5th week

So now im in the 5th week of my trip to uganda and so far so good, but man let me say this the pace of business here is soooooo freaking slow that im starting to get really annoyed by the way things are handled here. for example imagine you want to send a small package to someone somewhere, what do you do? we have so many options, ups, fedex, dhl, usps, ect.... here there is DHL but they are trying to charge me 182 dollars to send 6 pound box to the US, that is freaking unbelievable. Then to add to all this, there is so much paper work to be done for one simple shipment, this order came in on monday, friday is when i got all the paper work together, granted its my first time but COM ON, 4 freaking days to get paper work? but its not gonna stop me from what i came to accomplish, its just gonna take some time.  While starting to ship to the US, Nile Coffee has decided to hit the market strong, now remember these poor people have the best coffee but they dont drink their own product, because uganda was under the UK's influence they drink tea, its only has been a couple of years that ugandan are now actually are starting to drink coffee.  Here in Kampala there are so many cafe's, bars, and restaurants that its gonna be easy to penetrate them, my goal here is to have everyone walking around with a cup of Nile Coffee in  their hand, the way starbucks does it in the US and everywhere else. Now back to the problem of sending small packages (under 100 KG which is about 220 lbs) to the US, my problem is the cheapest way is 83 dollars with ugandan post which might take 3 weeks to get to the US, so sending a package of 6lbs, per pound its costing 13 bucks, that cost is more then the coffee it self. But if i airship over a 220 lbs per shipment it will cost 4 dollars per pound which works out great for us. but the problem is i dont have anybody in the US helping us since im here in uganda and atrac is in new zealand. My problem as you see is big as you can see, so im looking for someone who can store 220 lbs of coffee and send it to our customers when we get an order, it would be very simple, everything can be done online and usps has that flat rate boxes which works out perfect for us. the problem is not shipping within the US, the problem lies here in kampala and getting the coffee to the state at the most cost effective method possible. so why am i telling you people this? first im vening, second im looking for someone to do this with us. At first its not gonna be alot of orders but once we launch our campaign in the US via our previous customers and we have developed our websites, we are ready to sell. If i can have someone in the US store coffee already prepackaged and in boxes we are set, i am willing to split the profits with anyone who is willing to help, it doesnt take much, we get an order, the person puts it in the box and sends it with usps. DONE..we will pay for everything.

Ok enough business talk...finally after 5 week of being here i played soccer, on a dirt field ofcourse, and played defense as usuall, (you know im a wall back there LOL) and i have no cleats because the package my mom sent me 3 weeks ago still has not arrived yet. so i was kind of slipping and sliding but managed keep up with these africans, which are not bad players, oh and i had no shin guards either... but let me tell you, i was soooooo itching to play some soccer and today i feel great..for those who know me, know how much i love playing sports and i am missing so much right now, football, soccer, tennis, softball...but from now on every sunday i will be playing with the same guys....i am very excited about it and cant wait to next sunday. i did get a little banged up because its not grass its dirt and its hard dirt so got couple of rug burns on my right elbow and right knee, probably will hurt more tomorrow. Over all it was good...

there is one problem that is starting to get to me, on sunday mornings exactly at 630 am, music starts and its pretty fucking loud, now this is church music...what i dont understand is why so loud, i think they are trying to let jesus hear the music.....anyway the music is still going on and its 1230pm....never freaking stops...but im getting used to it i guess, or i have to get used to it, i dont really have a choice of living somewhere else.

After i came back from playing soccer our i find out our water has been cut off, so how in the hell am i gonna take a shower, well there is a picture of how i took a shower today, and its pretty funny.  I'll try to describe it but take a look at the picture. First i had to boil water we got from somewhere which i have no idea where, then pour it in to a bucket and add some more cold water in to it and take a shower that way..its kind of like taking a shower in a river but you cant lean down to get wet, you have to splash your self with water to get wet then splash again to wash off the soap. that was an experience i will never forget...

I finally got my new business cards on friday, International Marketing Director sounds pretty good huh? well i took a picture of it for those that are skeptical LOL, its amazing how a piece of paper can change your image, for example i walked into a cafe on friday and asked for to speak to the owner about our coffee, first thing the asked for was for my business card, so i played along and said i dont have any, mind you i have them in my pocket, the lady said oh the owner is very busy....i pulled out my card boom she was at my table in a second...freaking status, can not get away from it. any ways im rambling on about stuff so im gonna end here. take a look at the pictures. :)

4th week

I can not believe i have been here a whole month!!! wow its amazing how fast time goes by...this week has been very interesting, beside my vigorous training in coffee i have now been giving the position of Director of International Marketing for Nile Coffee which is Edmund coffee company. basically that mean i am and will be in charge of everything from operations to marketing. I really dont know how to feel about all that, it still has not settled in with me so i dont know all  the details but i had 2 meetings with edmund this week and his team here in uganda about turning the company over to me and letting me run with it. Basically he want me to run the company and have an aggressive marketing strategy implemented.  I dont even know where to start with it to be honest. I mean im just an ordinary person from springfield va here in kampala uganda in charge of a coffee company that is going to be the biggest exporting company to USA in uganda.. which is alot to deal with...i know one thing for sure, im going to need alot of help. Coffee is the second most consumed commodity next to oil. USA has the worlds largest market of coffee consumers, and let me tell you ugandan coffee is freaking great, these people  take  their coffee very seriously and they should because they have one of the best coffees in the world. this man edmund who i am staying with and who is the owner of nile coffee an expert in coffee..he studied coffee all over the world. i was looking at his resume and wow..he has degrees from all over the world, for example, he has a BA in Chemistry, 3 different masters in coffee tasting, and this and that from france, england and holland. His expertise is incredible when it comes to coffee and how to scientifically roast the perfect coffee bean to a specific customers need, for example US coffee drinker like their coffee sweet so he has come up with a blend that is naturally sweet, europeans love espressos so he has blend a type just  for them. I am telling you this company is going to blow up and ugandan coffee is going to be known world wide. i know that sounds kind of ambitious but thats what we americans are about, right? anyways that segment of my writing might of been a little boring but that i what i am going through right now so i thought for whom ever is reading this it might be of interest.

Any ways, a whole month in uganda has been great, i cant complain about anything edmund has been taking very good care of me, the only issue is the food.  As i mentioned a while ago i have decided not to eat any kinds of meat, so basically i have been a vegetarian for some time now, i just dont know how i feel about it. i mean i do feel pretty good and i believe i am taking in calories and protein the way my body should be but damn i miss a good steak or BBQ chicken. The problem here is that they eat the same food everyday, every restaurant has the exact same menu, rice, beans, peas, matoke(which is a raw banana boiled) chipate(kind of  a tortilla but made from wheat and flower), and a combination of vegetables. Eating the same thing everyday is not my style, i need variety in my life, but that is because we are so freaking spoiled in the states that when we come to a country like uganda the food is a shock. But dont get me wrong there are alot of restaurants down town which have very  good food but it is very very expensive, for example last 2 weeks ago we went to the sheraton hotel and i ordered a small pepperoni pizza which was very good but it cost 75000 shilling which is alittle less then 20 dollars, that is freaking crazy. Then we went to a Chinese place and their food was decent but the bill for 3 people was almost 100 bucks...i think living like this, make me appreciate what i had and still have back home and not take anything for granted.

Im kind of getting used to driving now, its been a full week that i have been going to work and back on my own, this whole driving on the left thing is a hard concept to grasp..20 years of driving on the right hand side and now all of a sudden the rules change. Here is an example, imagine coming to an intersection in the US trying to turn right, the first thing you do is put on your signal and instinct tell you to look where? your left right to make sure  there are no cars coming, now imagine here coming to a right turn and its all different now, you have to look right first then left. Oh and btw there are no traffic signals here, only in the middle of down town there are a couple but everywhere else you are on your own. i think im gonna have some issues when i come back state side and driving on the right hand side again. till next time peace.

the first picture is infornt of the chinese place, the second is sheraton, , the third picture is of the roads in kampala outside of downtown and the airport. the last one is of me driving.

Day what ever!!! haha i think its day 20

I have to say i wish i was back in the the states to see my new nephew Kian, he was born yesterday...i just talked to my mom and she told me his name because i have been waiting all days to find out his name. My brother sent me his picture as soon as he was born, but didnt tell me his name. So KIAN (I hope im spelling his name right) welcome and from your uncle in africa i say love you and cant wait to meet you.

With that being said.... i finally got the chance to drive in Kampala Uganda, which is no joke, the driving here is insane.. the roads are full of pot holes and not paved. people are maniacs.. but for my first time driving i think i did pretty well...they have traffic here but let me tell you they have no idea what traffic is like.. for those of you who live in the DC area know exactly what im talking about... sitting in traffic for hours doesnt happen here... i might sit for like 10 minutes tops in traffic but nothing like 270, 495 or 66 in the morning and afternoon. my first drive was to the beach here to lake victoria which is the biggest lake in africa and is also the source of  the mighty Nile. it is incredible to see a large lake like that in africa cuz i always thought of africa as a big desert. so anyways just wanted to share  that with who ever is reading this and i am very excited to meet Mr Kian and kiss him for the first time. i will put pictures up a little later right now im pretty tired and alittle buzzed from celebrating the birth of my brothers new son....btw, the pictures below i just added, they had 3 freaking planes on the beach....freaking amazing... and the one with me in it the boat says rising titanic...i thought that was pretty cool.

3rd Week

I am working so much i barely have time to eat....im trying to learn and implement marketing strategies here in kampala and learn coffee..it takes alot...so im only gonna write on the weekends.. but ill try to write alot for those of you who like reading it. This past weekend our host Edmund threw a huge party and there alot of important people there, for example a high ranking member of the parliament was there (i have a picture with him), presidents chief of staff and some other people..its amazing how humble these guys are. even though they are driving Mercedes G55's and stuff with security guards with machine guns all around us, but still they are very easy to talk to they are extremely proud of their coffee and Edmund gave a speech at the party introducing me and atrac as the ones penetrating the US market with purely 100% Ugandan Coffee... that was very well received, i was actually kind of suprised on how well these people are aware of their coffee situation and how they want the world to know about how good their coffee is. Trust me when i tell you they have the best coffee and Edmund has alot to do with that. I will have to go more into detail about that once i understand everything.

Yesterday i finally went to our storage factory and picked out my own green coffee beans, brought back a 180 KG which is about 400 lbs....and roasted it my self (with expert help ofcourse) grind it right there and this morning drank my own coffee...here is the sad part, im kind of sick, just a head cold but i cant taste anything so didnt taste the coffee so i was pretty pissed. :(

I took some pictures of the warehouse and the people working around it, its not a pretty picture. the europeans have used and abused these poor people, im not saying that the americans have not spoiled them selves here but not as much as european. I mean just think about it.. have you ever heard of Ugandan Coffee until i told you about it? most people dont even know that africa is where coffee originates from (Uganda for robusta coffee which espresso is made from and Ethiopia is where arabica is from), so the europeans have really done a number on these poor people...we are here to change that hopefully with the help of the Ugandan government we shall make a small differnce in profit sharing and helping out the community of these poor poor farmers. ok anyways that is for another blog for when i really get into it.

I am getting a little home sick.. I am starting to miss my family and my nephews and niece...and there is someone else im missing and you know who you are once you have read this. i know football season is starting and fantasy is a big part of my life, im really gonna be missing that during all the drafts and stuff...but still playing in most league and i know some of my boys have to work around my schedule and our time difference so i thank you in advance for your consideration. about to watch Mr BOLT win another medal in half an hour. ( that picture is me with the member of the parliament, bean bags, and a random guy in the warehouse). oh and btw i have not had piece of meat or chicken or fish in about 5 days now. for those of you who know me know that its really really hard for me to not to eat meat. but i think i feel better and maybe this might be a new thing for me....but you can believe when i get back to the states im gonna have a huge BBQ with all kind of meat......and some iranian food...omg do i miss me some ghorme sabzi and khorshte bademjoon...and some kabob.....#12 Xtra meatballs, white onion and green onion in oil please LOL that one was for you hoang.

Day 12

Today was probably the most unbelievable day so far..i will explain in full detail. I am here in uganda to learn about coffee from the ground up. every angle of coffee i will need to learn to be successful in the United States. So while i am learning the chemistry of coffee, i am also learning the marketing side of it here in uganda. One of main reasons why uganda has paid for my trip here is they want to penetrate the US market with ugandan coffee. Edmund is the head of UCDA (uganda coffee development authority) quality control department, but his position with ucda is a conflict of interest and he can not sell coffee, that is where we come in. Today we got  a rare chance to meet with the president of UCDA, this guy never ever ever meets with any potential buyers or sellers, but because he trusts edmund he has agreed to meet with us. We went into the meeting and killed it. The UCDA is giving us their full support and we are all set. anyone who is reading this knows how big that is and now we have ugandas government behind us, they have never backed any other company before.. so it is a very big deal. if we do everything right and by the book we should be very very well off. i cant describe the feeling we had when we left this mans office, to accomplish something like this is absolutly incredible. :)

Day 10 and 11

These past couple of days have been kind of a blur due to the fact that i have been sick with malaria. But i believe i did not experience malaria the way it was suppose to be, for example the doctor mentioned to me that it usually lasts about a week and depending on my immune system it could last longer, i was diagnosed with malaria sunday afternoon and tuesday night i was feeling almost a 100%, which i am very thankful for.

On sunday my good friend and soon to be partner in crime here in the coffee business DR Atrac Aryan Kay arrived and we have been having a blast. for those of you who are reading these blogs and know atrac you know what im talking about. The guy is a trip and he loves kampala and loves coffee so we have alot of things in common. Our host Mr Edmund has been treating us so well that i do not want to leave. for the past three days edmund has been taking us to his local spa and we have been soaking in the sauna which feels great. the life style here is very very relaxing if you have money.

There is one thing here that i do not like which is the meat, my god the meat here sucks...maybe im just used to the meat in the states but man, i can not get used to the taste of the meat. For those of you who know me and know how much i love meat, can understand where im coming from. There is nothing better than a juicy american steak. But the problem does not end there, the chicken here has no meat on it either its pretty much feather and bone. In a nut shell i am not a happy camper eating wise, i mean how many times a day or a week can someone eat fish? there is only one kind of fish here that is eatable and that is tilapia, dont get me wrong the tilapia here is freaking outstanding but eating it for dinner 6  times a week? come on man i cant. i miss my variety of food, i miss the PHO....oh man do i miss pho what i would give for a #12, extra meatballs, white onion and green onion in oil right about now.....i miss my moms cooking...so in short i think i am going to try and go vegetarian :(...how bad could it be? no meat for a while i think it could even be healthy for me.  everyone always says vegetables can supply the same amount of nutrients as red meat and chicken so i think i should be ok. anyways  the main point is that the food is not as good as i thought i was, but on the other hand the vegetables and fruits are AMAZING. specially the mangos, watermelons, passion fruits and bananas. i have always liked mangos but the ones here are freaking delicious, and its not like you have go and find them, they are everywhere and they all taste the same. so anyways if anyone wants to send me some food like iranian or anything else please feel free to do so :))))))) here are some pictures of me and atrac and me tasting some coffees.