After final exams, then what?

Ever since I finished my course finals, i find myself staying indoors,a lot. The other day, a little spider came down from the ceiling. He said his name was Eliin, and that he'd been
living in my room his whole life. He said he'd never
seen me spend so much time in the room.

So he asked if he should spread some web all over the door so no one could come in. I told him... No thanks, and he disappered in his hide out.
Huh? Lemme be clear, the spider did not speak...
I just saw from the way he crawled on the floor and looked st me that thats what he was telling me.

Perhaps the spider made a point; that stop staying indoors, its boring. So, I've started partying... thats how I ended up going for the Medical students' dinner on saturday at kabila country club. I got a ticket for two and invited Cindy to go with, but she was attending some one's kasiki.
I went there anyways, even though i didnt know any one except the gal who sold me the ticket.
Am beginning to think; partying is what kids do when they cant handle reality.

HARD School recollections

Ahhhh, man...we have passed through some hard times, have been somewhat exposed to a bit of danger, at an early age... but this is the world, where nothing comes on a silver platter.

So, I remember climbing those mountains about rwenzori's height going to primary school. The rock-strewn mountains with steep slippery slopes where I used to pass to go to Lukuli primary school. That school I joined for P7 has been my constant source of wonder because I got out of there with aggregate 7 in PLE. That was my first biggest achievement in childhood.

Whats funny about it is that nobody in my family knows where that school is, nobody has ever gone there, except Abel who was sent there after me, and he didnt quite stay there long, as the H/Master was not able to accomodate another 'foreign' student for a year.

Then came high school, the period I've dubbed HARD school. In the Ugandan Education System, High School means the classes from senior One to Six. So I spent my high school's 6 years in a moslim founded, administration and moslim dominated school...East High School, located in Ntinda, 1 km off kisaasi road on the Eastern side of kampla city.

Some times school food would be too bad and I remember the recipies most o times included bean weevels and posho of the world's lowest quality. The sight of that meal on my plate during the lunches has since killed my appetite forever.

One day during Idd period, I took it further with my long time friend Bashaija Horrace and wrote a complaint letter addressed to the principal, about the bad food that was being served to non-moslm students and shoved it under the door of the staff room after night preps, under the cover of darkness, then ran away to our dorms and waited to see the response the next day. Ofcourse to be known for having written such a mystery letter, of all staff to the principal, would mean expulsion from school or a thorough beating up and spending a day on your knees in the staff room.

But lucky enough, the next day, instead of posho and bean weevils, we saw a totally different meal being served at the cafeteria.

So on that day, I and Horrace celebrated on the cassave mixed with beans meal, in the knowledge that we had caused change in a peaceful way, to the advantage of a few hundred christians in that school.

We thought the principal might have known better than to sit on such an explosive issue if it was caught up by the rest of the students.

But he remains one of the most respectable men I have met in my time. He used take us away from school thinking and tell us real world issues as if he was the father of those hundreds of children from different walks of the ugandan society. He became a darling of my father who urged him to keep a close watch on me and that meant I got more punishments than an average student. That man and deputy principal Khaukha Mohammed, I am forever indebted to them for what I got out of that School.

While at Campus

What was constant at campus is that at the end of each day I flopped into bed feeling spent and I woke up each day eager to pick up from where I left off. Each day was just a day to get through. And the weekend was a time of recovery at aunt Julie's place with my cousins Cindy and Candy. I don’t mean to say that I was completely miserable campus. There certainly were things that ensured my life was far from being a hardship, like having teas at Gonja Cafe with Kabibi, earning some money from doing some computer projects, and having the constant stimulation of my friends and groups. And the simple satisfaction I gained from the Course itself, doing what I am good at, my situation there seems abysmal in retrospect.

How I managed to avoid people who could use money to have their courseworks and tests done, still astounds me now. Why did sttudents 'help' each other that way? Were a few thousand shillings really worth being a freak for? If I did not take the course seriously it might not bother me as much, but while I was there I set aside most personal time and put every ounce of effort into the work. I tried so hard to be professional, and those who have made it in their professions know how much preparation goes into a good grade.

I hope I can keep up with this hobby because I had a tendency of embracing new projects and forgetting all about old ones a few months down the line.

All our classes, till third year, were actually held in the students centre at the St. Francis chappel building. It is an amazing location near Lumumba and Marystuart halls of residence. The building has two layered floors and huge blue glass windows that allow natural air and light to stream in from all directions. The arrangement of the centre is carefully designed into two levels, one up and the other below, all facing the lecturer's platform. Equiped with a stereo system for the lecturer One never felt cramped as in other closed rooms. Later on a restauranter set up a food stall called Gonja Cafe outside the on ground floor and that became my hub for eating and discussions with friends. As for the faculty premises, most of the equipment you could possibly need for IT and Computer Science was there: computer labs withmost PC’s connected to the Internet and most progrms installed, large interactive white boards for practical sessions. It was amazing. So I was some how thrilled. Everything is working out nicely in Makerere. The course is just fantastic, every one of the lecturers I have had so far has been exceptional, and now that am finalising, my world couldn’t get much better.