Happy New Year!!

From Zoetermeer, Holland

Paco Bonsang and his family wishes al KFI and HKU students, teachers and staff, Geert, and all other friends and partners of KFI, a great and inspirering 2010!!

Paco

pictures of Nairobi

The more richer part of the Midlands, centre of Nairobi








A Big Matatu














Small houses for the railroad workers













Lucas and his parents














Me and lucas parents

Paco in Nairobi

This weekend i went to go with lucas to Nairobi. He had to do on saturday a shoot of a play in the French Cultural Centre, in the centre of Nairobi. He had asked me to join him this weekend and I thought that i would liked that.

So on friday we left school around 1 o'clock and went to Arusha town to take te bus to Nairobi. The ride was bumpy because of al the work on a new roud an we had ride on some small stone, sand and mud (because it rains now a lot arround Arusha)
After 2,5 hours of driving we where finnaly by the border. By the border we found out that my visa was expiered 3 days earlier. So they say that i had to pay $400,- because i stayed for almost 3 days ilegal in Tanzania. After a long talk, they even took the passport of Lucas, we did get our passports back without having to pay. Then the bus was already gone and we had to get a stamp, and in my case a visa, at the Kenian boarder. Lucas run to the to try to stop it and, stupid me, run also to the bus but i crossed acedently the kenian boarder so i was agian illegal but now in Kenya.
Lucas and i run back, get out stamps and a visa toke a taxi and drove to a stop where our bus was. So the ride was not that good because also on the Kenian side the road was bad! A lot of people where working on it under supervising of the chinese..

After 2,5 to 3 hours we where finally in Nairobi centre. There we walked from the bus stand to the Matatu stands, DalaDala's but then with 9 chairs and you're not alloud to stand in the matatu. And those matutu's are crazy. Full of DVD screens, loud music, crazy lights and they drive fast my god!!
So after the matutu ride we were finally by the parents of lucas where we slept the weekend. They are really nice parents, so warm, good hostpitallity, good food and a nice bed.

On saturday we went to the town and walked a bit before we went the place of the play. Because it was a holliday, this day was the celebration of the independence of kenya, it was not crowdy on the street. So we walked towards the banks but we forgot that they were al closed so i couldn't get dollars for a new visa to get into Tanzania again. So after walking and talking at 11 we were back at the centre and the were preparing for the shoot.
I met good people of the Kenian film industry, cameramen and 1 women, soundmen, producers and the director of the play.
They had to shoot the play twice so we were al day in the centre, we only get out for tea and for lunch and between the two play's we get some fresh air.

After the show it was raining so one cameraman gave us a ride back to our place. We went also to his studio somewhere in the ghetto, his name is Pato and is company is called Ghetto Film, and we brought some equipment back to a big guy, Robert, somewhere else in the ghetto.
After we were back we had a good meal and we talked for al long time to the parents of Lucas. It was nice.

On sunday we had to go the another part of town for lucas to get a letter of his tv company to get acces to see satelite tv in his new hous here in Tanzania. His parents drove us there but not before we had a good breakfast, took a real african shower ( trow some hot water over your body above a bucket with soap and you're clean) and make some pictures (the first i toke in Nairobi)
I even get a present and Jaimie, mom and dad, you're invited to come over if you are sometimes in Kenya. She told me that i became one of her son's now and thats why she had to meet my Dutch parents and ofcourse my girl friend.
After visiting this company we went in to a mall and bought some grocery's, I toke some money and we took the bus back to the centre of town, also called the midlands. When we arrived there we went to a kind of postaloffice because Lucas had to sent 2 dvd's to Uganda and then we walked a to town and by a pizza place near our busstand we took a coke and pizza.

After that we went home on the same bumpy road. But this time a had no big problem by the boarder, i only had to wait 5 till 10 minuts to change Kenian Shillings to Dollars, and to get a Tanzania visa, we stayed this time only 45 minutes by the boarder instead of 1 hour.

So Nairibo. What a crazy town. By afternoon and night it's crowdy, big difference between the rich an poor, it can be warm but also chilly, chaotic, especially by the matutu stands, and dirty, there's trash everywhere outside the Midlands. But it was great! i really enjoyd it! And i go back for sure to see my new mom, brothers, co workers and more buildings, places etc of the big city that really never sleeps.

So asante sana lucas for this great experience we go with the 6 or 4 of us ( my family Jaimie and Meriam) again on this great adventure!!

see you badea!

Sinterklaas at KFI

And here is another update. This time we update you about our last weekend.
Friday we went to go out for dinner in a place called Khan's. This place is a Pakistani BBQ restaurant in the middle of Arusha town.
The food was very nice. The three of us (Joosje Chantal and me) had the mixed grill and Colinda had some extra Naan bread. together with the meat, we could take as much salad as we liked. It was in order of not spicy to very spicy.
We had really a good time and the food was, like i sayed before, very good!

At saturday we had a total different party, Sinterklaas visit us at KFI!! During the day Joosje and me had to job of baking speculaas en kruitnoten, we called them peppernuts, at moivaro lodge. Unfortunatly the oven was broken so we couldend bake anymore. But the good news was also there. Kim the woman of Jobortunity, gave us permission to bake in her small oven. We made the 2 kinds of dough at our geusthouse and after that we went to Kim's place in Arusha town. We had a big challenge because te oven was really small!! And we had made a lot of dough. So at the and we just toke one third of the dough to make the kruitnoten and we diceded not to make speculaas.

Chantal and Colinda went that day to town to buy equipment for our Tanzania Sinterklaas. When the came back, Chantal decided to help dress the school and make the stage. She also dressed Sinterklaas. We had already decided to have dinner with al students and staff and after that everybody had to preforme for Sinterklaas.
So when te stage was build, Colinda's hair was painted in the saloon, Joosjes hair was cutted by Colinda, and when I finisheded making the sateh sause, we had dinner. We had half a chicken per person, vegtables, salads fruit en soda's. So you could imagine how nice this food was.

After dinner the preformeces started. We started first with our big act: Mambo nr 5. I did the playback and the girls did the dancing! It was realy cool haha. The students realy liked it i guess becaus the screamed an laught a lot! After that the students did there act's. They were also nice, intressting and funny. After the show we al started dancing of the music of DJ Abisae! Till 1 o'clok!

At sunday the girls went to go the family of Levina. But i think they can talk better about this trip because i wasn't there.

So this weekend was fun. We had a good laugh nice food and a great time. This week Joosje and Chantal have to finish there work because they're leaving to Zanzibar on Saturday. So tomorrow is there farewell party. I'm going tomorrow afternoon together with Lucas to Nairobi. So after the weekend you'll here from me agian

I have to go to eat lunch now so see you badae

Kwaheri Paco

Goat slaughter Marangu and Lingo

Hello everybody!!

Yes i know, were late again with writing a blog but okay i'm tell you our latest adventures even though there from 2 weeks ago...

It al started on friday the 20th of november. We had a small celebration for al students because they worked so hard on there different projects. Because of that, Sam decided that we had to slaughter a goat. So that's what they did. The Massaai guards together with some of the students were slaughtering the goat and separated the normal meat from the organs. The organs were boiled in some water with sold, and the meat was been cooked by mama Mery. The massaai also toke the goat blood cleaned it a bit, put some sold in it and saved it in a small bowl.

The soup they made from the organs was actually quit nice, Joosje and me were the only 2 of our group who tasted it. We discovered later that between the organs also small pieces of poo were floating and i'm afraid that i swallowed a piece...

after they made this soup with organs, the put some meat in the bowl and the blood. They cooked it for a while and after that they put in the soup. Agian joosje and i took a zip and tasted it. I took some more because i liked it.

During luch we had to eat cooked banana's with the goat meat in a souse. The girls didn't liked it, also the vegetarian option and I thought it was someting i could eat. It was not good but nice.

At the end of the afternoon we leaved school to go away for the weekend in Marangu. Marangu is a place in the neighborhood of Moshi. It is a very nice green place with a lot of water. On friday evening we arrived in our "small" guesthouse. We had a kitchen, 2 rooms for only stuff like plates, glasses etc, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a dinning room and a living room. It was a big nice place. The guides also had to sleep in our house but that was in this place not a big deal. The girls sleep with the three of them in one room, and i had the master bedroom with my private bathroom.

The weekend was super cool! We had some nice walks, we saw some waterfalls and learned a lot of the Chakka people who are living in this place. Unfortunately on saturday Colinda had to go home because she was getting sick. (during this writing she is feeling much better)

On saturday our second guide (Alfred who organized this trip) came to visit us. Paul had taken us on friday and stated also with us.

Our guesthouse was hired from an older woman called Mama Stella. She was such a great person. She helped, actually she toke our cooking part over. But the food, my god, the food was so good!! We really enjoyed it!

On sunday we had to leave but we had lunch, also very nice, by a hot spring somewhere in the dessert. We had a swim and a good laugh and after that we had to go home. But with the feeling that we just a good small well deserved vacation!

And on monday there was a new adventure who was waiting for us, called Lingo! 3 people, JP, Marie Claire and Tony, of IDtv came to KFI to make in 5 days a lingo pilot for the Tanzania tv market. They even toke Lucille Werner to KFI to make Lingo popular in Tanzania.

The students were placed in different groups and had to work in these small teams. We had to only supervise them and when things really went wrong we had to help them. They even learned how to operate the real lingo computer.

The students had the build a set, come up with al the 5 letter words, make a jury, learn how to operate the computer and take care of the sound and lighting.

At wednesday afternoon they had to shoot the first pilot option. This didn't go as we had planned and JP decided that thursday morning they had to shoot the pilot. He asked me to help Timothy by de technical part of this project. So we hang the lights connected the sound and they recorded the show only in 4 hours instate of the the 9 hours it took last time ( in march of this year)

Friday they had to show the episode of lingo to Lucille and a lot of partners of KFI, the neighbors of KFI, the students and some clients. They had to work a night long but they could only show the roughcut. Before JP showed the people the episode they watched our film about the importance of making documentary here in Tanzania called Each One Teach One.

After the viewing we had a party and all students, staff and guards get the new Lingo t-shirts.

It was nice but they have to do a lot of work these weeks. But we know that they will finish it.

In the weekend we chilled and had to go shopping ofcourse. On sunday we went to Moivaro lodge for a swim and relaxing at the swimming pool

So this was our story about the last 2 weeks. I might have forgotten something so when we'r back we can tell you a lot more.

So speak to you soon!

greeting from the staff students and the members of our Tanzania group

Paco