I got an email from a friend today whom I haven't heard from in a long time. He's a friend from Peace Corps. He finished out his 27 month contract and was still in RCI when the coup happened. He was hired by PC to help us through the evacuation. Afterwards, he went to Tulane in New Orleans and got a Masters in Public Health. Since graduating, he's been emailing me from all over the world. He's working for Tulane and is now in Rwanda. He inspires me. Here's a bit of his email.

I like Kigali a lot--it's small, and green, and very comfortable and safe compared to, say, Abidjan. Weird, when one considers the history of this place. Yesterday was the annual commemoration of the Genocide--I went up to the biggest memorial site in a town called Gikongoro with a friend of mine. We sat in the sun for about four hours, and listened to speeches in a language I can't understand. But afterwards we all went to visit the actual memorial, which is essentially bodies, covered in Lime. The rooms full of kids are the hardest. But it's all pretty gruesome.

Anyway, sometimes things get better rather than worse. That's the lesson I'm taking away from all of this. That and ensuring "never again" takes real work.

Like I said, he inspires me.