Hello from Kampala

While on friday night my friend skilfully manoeuvred the car over the dark dusty road that leads from Entebbe airport into Kampala, I realized that I it's been a while. It's been a while since the last time my senses were exposed to some other parts of Africa. And I had kind of forgotten what it felt like. So as we drove through the warm evening as fast as we could without hitting anything or anyone on that dark road bustling with life, I took it all in: little shops and bars mostly lit by candle light (do we really have an electricity problem in South Africa??), cars hooting and indicators flashing, bicycles and motors without any lights balancing on the side of the road, and people everywhere - flying past as dark shadows or suddenly in the centre of our head lights.

My friends, Nico and Inge, have been living in Kampala for the last 2,5 years. Nico and I studied journalism at the same college, although he was a year ahead of me. Inge and I got to know each other through a mutual friend. While he's trying to make a living here as a freelance journalist, she has started to connect with students, resulting in the start of a student organization. It is a place where students can find support but also input as they're trying to find their feet and their way in university life in Kampala.

It's been great to spend these two days with them. Not just catching up, but also to share our passion(s) and discover the common grounds that we have and operate from.

Tomorrow I hope to fly to Bunia, in the northeastern part of the DRC. The plan is to visiti Ri-et, my best friend ever since we both made our way to Amersfoort to study journalism. Despite the fact that our lives have gone in different directions, we not only share a past, but also still the present and (our dreams for) the future. So it will be great to be a few days with her, to see where she actually lives and works, and in the meantime hopefully come across some stories that are news worthy. So, watch this space...

PS: Excuses aan mijn Nederlandse vrienden en lezers voor de Engelse bijdrage. Maar het is op speciaal verzoek van hen die graag op de hoogte blijven, maar het Nederlands (nog) niet beheersen. En omdat Nederlanders bekend staan om hun brede talenkennis, dacht ik dat ik zo af en toe best eens in het Engels verslag kan doen.