Welcome Little One

Heehee. Tracey and Francis made a baby! Meet little Gabriel. Looking forward to meeting the wee fella at some point in the future.

And that's Vladamir (according to his label) in the background. A little friend who was handmade in Kigali.

Well, life still isn't easy here. Currently looking for a new bank after mine hiked their internet banking fees. Apparently, the place they buy the (really dreadful) internet banking software from has put up its subscription price, so GT Bank feel it's only fair to pass that cost on to the customer. 

African countries are disadvantaged in every possible way when it comes to banking. You pay monthly fees for accounts, monthly fees for internet banking, you even get charged for depositing cheques into your account at some banks. I conducted a survey of friends living in the US, Europe, Australia and Asia (Laos and Bankok), and they all have free banking options. If they do pay, they get great perks. What annoys me here is that everything costs, the service is shocking, and every time the price goes north the customer simply says 'Thank you, I'll pay, no question.' People actually respond on Twitter supporting the bank putting up the prices.

It isn't entirely the fault of the banks. Firstly, banks in developed countries make their money (and lose it) through trading and investment (stocks and mortgages). That just isn't available here, the market is so small, so instead of passing profit down to the customer in the form of free services, the banks have to make money from their customers through charges. Secondly, banks in Africa seem to have to buy banking software from other places. Stuff like online banking systems, which they have to pay for. Finally, they're getting screwed by the international banking and transfer systems which (according to one friend here who used to work in banking) is heavily weighted against banks in EDCs, what with the exchange rate and international transfer costs. 

I sympathise. But, instead of competing so very hard to fit in with Western structures, maybe EDCs should take this conversation public and point out how shafted some of the world's poorest nations are by crap banking beyond their control. There's a big drive to get youth entrepreneurs running their own businesses, and rural people to open accounts, but the reality is, banking is for the privileged who can afford it. Banks keep on taking monthly charges until you have zero left in the account. For small businesses and individuals, it's throwing away your hard earned cash. I used to think the UK was special for offering free banking, but it seems free banking options do exist in most places around the world (by free, I mean free to simply have an account with internet banking). You can pay for perks if you want them, but you don't have to. Here, there's no choice.

Fees don't seem so bad for a single personal account, but when you start adding up your personal account and online banking, plus a business account and online banking... cha-ching.

At least I'm not in Kenya. My friend was telling me about banking fees there and you'd rather keep your money under a mattress. 

This race to become ever more capitalist. Surely development needs to be about more than copying systems without any modification. These systems are flailing in their countries of origin. Copy/pasting brings all those problems along too.

Revolt!

Anyway. Talking about replicating existing ideas... we should find out this week whether we've got a piano frame. Dropped in to check out T2000's Pearl River. It's been there so long, they've just put a dust sheet over it. Asking 9 million francs (£9,000) and it's as flat as a pancake. That's a lot of money to pay for disappointment.

I shouldn't mock too much. Maybe we won't be able to make one at all. But it's an incentive to try really hard.

In other good news, lovely Désiré made me some swanky kitchen shelves. As Jo said, I'm settling in. Only taken three years.

The saga of the mosquito nets took an interesting turn. I really lost my cool with the tailor lady. Over a month since I paid the deposit and they brought me nets that didn't fit, then another two weeks of nothing. We had the sort of heated text exchange that usually ends in someone burning down someone else's house. I either wanted nets that fitted - now - or the deposit back.

My lovely friend Lulu talked me down off the ceiling. We had a nice, relaxed therapy session in the garden of CasaKeza, beneath the fairy lights.

It must have worked, because the next day, when the tailor once again delivered nets that didn't fit, including one with a massive hole that I could put my hand through, I took it incredibly calmly. I phoned her and invited her to come and see what the problems were. She did. Then we had a weirdly zen moment where we both just looked at each other and apologised for the angst. She told me she was really sorry for everything, I said the same. We almost had a hug. It was genuinely touching. Turned out she'd had an even tougher few weeks than me, with family in hospital and business going bad. She managed to fix the main net in the guest bedroom, and I ended up giving her the remainder of the money and telling her to bring the other one once it was ready - no rush. She didn't sound like she needed any more stress, and I wasn't in the mood to give it.

Felt really happy after ditching that angst. It's stressful being mad at people.

Then I picked a fight with my bank.

I'm no Buddha, okay?

Comfort food - chips from a paper bag, slathered in salt and BBQ sauce.

Some days it's just necessary.

I'm also having a small go at not smoking for a while. I do this from time to time, but I feel now is probably the right time to try a little harder. Just because I enjoy it too much. Some days I sit on my patio with a beer, writing and chain smoking. Plus it's ridiculously cheap here, about £1 per pack of 20. A huge bottle of beer costs the same. Far too easy. 

I used to smoke on and off, but the past year has pretty much been on. I stopped a couple of days ago and nobody warns you about the achy. I feel like I have flu: blocked nose, sneezing, wheezing, insomnia, irritable and achy. I looked it up and apparently quitting smoking invokes the same inflammatory reaction from the immune system as chronic pain conditions. Your immune system goes - crap, no nicotine, kick the hell out of myself! 

From cigarettes to painkillers. I very rarely take painkillers, but I've popped a couple of ibuprofen just until it goes away. Still, I'm lucky in some respects because I don't get mad cravings. If I have something: chocolate, cigarettes, Pringles - I'll finish the lot. But if I don't have it, I don't sit around thinking about it. So, it's just riding out the aches and the crazy emotional crash which comes two to three weeks after (from what I remember of last time). Chewing gum is my new best friend. I tried Nicorette but, hands down, I'd rather start smoking again than chew that stuff, it's vile.

In retrospect, the week before the election probably wasn't the smartest time to choose to quit. Lot of people driving about who think ten o'clock at night and eight o'clock on a Sunday morning are acceptable times to  point their megaphone into your garden and give you a good old blast on the subwoofer. Plus, I think my neighbour is something to do with the election effort, because every Friday morning at about 4-5 a.m. they arise, turn their collective conversational voice to 'shout,' and pop the radio on. I have no idea why. This is a new-ish thing. I'm just hoping it ends with the election. Other than a little extra sound, you wouldn't know anything was happening. There are a few flags around the roundabout in town, but it's not like the outcome's in any doubt. Business as usual.

Meanwhile, I'm replacing cigarettes with food. I think this is quite common? Definitely eating more. Once again, lovely Lulu to the rescue with nommy tuna mayo and avocado. Tuna's a bit of a luxury because it's expensive.

I might be able to afford some myself once I get the money back from the cat food people. They accidentally added an extra zero and billed me £540 instead of £54. Then they couldn't reverse the transfer, so told me they'd deposit it to my personal account. I looked - no money. I enquired. Was told it had been deposited and returned. Yes. That's what happens when you try to pay it into the wrong bank. *facepalm* One day. One day I'll get the money back...

Final struggle at the moment is with my internet. Mostly, people survive on 3G because you'd have to mortgage your house for broadband (and, in my case, I'd have to buy a house first in order to mortgage it). I realised I could save about £75 a year by switching to Tigo's business 3G rates. I did, and paid up front for the year. There was a bit of faffing around with the contract, but finally got there. They delivered the SIM on Monday... doesn't work with my router or a Tigo dongle.

So, need to get that sorted out before my Airtel internet expires on Saturday. Also have to change bank before the end of next month, otherwise the new internet banking fees are going to be pretty much exactly the same amount as I just saved on internet. 

Really, it's constant.

Nta kibazo. 

There has to be an end to this. There has to come a day when my internet, my banking, my taxes and my mosquito nets all just fall into place...

Once again, Lulu to the rescue. We went for a jaunt about town on her moto on Friday night. Headed to a story telling event, which actually turned out to be 'insparational' (I use that term loosely) business speeches, so we went on a bar hop back to her patio. Starting to think I might just need a holiday.

Looks nice, but there are beer bottles at the bottom!