Six days ago, Kaija and I took a taxi home from a restaurant in Kampala. The taxi was unofficial, unmetered, at least twenty years old, and in need of immediate retirement. It creaked and puffed and whistled as we negotiated the potholes; the doors felt and sounded like they could fall off any minute; the tyres felt nearly empty; none of the lights or indicators worked properly. The driver signalled turns by waving from his window. The bottom of the car got stuck once on 8th Street, at the spot where there is no street to speak of - just rough terrain and enormous holes. The planned journey was only about seven or eight kilometres, but where it was going to end seemed anything but certain. We finally limped up to Tank Hill, paid with exact amount because local taxi drivers never admit to having change, and walked down the dark street to our house, where electricity was also off. Lit some candles, watched the armed night guard fall asleep on the lawn.

Yesterday at 11.30 p.m., upon leaving the terminal at Helsinki-Vantaa, I joined a two-hundred metre taxi queue, which dissolved in about five minutes as dozens of big brand-new cabs kept collecting customers at an almost miraculous speed. My driver was from the city and did not know the Vantaa street address I gave him, so he entered the details on the driving computer and followed gps-based instructions. After 15 minutes of smooth black pavement, we watched the green spot marking the car converge with the black spot marking the destination on the computer screen, as he parked in front of Kaija's sister's mailbox. I could have paid with any card but chose a fifty-euro bill, and he promptly dug out the change.

Conclusion 1. As much as I sometimes make a point of expressing something akin to cultural relativism, it is hard not to feel momentary exhilaration when things suddenly work. I'm writing this in an apartment which may have never experienced a power cut, on a net connection which I set up after receiving the necessary TCP/IP settings in a text message from a person responsible for it - only a few minutes after I asked for them. Maybe I am getting old, but I like the ease, especially in technical/practical stuff such as transportation and communication.

Conclusion 2. I am convinced that the culture shock is generally a lot bigger when you travel in this direction. First-world people going to third-world countries are almost always well prepared, using the available sources of information and guidance to adapt to different circumstances. 19:11