it was the kind of friendship that would last a longtime- a lifetime, if God allowed or I had anything to do with how my life turned out. See, I am persuaded that Jazz is music. It is real music, I dare say because to achieve the huge feat of making instruments 'talk to each other' in a language so harmonious, melodious is a talent that can only be God-given. Thus, to meet someone who loved this music like I did could only mean that he is a special person :) Anyway, last night, I had the singular privilege of being in the audience as Gerald Albright, Marion Meadows and Regina Belle performed at the fifth Nile Gold Jazz Safari. It was, in a word, s.p.e.c.t.a.c.u.l.a.r :) I screamed, I danced, I sang along, I even shed a few emotional- read, joyful - tears. The Diva...