You Tube Channel

I don't have many videos on there, but some of the videos that I post on here I have also posted on my YouTube Channel that is ill-used. All of this new techonology is beyond me. Go here for some videos...maybe I will add more?


http://www.youtube.com/user/kozadaniel?feature=mhum#p/u




STORY TIME:
Last year at right around this time I had ventured back to the US for my home leave between my 2nd and 3rd years of service. Having been in Uganda for 2 years away from most technologically revulotionary electronic gadgets, I didn't know exactly how I was going to handle some of the what had become common everyday personal possessions. Yes, in Uganda one can get an iPhone, or an iPad, or a Samsung Pad thing or any of those, but the costs are through the roof and I don't really know where they are purchased. Anyway, back to the story. So I had of course heard of this whole iPad revolution that had begun and was nervous/curious to see what the craze was all about. Upon entering the Apple story I was greeted by a very courteous staff member wearing a black Apple t-shirt named Catherine. My heart was racing, what do I do, there is so much in here and its not even like a kid in a candy store any more but rather a grown adult inside of the NASA Atlantis Space Shuttle with no clue what anything really does and afraid to touch anything. I inquired about the iPad and was led by Catherine the black t-shirt wearing Apple employee with a large name tag around her neck and some weird iPhone-looking gadget in her hand (it had some weird additional attachment to it) to one of these infamous iPads. She immediately picked it up and plopped it in to my hands. Palms sweaty with nervousness and confusion, I began to hold this space age object up in the air, looking underneath it as if I am looking for an oil leak in a car; proceeded to smell it, listen to it, and hold it at arms length from me as if it was a baby that suddenly began to urinate and giggle. Catherine attempted to ease my obvious fear by showing me with a touch of her finger how one could manipulate this iPad to do whatever the heart desires. Ever so briefly, I attempted to poke at the display as one might poke at a hot liquid to ensure it has cooled properly only to suddenly shove the device in to Catherine's hands and exit the shop quickly embarrasingly, behaving exactly as one might after tripping on their own to feet while walking on the side walk and looking around making sure no one is around and that no one saw.

Let it be known that was my first and only iPad experience. What is going to happen in round 2 in some few weeks? Only time will tell.

We Have Won The Battle

Here is a short little music video created by Mr. Kafeero Bernard, a music teacher at the NTC, Kaliro. This song was written by Mr. Kafeero for our most recent graduation assembly at the NTC, Kaliro and is a message describing the struggle that is education and that through fighting adversity we are able to succeed.

Panic Waiting Patiently

The Nile River at Sunset:
Sometimes I forget how often I cross one of the largest and most historical rivers in the world...

How do you just miss one thing? It is such a frequent question. Even I admit to asking that very question to persons when they are leaving something that has been especially dear to them. Does that very level of question limit our thinking for any specific reason? I have trouble focusing my attention on one specific aspect. Is it wrong simply to lump life altogether and say that I will miss that? Though excitement and new experiences are there on the horizon and I am striving for them, this land, this food, these people, these conversations, this laughter, this sorrow, these sunsets, these long dusty walks—this life—to me is just one thing. One very big thing to miss. One very big thing to remember. One very big thing to one day live again?

In less than 5 weeks I will take my first steps on to that plane at Entebbe International Airport and in my hand I will be holding that infamous 'one way ticket.' Though I have returned to Oregon twice over the course of the past 40 months, none of those times could have prepared me for these next steps. Both of those times I had with me a date and time for my return home to Uganda. I had throughout those holidays thoughts in my mind of the work to be done, of the people to see, of obligations to be fulfilled.

Someone mentioned to me that maybe 'panic' is just waiting patiently in a room. Maybe that is so. Actually, most likely that is so. So in the famous words of Jean -Luc Picard, 'Make it so'. Bring on the panic, bring on the fear, bring out the confusion of what comes next. Though fear raptures the mind like a blitzkrieg sometimes the excitement of the unknown and a new challenge is enough to wage war and to come out the victor.

Tomorrow I will wake up with one less day in Uganda—when looking in the mirror that is simply one day closer to a black hole of endless possibilities.