KENYA IN THE EYES OF A UGANDAN

This is an article that our dear friend Martin Karungi wrote:

The entire thought of having to leave my motherland to go and study in a foreign land was no joke. I guess your wondering who I am. My name is Karungi Martin, I am from Uganda (Pearl of Africa) and am pursuing my degree in Business Information Technology at Strathmore University, its one of the best and most recognized business universities in Africa.            From the books and journals it has gained its name, as the most crime filled city in East Africa and that was the notion with which I came with from Uganda.
I had never been to Nairobi in my life and all I was praying for was not to get mugged as I got off the bus to get to my place of residence. But I wish to proudly denounce that this notion of Nairobi is wrong. I have been here one month now in company of
Lucas, Francisco and Daniel, and I can only say that it’s been a wonderful experience. The whole idea of having three different societies Europe, Central America and South America is awesome. The diversity in culture, language, customs, way of life, food, mode of transport, and most of all the people.
            Life in Nairobi is rather faster than where I come from. The pace at which people move early in the morning to work is unbelievable it’s been a complete switch in all aspects and I am enjoying it.           Rather it has been challenging when it comes to spending money because when they realize that you can’t speak there language they use all sort of tricks to make you pay more than the actual fee. It happens in shops, matatus, bars, and kiosks. I have lost quite a lot of money but I was ‘consoled’ when these three lads from I.E university arrived coz I think these lads have lost close to a ‘billion dollars’. But as I have advanced with time I can now tell who wants to rip me off.
All in all I have no regrets being here, it has taught me to appreciate the value of the little we have back in Uganda. I guess I still have a lot to learn coz I am here for a long time (4 yrs), yes fours years and stop rising your eyebrows, its a short time.I guess that’s all for now and if you ever come to visit Nairobi please do make it a point to visit Uganda (Pearl of Africa).

Thank you Martin for your article!
See you around guys.

Hell’s Gate Experience

The second smallest national park in Kenya, but small we can’t call it. It’s

probably bigger than any of the national parks back where you are from and I can assure you it has nothing in common with the ones you are used to.

We got to visit this fantastic park thanks to our friend Jotham, who invited us and took us by car. As always you are charged here as a tourist, so you pay at least 4 or 5 times more than a local to enter, but in the end it is worth what you pay. The best thing is to hire a mountain

bike so you can get closer to the animals. While you pedal you have animals all around you, from the usual giraffe and zebra to the dangerous buffalo. This last animal is the scariest for locals, you may ask yourself why this is, since there are a lot scarier animals than these like lions and cheetahs. But the truth about these last ones is that they rarely attack humans as they are seen as normal by there eyes, buffalos are animals that protect their space and can attack you in any moment.

The most shocking thing about this park is that you have, after a few hundred meters, cliffs on both sides, which make the scenery even more spectacular. On these cliffs you can also see monkeys in their caves or hanging from trees.

After a long time cycling, you reach to what they call the Hodge, that is where you do a two-hour trekking through a dried up river. The trekking is sort of technical having to climb and even jump long distances. You do not know what you can find while doing this; we found two young kids that came out of nowhere and guided us during the trekking. They were two very nice Masai kids, with whom we took various photos without problems. They thought they were guiding us, but we knew exactly where to go.

After cycling back to the park entrance, we drove back to the city in exhaustion due to the long and tiring day.

Keep connected for more stories on this wonderful country.

ASANTI SANA (Thank you very much)