Rome

When in Rome... And so we did. It is not easy if you cannot do the language in this town. People ignore you, so if you plan to visit the eternal city, buy that language course and practice. It will pay back in the savings you make by being able to negotiate!
I only spent a few hours in town, but it was amazing. Soon pictures from this trip will feature on my Picasa site (reflected in the slide show on this page). But I was really here for work, and that is why my visit to the city was brief. The work was a fantastic learning experience, more so as it again strengthened my resolve not to just buckle under pressure and to be part of some non-event in Africa. I think we must always remember what humanity can achieve if it puts its mind to it, rather than to consider being less just because that is what culture prescribes. We in Africa have some really cool ideas and smart approaches and we must continue to believe in ourselves: that is the only way.

Then, I must also reflect on my visit to the Colosseum: I walked into the place expecting to feel a sense of wonder, but a deep feeling of despair and fear gripped my soul as I looked out over the trenches. It was as if I could smell the pain and trauma, as if all those animals and people that suffered were still there to remind us not to ever be so cruel again. Returning to my room I fired up my browser and checked in on the news in Africa. Zimbabwe! I suddenly experienced the same emotions that came to me in the Colosseum. God help the poor people, animals, in fact, all of creation that suffer under the incredible selfishness and brutality of so many ignorant leaders in the world, and especially in Africa. May people with clear and balanced positive values come to power soon, because we cannot build monuments like those I saw in Rome anymore. Or are we no more than what we were 3000 years ago?