Greetings from Kigali, Rwanda

Amakuru?
Nimezah.

After leaving Springfield, MO in a plane that was so small I could have shoplifted it out of the airport; arriving at an airport so large it looked like a supermall with planes in the parking lot; flying overnight while trying to sleep in a seat that could only tilt 100 degrees and embracing my mom, dad, brothers, sister-in-law-to-be and brand new niece (cute!!) for a day in Kenya, I have arrived in the Land of a Thousand Hills.

And hilly it is. I write as I recuperate from a 4 block walk from the Imapla Hotel to the internet cafe in the heart of the city center. 4 blocks, yes. Half uphill and half downhill. The land of a thousand hills is also the land of a thousand heartbeats per minute.
I am so very happy to be here. It feels as though I am home. I was met at the airport by Jacques, the intrepid sound man during the filming of the documentary, and Jimmy and Steve, official drivers for the Rwanda Film Festival.They promptly took me to the hotel, we exchanged numbers, and they told me to contact them if I needed anything. I spent the rest of the day reading and walking around downtown Rwanda. Although I was sleepy, I knew that if I slept during the day my body wouldn't adjust to the time change. Which it didn't. I took a ''nap" at 6 pm, awoke at 12:30 am (5:30 pm Missouri time) and didn't go back to sleep until 4 or 5 am. As I write, I am a tad fatigued, but with so much reacquainting with Kigali to do, that will have to wait. The film Festival starts on the 16th, and I plan on being completely in tune with night and day by then.

Thats it for now. I can't send pics as of yet because of the slow connection speed here, but one of these days I will spend as long as I need to to give you a glimpse of this beautiful place. I will also make a slide presentation for the good folks in Springfield.

God bless you all,

Patrick.