We are going to tidy up the garage in preparation for the little broilers. There are still lots of furniture to be moved out from the garage. So I am still thinking if I should take a shower at half past twelve in the afternoon. Do not be surprised, I usually take shower in the afternoon since the water, after receiving heat from the sun for the whole morning, is warmer than in the morning. However, today has not been a sunny day. The chill air has made me reluctant to put off my clothes, but the reality of not taking a shower during the day is something morally wrong to me!
I will also fulfill my promise today if possible. I will take some photos of the local food here and post them later today here.
I have made up my mind to embrace some terribly cold water! Wish me luck!
Picture of the week-The moon, one day after the Mid-autumn Festival, when it is at its roundest.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
About Smoking!
The taste of the cigarettes here are terrible. The best brand here is Dunhill, but each pack I got tasted differently. I assume it was because they took long to be sold so the flavour already altered by the time I got them. So if anyone preparing coming to Uganda, please do bring your own cigarettes with you! I have kept my hope alive of finding the perfect cigs here, but was disappointed each time by the new pack. The place I live is around twenty minutes' walking distance from the nearest place where I can get Dunhill. Otherwise, I have to live on Sportsman, a so-called luxury Ugandan brand and Rex. What is paradoxical is that whenever I was forced by laziness or unexpected incidence in life to smoke Sportsman, I had always need to smoke each cig with great disgust.
It's all about the sympathetic life of a smoker. Some of my colleagues told me to give up smoking, but whenever they saw me dropping an unfinished cigarette(what I mean by unfinished is not smoking to the very end of the cigarette), I was always told to finish it instead of wasting the money. I then argued that which one they cared the most-my life or the money I paid for the cigarette? I told them dropping an unfinished cig is by all means a positive act towards my life and lives of others. This has been an argument which would never end in Kazo.
I'm so so hungry now(using double adverbs is a habit of the locals here, especially John! For instance, "this is So So sweet" and "it has been So So nice")! Because of getting late, breakfast cannot be found on the street. A typical Ugandan breakfast consist of Posho and Wrangles(the spelling of this word is not confirmed though I consulted with John who was not sure either. As soon as he saw me writing down his name here, he was too upset, so he wanted to look up this work in an dictionary. The problem is the word for a local food here will never be found in Oxford Dictionary) and possibly some other things. I have got used to having them each morning, though the combination of foods have rarely been changed. They are quite tasty when you are hungry! I'll post some photos of the local food here in the next day or two!
It's all about the sympathetic life of a smoker. Some of my colleagues told me to give up smoking, but whenever they saw me dropping an unfinished cigarette(what I mean by unfinished is not smoking to the very end of the cigarette), I was always told to finish it instead of wasting the money. I then argued that which one they cared the most-my life or the money I paid for the cigarette? I told them dropping an unfinished cig is by all means a positive act towards my life and lives of others. This has been an argument which would never end in Kazo.
I'm so so hungry now(using double adverbs is a habit of the locals here, especially John! For instance, "this is So So sweet" and "it has been So So nice")! Because of getting late, breakfast cannot be found on the street. A typical Ugandan breakfast consist of Posho and Wrangles(the spelling of this word is not confirmed though I consulted with John who was not sure either. As soon as he saw me writing down his name here, he was too upset, so he wanted to look up this work in an dictionary. The problem is the word for a local food here will never be found in Oxford Dictionary) and possibly some other things. I have got used to having them each morning, though the combination of foods have rarely been changed. They are quite tasty when you are hungry! I'll post some photos of the local food here in the next day or two!
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
A new boy is sponsored in the community
Poultry Factory Built
The factory now only lacks its final touch of putting on doors and bringing in chicks in seven days. We have faced so many difficulties in having it built. The new challenge is the chicks. Let us all work for the success of the factory!
Writing after midnight.
The biggest obstacle for me reading in front of the centre is the mosquitoes. They have their rendezvous around me, where it is, from my point of view, neither secret nor romantic. But it is productive. I was put off by the amount of malaria tablets my GP gave me in the UK, but have got used to taking them every day, though occasionally forgetting taking them for the maximum of two days.
The evening whether in Kampala is more like England now. Chill with light rains. When I stayed in the balcony located on the second floor of the club from where John works, glancing the hills and forests where Makerere University, I instantly recalled the time when I was in the UK where the whether was seemed specifically designed for me-not too delight, not too melancholy. Well, i have to say that the music in his club is one of the unbearable things in life.
The evening whether in Kampala is more like England now. Chill with light rains. When I stayed in the balcony located on the second floor of the club from where John works, glancing the hills and forests where Makerere University, I instantly recalled the time when I was in the UK where the whether was seemed specifically designed for me-not too delight, not too melancholy. Well, i have to say that the music in his club is one of the unbearable things in life.
Monday, 30 August 2010
A Short Note Before I Leave for Town
Two Israeli volunteers came to the centre this morning as scheduled. The room is filled with kids now doing paintings, crafting and sports activities. Tal, one of the volunteers is keen on family visiting. She has been so dedicated on the job she was assigned and could not wait but going to the community once she arrived.
I'm going to town to prepare fund for the drinkers, feeders and other facilities for the chicks which will be brought here on Sep, 7. Madame Josephine has gone to consult the price of the chicken mash. We will do the final calculation this early evening I suppose.
Michal has told us a potential business deal for the women group, which makes beads, from Israel. I will do the assessment tomorrow no the group's production. Maybe several other products may be added to their production line. All of the ladies who are in the women group are from extremely poor background and most of them are very active in what they do. I'll meet them tomorrow to see what I can do for them, for the business and all of us.
I have given my laptop to John two days ago to help him with his job as a DJ. He was so happy, so was his uncle who is the manager of the club in which John works. His uncle asked me yesterday after John briefed him about what I did, "do you have a religion?" I said no after a short hesitation(It is very rare in Uganda for a person not to have a religion). "But you are a good man," the gentleman concluded after hearing my answer. Then he hugged me.
By the way, John earned 20000 Uganda shillings two days ago working just for two hours with his new laptop. Lucky Guy!!
I'm going to town to prepare fund for the drinkers, feeders and other facilities for the chicks which will be brought here on Sep, 7. Madame Josephine has gone to consult the price of the chicken mash. We will do the final calculation this early evening I suppose.
Michal has told us a potential business deal for the women group, which makes beads, from Israel. I will do the assessment tomorrow no the group's production. Maybe several other products may be added to their production line. All of the ladies who are in the women group are from extremely poor background and most of them are very active in what they do. I'll meet them tomorrow to see what I can do for them, for the business and all of us.
I have given my laptop to John two days ago to help him with his job as a DJ. He was so happy, so was his uncle who is the manager of the club in which John works. His uncle asked me yesterday after John briefed him about what I did, "do you have a religion?" I said no after a short hesitation(It is very rare in Uganda for a person not to have a religion). "But you are a good man," the gentleman concluded after hearing my answer. Then he hugged me.
By the way, John earned 20000 Uganda shillings two days ago working just for two hours with his new laptop. Lucky Guy!!
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Singing...
Choir rehearsal is to be started in an hour's time. I just finished working on a song with John, Bring Him Home from Les Mserables. Since he wanted me to improve his singing, I had chosen this song for him to sing. It is a hard song and I now regret of the decision. I just remembered this song is included in a Grade 8 singing syllabus back in the UK.
We spent nearly two hours working on just two phrases. I have to admit sometimes my ears are sharp and my heart does not normally tolerate imperfections in music. Though I love imperfections in life, but for music everything is different. I love the moment when one can put each component of a piece at its right position at the right moment. That is where God reveals the eternity of life. That transit moment creates eternity in mind.
Knowing how to sing oneself and teaching others to sing are completely different issues. When I see the manuscript, usually songs from musicals, not Schubert or Mahler of course, I normally know instantly how the song has to be sung. The tempo, the phrasing and the structure just come naturally at hands. But for someone who has never sung before or who has sung in a reckless way, I always find hard times to convey my ideas. When John was practicing under my instructions, one could always hear me saying, "John, listen to the accompaniment", "You're late in the beginning of this phrase and early when it ends" or "this part you should make the audience feel falling rapidly and then a immediate slow down following afterwards". Sometimes it is so hard to tell him what I mean rather than demonstrate. If words can express music, what is the meaning of music then?
But anyway, here is the link of the song, Bring Him Home, from Les Miserables.
Bring Him Home by Gary Morris
it's a quite good version since it is actually selected from the complete recording of the musical. So it has the flavour of songs from the musical. Sometimes when a singer performs a song as song, not as one of the songs from a musical recording, then the feeling of the piece may completely be altered. But the irony is, the general public would prefer to listen to a song as a song when they only listen to one song or a collection of songs, but a song as a part of a musical when they are listening to a complete recording. Therefore, Gary Morris's version may not be as welcoming as other versions on the net, but has the originality which only can be realised when the whole musical is played.
We spent nearly two hours working on just two phrases. I have to admit sometimes my ears are sharp and my heart does not normally tolerate imperfections in music. Though I love imperfections in life, but for music everything is different. I love the moment when one can put each component of a piece at its right position at the right moment. That is where God reveals the eternity of life. That transit moment creates eternity in mind.
Knowing how to sing oneself and teaching others to sing are completely different issues. When I see the manuscript, usually songs from musicals, not Schubert or Mahler of course, I normally know instantly how the song has to be sung. The tempo, the phrasing and the structure just come naturally at hands. But for someone who has never sung before or who has sung in a reckless way, I always find hard times to convey my ideas. When John was practicing under my instructions, one could always hear me saying, "John, listen to the accompaniment", "You're late in the beginning of this phrase and early when it ends" or "this part you should make the audience feel falling rapidly and then a immediate slow down following afterwards". Sometimes it is so hard to tell him what I mean rather than demonstrate. If words can express music, what is the meaning of music then?
But anyway, here is the link of the song, Bring Him Home, from Les Miserables.
Bring Him Home by Gary Morris
it's a quite good version since it is actually selected from the complete recording of the musical. So it has the flavour of songs from the musical. Sometimes when a singer performs a song as song, not as one of the songs from a musical recording, then the feeling of the piece may completely be altered. But the irony is, the general public would prefer to listen to a song as a song when they only listen to one song or a collection of songs, but a song as a part of a musical when they are listening to a complete recording. Therefore, Gary Morris's version may not be as welcoming as other versions on the net, but has the originality which only can be realised when the whole musical is played.
Friday, 27 August 2010
Some Other Literary Notes
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| Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
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| Henry David Thoreau |
It has been a long day and writing new post each day on the blog has gradually become my habit. The good thing of possessing the habit is that writing new posts nowadays does not take much thinking-one just need to write some words done which make sense to the people, the same words which are also true to one's conscientiousness. I feel like writing the introduction of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, but I do realise my lacking of eloquence. I remembered the time, like six or seven years ago, when I first read Rousseau's works, which were some articles including 'The Social Contract' and 'On Education', his logical reasoning inspired me so much. I can barely remember now how he put his words, but what left in me was the ideas he was trying to convey hundreds of years ago. Such encounter through history is something in which I was so fascinated. He seemed to be talking to me face to face while I was reading his words and more real than anyone around me at that time.
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| Federico García Lorca |
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| Rainer Maria Rilke |
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| Sigmund Freud |
Whenever I mentioned Rousseau, I had always to address the one with a similar difficult name, Henry David Thoreau, who wrote a famous book in Walden. Maybe it was because I read them at nearly the same time. But I read Federico García Lorca, Rainer Maria Rilke and some of Freud's works at that time as well. Reading those authors' books in China and in my family at that time was something fanatic and I was treated badly because of that. Please don't take me as name dropping here since each name has had its unique and important meaning to me and there would be many more names if I try to list them all down.
Since this post is turning more into a personal literature review, it will not be a sin to bring up a name which I have not talked about to others for a very long time-Jiddu Krishnamurti, the one who completely changed my life.
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| Juddi Krishnamurti |
If I have to choose among all human beings whom I have encountered in life and who gave me the biggest influence, I have to say it was him. I read nearly every book he wrote which I could get in China at that time. I have subsequently in the past six years recommending his writing to numerous people, but they all found him too difficult to read and digest. But for me, his words were so simple and touching. It took me less than a second to understand after reading his sentences. From the very first encounter with him in a remote corner of a bookstore, it only took me less than a week to finish three of his books. I could not help but kept on reading like mad. I just could not have enough of him. Each sentence of him meant a whole new world to me. I was like a young kid who one day opened his eyes and saw earth from the space. K's teaching completely changed the way I looked at the world and my own life. If I have to choose a religion, K is my religion though I know perfectly well he is not and it is me who is.
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| Franz Kafka |
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| Orhan Pamuk |
I don't like using the letter K, because whenever I start using them, with no very much valid reasons, Franz Kafka and Orhan Pamuk's figure will pop up in my mind. I know the main character Ka in Pamuk's novel 'Snow" was named Kafka's witness K. Well, in Kafka's novel, anyname can be anyone's name. Mr X, Mrs Y? Name loses its social value when the existence takes its weight in life.
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