MY JOURNEY TO ROMANIA

PART ONE.

By Robert Matovu Kawadwa

…my destination was never to be Cluj Napoca in Romania, rather it was to be Bruchsal Germany… but it was an exhilarating experience in the end.

In this episode I would like to say a few things about my visa experience. The Romanian Embassy for East Africa is situated in Giriri neighborhood in Nairobi Kenya. It is an isolated place not so much frequented like other embassies of the world. The routine is a bit annoying as you have to reach Nairobi first and then call the consul to check if she will in office for the day. If yes then you proceed to the embassy if no, no matter how much money you have to spend you will wait till the day she is in office.

The transport to Giriri is mostly by matatu (Mini Bus) unless one has brought a personal car. Then from the main stage or station where you are supposed to alight from the matatu you need some more 200 Kenya shillings for a special hire car to the Romanian Embassy, or if you are lucky you can hop onto a funny looking motor bike at 50 shillings, of course with prices hiked as a result of being foreign so you must part with money at all costs.

So if you are unlucky and you do not impress the lady at the embassy you will frequent the embassy until you either get tired and give up or you are successful at long last with lots of expenses met on the way…

In the next episode I will talk about the embassy experience I personally experienced.