One step further every day

Am remarcat o tendinta din ce in ce mai acuta “sa ne plangem de Romania” si “sa injuram guvernul din Romania”. Bineinteles, nu ma refer numai la persoanele care traiesc efectiv in Romania, ci si la persoanele de 30-50 ani care au ales calea strainatatii de ani de zile.

“Este rau in Romania” aud de la foarte multi oameni care au anumite asteptari, anumite vise. Insa aceste asteptari nu sunt bazate pe realitate, ci pe o lume ideala, din mintea lor. Astfel, in loc sa accepte traficul idiot ce a napadit Bucurestiul, oamenii se enerveaza pe zi ce trece tot mai mult. Pai, cum sa nu te enervezi daca iti cumperi ultimul model de Logan sau Mertz si te astepti sa ai toata soseaua numai a ta? Si cum sa nu te enervezi cand ai acelasi Opel de cinci ani si vezi ca deodata faci patru ore pe zi pe drum, cand acum cinci ani faceai doar una singura? Dar acum intervin eu si intreb: Daca te enervezi, mergi mai repede la munca?

De mult am impresia ca cea mai mare crima facuta de comunism a fost, de fapt, demoralizarea oamenilor, precum si “inlenesirea” lor. Multi zic “romanii sunt lenesi” referindu-se concret la turnat asfalt, sapat gropi sau mai stiu eu ce alta munca fizica. Eu zic insa ca romanii nu stiu decat sa se planga (demoralizare), in timp ce efectiv unde ar putea sa schimbe ceva stau resemnati si se uita (lene). De ce, atunci cand iei romanii si ii pui in firme mari, competitive, ei reusesc? Pentru ca acei romani au primit un branci inainte, sa iasa din demoralizare si au uitat de lene.

Asadar, o sa folosesc o sintagma bine inradacinita: Romani, trezirea! Nu va mai plangeti atat. Daca nu va convine o situatie, schimbati-o. Avem drept de vot (sau de a nu vota), avem curent in casa si apa la robinet. Avem paine la magazin si bani ca sa mergem in concedii in Grecia, Spania, Bulgaria. Avem si bani din cand in cand sa mergem la Mamaia si Sinaia. Avem mall-uri si hipermarket-uri. Si ne consideram, fiecare in parte, civilizati. Asadar, de ce va plangeti?

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So, after so much time I decided to write again something… Actually, I took some funny pictures and wanted to share them. This was yesterday morning, while driving to work.

Check it out here:

Now, imagine that all of a sudden, that yellowish-brownish beast looks into your eyes, coming from under the hood. Started to laugh instantly

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So, almost 6 months in Dar es Salaam now. I’ve taken a few more pics, so here they are. Click here to see all the pictures.

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I’ve been in Tanzania, in Dar es Salaam, two months now. Many friends asked me for more pictures and updates on this website.

First of all, sometimes I really enjoy bitching. It’s the case now . We’re towards (I hope) the end of the “short-rain” season. I’ve seen chicks floating dead on the water pools that were formed in the middle of the asphalt-less streets, I’ve seen cars flooded and, the worst, I really miss sidewalks and people using deodorant.

Of course, there are also things that compensate: the islands (Zanzibar, Prison Island, etc), friendly (although, not when it comes to what money or other benefits they can get from you for free) people and nice temperature.

While in Zanzibar, I stayed, among others, to the Zanzibar Serena Inn. Very nice hotel, especially as it has a deal for lower prices for Zantel employees.

Here are also the pictures, of course from Zanzibar (click here to see all the pictures):

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For you Romanian readers out there, I will write all the Tanzania-related posts in English, so that more people can benefit from my experience.

To start from the beginning, about a year ago, a friend of mine (hi Khaled) started telling me how good it is to be in Tanzania, to work for Zantel (a GSM company owned by Etisalat). He asked me whether I wish to join him here, because the only department that had issues was the IT department.

Now, one year later, I’ve finally managed to come down here (”down” as in “South”). Exactly one week ago, I’ve left my home in Bucharest, heading towards Dar es Salaam (via Dubai). Much of my decision to come to Dar was because of Ruth and her Dar Es Salaam Diary.

The flights itself were quite enjoyable (I’ve managed to sleep for five minutes on the second flight), but the 8 hours waiting in Dubai have been exhausting.

My first contact with Tanzania was actually with the Visa Office from within the airport.

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So, after two days of being in Tanzania, here are the first pictures.

The first four pictures are with the view from the hotel (Markham Executive Suites - nice hotel btw), and the rest of four pictures are from the office, from Zantel:

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Dupa cum m-a anuntat cinva intr-un comment (probabil proprietarul), a aparut si concurenta site-ului Ghelir. Am aruncat un ochi pe site si mi-am dat seama ca ma bucur de aparitia in Romania a inca unui produs ieftin pe zi.

Ca design, Zoop este cu mult mai (nu stiu cum sa formulez in alt fel) eye-candy (ad-litteram: este foarte roz-bombon ), dar totodata si mai dificil de acceptat de catre un linuxist.

Dupa ce Dragos a publicat un raport pentru Ghelir - 1 luna, ma asteptam sa mai apara cineva pe piata.

Deci, cu toate ca esti roz si bleu, noroc Zoop!

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Din cauza unor mici probleme la update-ul de PHP de pe server, observ ca toate inregistrarile cu diacritice sunt date peste cap. Ma voi ocupa candva sa le rezolv, dar pana atunci, asta e!

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