molto grande

Italian xmas: 6 hours of eating, drinking through 4 diff kinds of wine and opening presents to pomp and circumstance. molto bellissima! knocked out before dark. best xmas ever................ Thank you God. Best part was family and friends.

everything goes down better with a glass of wine..........

viva italia

reasons to love italy the sun shines in winter an italian heart glows all year round food is great the music is beautiful italians are loud and full of life you can always get a killer pair of shoes you don't have to read between the lines- they tell you as it is there is only so much order and the rest is left to your imagination

parting shot

lessons learnt in germany 1.do not set any expectations, keep yourself open to all possibilities 2.your african, your poor. no matter how much you think you have its diddly squat here 3.if your a conservative go south. if your a liberal go north 4. there are wonderful people all over the world there are also some that are not that wonderful 5.there can never be an occasion where you have eaten too much pig as long as your in Germany 6.Achtung! if your an alcoholic don't come there will be no light at the end of the tunnel 7.in the wise word of Omondi Oyoo "make your stay as long as a mini skirt- long enough to cover the essentials and short enough to keep it interesting" 8.anyone can learn to ride a bike with no hands given the right temperature 9.the biggest insult you can give a german is to be late 10.in every society alcohol is a social equalizer 11.people like their space so give them that 12.there is no black solidarity, thank money for that 13.hustlers are hustlers no matter the colour of the skin 14.don't buy anything before checking out at least 4 diff shops 15.total integration is impossible but then again its not your home 16.the ticket machines have an english language option so don't worry 17.stick to the cities 18.pay for your own drinks 19.silence is the best response most times 20.listen and learn 21.always remember to say thank you and wish someone a good day but don't push it 22.Plan! Plan! Plan! Plan! know when your going to do everything at least a month before you travel 23.Eurorail tickets are only available before you reach the country 24.the northerners don't fancy the southerner's. works both ways 25.places to see: Berlin. Hamburg-Reeperbahn. Cologne-chocolate factory. Dusseldorf-longest bar. Munich-Weis beer. 26.home is best 27.we are doing well in Kenya on many fronts and we are failing on many fronts. we need to stop listening to these western powers and chart our course 28.everyone who can should leave their country and visit europe at least once 29.don't do your undergraduate in a liberal western country..... many get damaged for life 30.Pray. A world with no God is not a world worth living in

Goodbyes and meditation on experience

yesterday was a sad evening not the best way to end a very good day. it was the last day at the hospital and saying goodbye was very hard. the hope of seeing all these beautiful people again runs deep. the possibility though is slim and so goodbye was sad. its been a wonderful experience with all this people. some have not been inviting or remotely taken an interest but others have openly accepted me into their circle and in the shortest of times. i came here in a fog of thought and now the sun is out shining bright and everything is clear, thanks to all who have opened my eyes through their little acts in assisting me through this visit. there are no good or bad people only people who love and in loving they perform actions that are good or bad. everything that God made was perfect, it was pleasing. that perfection shines through the veil that we cover others and our selves in. love is the flower bloom that casts that veil away. God's love: Dr. Rashed, Dr. Pedram,Carola, Michael, Peter, Philipe, Amrei, Fatumata, Christin, Ann-maria, Tobias, Talbos, Miriam, Dr. Kugler, Marco, Fabian, Julian, Sophia, Mari-ann, Tarsia, Denise,Dr. Wolf, Dr. Loez, Prof. Hosch, Dr. Ghanem, Dr. Ekaterina, Dr. Marker, Dr. Justina, Dr. Peter. Kwaheri nyote, Mungu awabariki na awatakie kila la heri maishani mwenu. Upendo wake uwe mwangaza kwa barabara ya maisha.

walkway into the scene: Klinikum Ingolstadt

Dienstag blues

back to routine :p funny how tourists see more of a country than the locals. makes you wonder why spend all the money going elsewhere when even your backyard is a strange land. next travel itinerary is now kenya! considering the numerous number of churches in Germany it is surprising how small the christian community is. and lets not forget how old..... most are already knocking on heaven's doors by the time they carry the cross or are they the few surviving remnants of a time past. a time when many only knew the lowest of lows and the comfort of God at such times. it is hard to believe when all your needs are covered and even your wants can be matched in a blink. so it turns out christmas officially starts 4 sundays before the actual day so chriskindle market is up and guys can get drunk on gluwine. any reason to drink.

the faces of love

so what was meant to be a tour of germany has become a tour to see friends. the smiles of whom tower well over the brick and mortar architectural wonders that are all around. when one travels the heart reveals itself in glorious light. paris has the louvre and the eiffel: hamburg has the harbor and the reeperbahn: cologne has the rhine and the dome (germany's biggest church-and its big): munich has maximillianstrasse and the weisse beer: amsterdam has hemp and red lights and the canals..... but even the aztecs had great buildings and the pyramids gleamed like molten gold at the height of their construction. the twin towers were a wonder to the eye and macchu pichu still fascinates centuries later. the untold story is the day to day life of the people there and how much more precious that is for all. all these cities may sparkle on their own but they sparkle, dance and sing when experienced with friends. thank's faith and sandra for an awesome visit to hamburg. thanks auntie mary for the welcoming open hands, felt like i had gotten home in your house in lubeck. Arnim and Daniela who would have imagined that we would be sharing dinner in Frechen konigsdorf after meeting so briefly. PK GODincidence all the way. the coffee in cologne could not have tasted any better.

christmas fever

xmas seems to be very important, not yet out of november and even in the hospital wards they are dangling decorations. hard not to imagine chris not flying his sled right over head. the dedicated fervor with which the whole affair is being handled begs the question: isn't europe in a euro crisis or is that just a paper crisis!

insanity of cold

madness- jogging at night in the deafening cold that marks the end of nov in europe equal madness- as a black man from the equator experiencing his first near zero and sub-zero temps and deceiving himself he can seat on a metallic bench in the middle of the night, please don't..... your butt gets numb and you can't walk till it defrosts!!! Doubly madness-playing night soccer matches in this weather just so you can fill the stadium!!! Triply mad- attending the afore mentioned soccer match parting shot-boots were made for white people to walk in the snow not for ladies in the equator to wear and look like their bodies are slowly gravitating into their legs starting with the fluids

the answer remains the same

who's power is it to rule the world? who's power is it to rule our lives? in the beginning men ruled their own lives. one hunted for their own food, one farmed for their food, one built their own shelter. one was free to live or die as they pleased. community developed and even then man had his autonomy but..... slowly law and order came to be beasts that road on trade and commerce and ever so slowly........ man found himself shackled. slave to the system. a system that feeds many but serves few. today we have little control of our lives our only choice is to live as society demands education and employment in services and industries that feed the beast called economy programming that tells us that is the only way to live life. constantly aspiring to get more and better than others a warped value system that values law, order, money more than it values human life only one law does matter the law of love..... but even that has taken new form "show people how much you love them by throwing money at them"-take them out for lunch, buy them some jewellery and accept them as they are yet most of this is motivated by selfish gain to gain a heart to belong to who needs our love most? those who have been buffeted with good fortune in this world of steel and money? or the suffering and sick? those who have helped us through our lives? or those who despise us? those from who we gain and grow? or those who drain us of our last energy? ALL OF THEM and what of the slavery we now live in? this slavery to the system. the greater slavery is of the heart who's cruel slave master is the mind pumped with dictum and ideas and principles..... unfounded in the understanding of the gift of life. the fullness of which is known to the smallest and the largest both inanimate and animated by grace we are here by love... wellspring from our hearts... boundless and encompassing all love with no i love with no me love for all only by love can we celebrate the grace of living only by love can we truly worship only by love can the world as we know grow from evil into glory

living life

waking every morning to the same life is wonderful: there is security and comfort in the familiarity that each morning brings. and that is why waking every morning to the same life is dangerous: familiarity dulls the senses and most importantly our understanding of the world gets fixed. however short a journey this is it is nevertheless a shot in the leg. a shot that draws pain and in that pain life is revealed. we derive great pleasure through association with others and the esteem drawn from them so much so that many lives are a product of expectation. we endeavour to express ourselves in language, cloth and demeanour in a fashion that best exemplifies us. when all this is stripped away, what is left? i think Life is left with the many gifts it brings: the gift of waking, the gift of breathing, the gift of being aware, the gift of presence. it is no wonder that mother teresa gave away everything material and then herself to be with those with none. she truly understood the value of life, seeing the beauty in those we have not. the beauty that is a life graciously given. a life that should be graciously shared through love. and love's language is a verb. i pray for the weakness to love others as God loves us.

reflection on a word

it is a beautiful thing to love. it is a hard thing to love. it is the only thing: to love. what 1000 words say a single action manifests in a moment. better then silence.

affirmation

i am most blessed in my life

meeting people

a quick search over the net has revealed the sad reality that meeting english speakers in Ingolstadt is as exerting as squeezing the juice out of the coconut. social media messaging boards that run back several years evidence the plight of the foreigner in this city: 'bleek' even when married!!! but where two or more are gathered, fun can be had in abundance!! lets see if the net can offer salvation (no pun intended)

blood and gore

so today was a good day not only did i get to suture but highlight of the day; >>>>>> pulling someone's guts out through their ass!!! hahahaha felt like hannibal lector

"rumi"nation on a silent night

fear is the cheapest room in the house look at the world through the eyes of a child, strip all ideas of self from the body these are constructs of the past life lived new frontiers call for blank pages no expectations a daring to step forward... into the dark and beyond. a smile and a open heart are the only true weapons of living.

language and culture

challenges of language: "i will think about it"- in american English that means heck no -in German that means that it is likely to progress it is a good idea. -in Kenya it means yes i will think about hard if i remember to so not only do you have to learn the language, you also have to learn the dialect and the people come on brain work!! where do you draw the line between changing in line with your new environment and what to keep in the name of self identity?

WOYZECK

so tonight i went for a musical, please note it was in deutsch and my deutsch is only good enough to buy a drink and ask for directions..... the experience was amazing to say the least... art especially music is a language with no boundaries. whatever was lost in translation carried through in song and expression. Rumi: "Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation" had they been silent all would have carried through in the multiple faces so artfully crafted, limbering lines given life in muscle and blood. misery is the river of life........ but we shall always have dreams

wisdom

Aber. the brain is slowly getting trained! the straight lines of the buildings and the lawns suddenly lay bear the music of this place............ formality is a hammer constantly pounding away at the head!! life is beautiful in all its forms!! that becomes more abundantly clear with each falling leaf. isolation is a question lingering at the back of the mind...... common language is such a vital component for interaction and acceptance and man has developed a lop-sided dependence to the spoken language despite its limited application. everyday bears new fruit: high-heeled girls cycling their bikes to their dates and silent bus-rides fraught of the pomp and circumstance commonly viewed at home. suddenly even nothing has great value... Travel it seems is vital for bearing: once closed eyes suddenly are opened and the beauty of life in its simplicity is exemplified. this is a good trip, round every corner there is a newness to be discovered. what is common in one quarter is such a novelty in another and the borders between our lives are as thin as the thickness of the paper on which this is written>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (nought) a smile is universal curency: carry plenty and open your heart to possibility

tossing and turning

couldn't sleep yesterday night!! 5 times i woke up in different degrees of agitation. i posit it might be the bed, a 6 foot 5 lumbering figure is ill suited to sleep on a standard built bed. more so if one is greatly accustomed to a kingly sized bed that allows gymnastic maneuvering without rumours of the edge.... time will reveal all. with all the cold energy conservation is vital, it becomes abundantly clear why less talk is the norm outside on the streets and the buzz feels the warm buildings: central heating - number one reason not to leave the house!!!! in true German fashion there is a hospital card that not only gets you free lunch but is a get out of jail card opening all bus doors with a curt nod and chronometricaly timed hello from the bus driver. were this to happen in kenya dare i say i doubt my great grand kids would see it. if all was taken from us it is clear that one thing we shall share and that is 'discontentment', at home its water, electricity and good political will that we are discontent about. here its the stress of life, endless working hours to earn enough to impress your kids classmates by dressing your kids fashionably, to enough to buy a fancy car and build a castle for a home...... material satisfaction, want or need its all the same........... unattainable the leaves keep falling yellow and now even gold.........

first impressions

so after a dramatic delayed flight and placation by sympathetic airport staff through being snuck into the business lounge on an economy class ticket, i arrived!!! and isn't it beautiful! sun was out and early autumn the trees are still green with afew slowly turning yellow. the novelty might have leant some charm but hey lets not play down the jaw dropping and wide eyed wonder camera wielding stance......... Europe is white and only hesitantly reveals darker complexions in menial job capacities and small egoes: solitary figures cleaning floors and catching buses isolated yet in the focus of attention. i was left to wonder how my reception would go???????????!

missed the bus out of the airport and had to wait for an hour, the paradox of sighting the sun but feeling the cold caress of the temperate climate came to fruit. frozen toes and sweaty forehead: humans are nothing like water! there is no diffusion of temp (sad reality) After spotting many audis and mercedes Ingolstadt rose up on the banks of the Danube (karma- 'the blue Danube' was the last song i played for a friend the night before i left. what are the odds)

my hosts the Brinck family were very gratious and have welcomed me warmly making me feel right at home, well........ almost home (there is no nyama choma)