Panashiba

Who said that in Africa we are not using the state of the art technology? Not only that....but we are using the best blend of the technology....like our batteries.....Panashiba......

Our Chinese friends combine all the advantages of the Panasonic and Toshiba batteries and they offer us this smashing bloody brilliant battery who lasts only few minutes.
Enjoy it.Power to the people.
Panashiba or Nothing

Flying rat?

Yeah, you have seen flying rats in Disneys movies but there were animated rats not real. Well, we were fastened well, the plane was taxing and we were almost ready to take off when the rat appeared. Calm , cool and not scary. All brought our knees to chest to let it pass.And it passed. The air attendant with a  broom in her hands was trying to kill it but with no luck. We had two options. Stay in Juba airport to kill the rat...or took it with us to Wau. Pilot choose the second. Now we are 30000 feet high together with a rat. We all paid for our flight....it didn't. The air attendant tried to kill it twice during the flight....but it was faster than her. We had fun anyway. It wasn't an ordinary flight after all.....yes,  how many of you all guys have ever fly with a rat next to your feet? Have you ever see a rat in 30000 feet high? Have you ever seen an attendant with a push broom to hunting a rat under the seats?Have you ever seen all airplane passengers to looking under the seats a bit scary? So...it was a really interesting flight. Thank you WFP for this nice adventure. I'm sure.... rat is said the same.
Well now...if someone ask you "Are flying rat exists?" ....you know the answer....... "Yep .....and it is flying high"

..it's Pizza Time !!!!!

From the first day i step on this place i wanted to build an oven using only materials that mama-earth is giving to us... now after 2 and a half months ...my dream comes true. The oven is ready......
Started like this......and

 ......at the end ...we have this nice traditional african oven .....ready to bake some nice pizzas.... (if we find some cheese damn it)

Well....now it is pizza time.....even in Raja!!!
Buon Appetito a tutti.

Mirror-mirror on the wall , who is the most idiot frog in the world

It is the second night in a row that i'm waking up by a weird noise. It's like someone hitting with his index finger the carton box i'm using as a table. It is one of the carton boxes we are using for transport medical tools or drugs, with a silver shiny surface like a mirror. So, i woke up in the middle of the night by that weird noise, turn on my torch to check what was going on around....and then i saw it. A frog. Yes a frog in my room. Ok...from time to time i've got some very weird also visitors-roomates , like bats, crickets, lizards etc, but never a frog. I don't have any problem with the frogs...but that frog was totally stupid. It was standing in front of the shiny surface of the carton box , apparently it was looking at  itself , and then suddenly was jumping against the mirror box...actually , against itself. And it was doing that at least 50 times. Tell me the truth...can you sleep with a such an idiot noisy frog right next to your ear? At first i thought it was watching its own idol in the mirror as enemy and attack itself but later stopped doing that and it was just staring itself  like an idiot or better like a narcissist (and from time to time it punished itself jumping against the mirror). Maybe it's a magic frog and if someone kiss it will solve the magic spell and it would be transform to a beautiful prince i thought. If the possibilities to be transform to a princess i would kiss it ...but a prince.....what for.!! So , i don't know if it was a prince frog or not .... now it is sleeping out of my room even if it didn't want it....and so i can sleep in peace without idiot frogs around me...but i'm pretty sure...it's going to miss a lot my mirror box. (maybe i'll put a mirror somewhere in the yard for it) . 

Tetanus? Still exists?

Yes. Exists!
We have already forgotten this deadly bacteria.... it is just one more neglected disease. Actually, tetanus means nothing in Europe but here in Africa means ....a lot.
Two kids died the last month by tetanus in "our" hospital. Can you imagine this?
You fall down, hit the ground, get tetanus, then die. So simple.
This is africa.
Yes ....tetanus is still here and stay..... 

.....Raja....... Chanel No55 a real "Eau de Parfum"

38 degrees Celsius (100 F)  in Raja at the begging of the dry season and i'm really thirsty. I'm going straight at the candle filter tank to drink a tone of water. I'm filling up till the end my stainless steel mug and i'm ready for a big big ship to cool me down.....then i smell it. It is new to my nostrils but strong....very strong, brutal and heavy. It is a perfume, a lady perfume and it's all over me. At the begging i thought a lady was passing by so i turn my head but...nothing, no one around. Then i thought it was a side effect of my antimalaria prophylaxis. Nop. With the mug next to my lips i realized that the perfume was coming straight from the mug....or from the water. I threw the water away , i smell the mug and .....it was there. I took another mug...the same. I decided to drink the water.....and yes....the water was like perfume. It was like i drinking straight from the perfume bottle. I drunk it cause i was desperately thirsty..So what.  After half an hour or so, all of a sadden an overflow of the same perfume came again like a strong wave and hit my nose. A lady was passing by.... one of our office cleaner. That was the source of the perfume. She probably had a shower with it. That lady was the reason why the water was like cologne. She was and she is still putting so mach of it and everything she touch is taking and absorb it. Now...everyday our drinking water smells like perfume....i name it Chanel No55....and for sure it is a Eau De Parfum. Cheers! 

....Kampala for the LOT training. 08 - 23 October

Here i am again ...in Uganda...after almost one year. I missed that country, the people, the scenery, the music.
Uganda is always on my way and i feel lucky for that.
Well this time we are all lucky cause we stay in very nice place right next to lake Victoria named Nabynoonya.

It’s more than magical to wake up in the morning and watching the sun rising and the reflection of the sun on the lake water.  

Lots of birds were around, birds with nice colorful wings but with funny and sometimes annoying voices.

Monkeys also were around, jumping from tree to tree, stealing bananas from the buckets

All right ...enough with the lake.....we were there for a training , and believe me it was quite intensive.  We used to wake up at around 7 in the morning and we finish at 18:00. Tough enough huh? But i didn't  regret.The training was amazing. We learn a lot. But the most important was that i met nice people there from around the world. From Haiti to Australia and from Iraq to Abhazia. Making plans and working well as teams for 2 weeks.

 All right guys..... it wasn't the perfect paradise.....
We had to deal with the..... "Chemical brothers".... the cooks.
So you need a very strong stomach to deal with their food.
Not all of us did it well.
10 of 30 went straight to the hospital. The E-Coli bacteria were stronger than their immune system. The rest of us? we were just lucky.

 That time was also fullmoon...... and i had my birthday. Look at this nice birthday-cake i had.
Fucking smashing brilliant.or FSB
FSB was my slogan for the LOT (thanks to George my brother in law)

We couldn't go out to Kampalagala at night but we had 2 nice parties at the beach.
I feel so lucky that i met again my lovely friend Ellitta (from the measles vaccination campaign in Zambia) and (next day + last party) the 2 Jackies from my last year project in Uganda.

 Beer is the case:
Usually when i am in Uganda i'm drinking Nile.This time i switch it to Club.
Club has no sugar.....but after some Clubs....all the beers are the same.
We enjoy also the luxury of ordering beers by phone.
Cool huh? Sitting in the kiosk.....call John , the barman, to bring you cold beers for your team. ....... SFB!!!

.....time out guys...... more about LOT soon.

.....Still raining season

It is October but it is still raining season here in Raja. And when i say raining season....i mean it.

the sky is like this.....

...and then the rain is coming .....

A reason for a "good" war.

Oil.

Since now, oil was connected with wars and death.

Today I realize that oil was really connected also with life.

Between life and oil….you can find a generator.

A generator that is running with diesel and gives AC power to the Oxygen Concentrator which gives life to a little kid at the pediatric ward.

As long as we supply the generator with fuel the kid is staying alive.

This is our war…and we are keep fighting with passion.

Oil –diesel-petrol-gas or whatever here in Raja is life and life is a good reason to fight for.

c  u soon

from Uganda

S.Sudan - My personal flies

My personal flies

It is the second day in a raw that these 2 flies were waiting for me right next to the door.

When I walk out the door they start flying around me. Sometimes they try to touch me or to “land” on me but only for a second. Then they start flying again. I start walking….they keep flying…..i keep walking….they keep flying next and around me. They escort me till the office. When I stop…..they also stop moving forward but still flying over. They like watching me ordering a cold Sprite from the local store. Apparently they feel like they make the order. When I step inside the office they just disappeared. That’s all. No more…no less. I feel like I have something like a pet. Two pets. Not always mine. Two pets with leasing rent. These are my everyday flies. My personal flies.

Sometimes I wonder…. How many days are they live? Will they be out of the door tomorrow? Will their kids escort me as well? Who knows…..we‘ll see! 

S.Sudan - My name is "How are you"

My name is “How are you”

Stop calling me Kostas anymore. This isn’t my name. My name is “How are you” period.

You don’t believe me? Ask all the kids in Raja, the town I live in. They know better than you. You all are very far away. Kids are next to me. We say hello each other every morning and every evening. Everytime I’m going to the office or coming back home. 

They call me “How are you” and I turn my head to them and say “hello” or now that I’m start learning a bit the local language I reply “tamam” or “Tsezine”.

They call me “How are you” and now I found it normal.

...South Sudan (September 2011 - March 2012)

...the place i live in....

info:
S.Sudan is the world's newest country, became an independent state on 9 July 2011 and on 14 July 2011 became a UN member state etc. etc.

And it is true...my new home now is S.Sudan and i'm very happy.

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Anafi and Santorini islands + Peloponnisos (July-August 2011)

Summer is not summer if you don't go to Cyclades islands in Greece.
I was lucky enough. First i went to Anafi island.

Perfect sandy beaches, not crowded at all, turquoise color and transparent sea water everywhere around. Some beaches got nudists but not throughout the beach. There was a place for nudists and the rest for the swimming suits guys and girls. So there was a place for everybody. From a fashion-victim to goths and from 70s hippies to hip hoppers. 

Anafi is famous for its walking paths. You can walk all over the island using the well signed paths.
As you walk around the island you can feel two kind of wave. The tiny white sea waves at the horizon and  smell the full of thyme  airwaves coming straight from the hills. Yes, the hills is full of thyme in full bloom and it's awesome!

What else you can see there?
Well, the  highest cliff in the Mediterranean sea (470m) outstripping even Gibraltar (which is 426m).
It's impossible not to see this.
At the top there is a monastery (many people spent the night there after climbing and walking) and at the foothill there are some remains of  a sanctuary to Apollo. Nice huh?

What is missing now? Please prepare your taste buds !!!
Perfect goat cheese, tomatoes that smell like tomatoes, tiny fried squibs, fresh fishes, nice raki (drink).
Oh yes. It is a gourmet paradise at affordable prices.

Rooms also were cheep. We (2 persons) payed 30 Euros/day for a very descent room with a breathtaking view like this :

Well, after Anafi ....we headed to Santorini.
No need to tell so much about this island.
It's an active volcano. People living on top of the volcano and at the caldera. Are they crazy? I can say they are lucky.
Lucky 'cause they have a view like this:

and this:

With luxury hotels all over

and crazy beaches. You can choose colors. Black beach or Red beach. Rocky or sandy. Artistic or not.
Here is a beach Gaudi would love for sure. Maybe, who knows, Gaudi passed by this place sometime and made this rocks looks like this:

...or inspired by those rocks to build all this amazing work of art in Barcelona.
I said crazy before....and i mean it. Listen to this. We rent a car, drove all over the island, left the car at the airport and we never saw the owner of the car company.
Weird huh?
Here is the chat " Well, i'd like to rent a car - No problem. - I'd like someone waiting for me at the port is it possible? - No problem. I'll leave the car at the port. The keys will be under the drivers' seat. The license plate is ....... Take it and don't worry at all. - Wow... thank you. Bye"
And the car was there. The keys were there also. And everything was perfect. When we were ready to pay for it we call again. "Do we have to pass by the car company to pay you? - No no no... just leave the car at the airport put the keys under the drivers' seat and hide the money under the co-drivers' seat. Ok? - Yeah for sure.Thank you"
So....you can rent a car, take it from wherever you want....leave it wherever you want ...and never see the cars' owner ....ever. He trusted us. That's all. This is Santorini. Crazy.

Then was time for Peloponnisos. (Peloponnese)  Twice in a month.
Southwest. Watching the sun diving straight into the Mediterranean sea. No mountains , no hills, no islands , nothing on its way to the dark blue sea. 
I've been there many times (actually i'm visiting Peloponnese almost every year, to meet and really enjoy my aunt my cousins my nephews and my nieces). I really like the water and the sea....but this time i went a bit higher. So i made a trip to the nearby mountains and i did well because i saw something perfect. Continuous waterfalls and lakes. Foul green and blue, amazing white stones and very-very extremely cold water.

 It's called "Multi-lake" because there is one lake after another and between them ...waterfalls.

I like this part of Peloponnese because people still using stones as the main building material. Houses made of stone and wood like we used to do years ago.
Nice beaches....descent food , bad roads and drivers.

The trip to Peloponnese ended at Pylos. A small town full of well maintained old houses and buildings made of stone, near the sea.

The deep sea. Actually , 45 miles SW of Pylos is the deepest point in Mediterranean sea. The Calypso Deep at the Ionian Basin ....5,267 metres (or 17,280 feet) under the sea-level. Wow!!!
See? Again i touch the edges....from the highest point (Anafi) to the deepest point in Mediterranean sea. This is me.... 
After all these....i'm sinking in my Calypso deep thoughts.....
.....goodbye and see you later .....

Since then...let me enjoy the sea.

kostas

... Zambia (21 April - 20 June 2011)

-------yes!!! A fast trip ....an emergency mission to prevent and to decrease the measles outbreak at the Northern Province of Zambia.
A journey in the middle of nowhere and everywhere. In the middle of the savanna

 In the middle of the lake Tanganyika

 


in the middle of the swams

in the middle of whatever

in the middle of lovely kids and people.

Cons:
too much chicken and N'shima (local food made of maize flour sometimes mixed with kasawa roots, in this case taste better)

too many kilometers on dirt roads (in some cases there wasn't any road) so my brain still bouncing.

Pros:
Many good fellows (having good time there)

Being in places that it's almost impossible for someone to go

Safari in Botswana
(thanks to Ellita who said "yes" for this adventure)

Livingstone and Victoria Falls
(6 persons + the driver in Land Cruiser)

But the most important was : .... about 500 thousands kinds vaccinated against measles.

2 tough months full of emotions.



Lesson in Bemba language

Tatotela
Isa'   - Isa' kouno
Esenikouno
Muashi-moukeni
Bouangou-bouangou
Kamo-kamo
Mpampili-mpampili
Mouarila
Mkouai
Ioue (eoue)
mourishani
Bouino mourishani

Add the translation if you know...... :)