Just watched Federer win the 2010 Australian Open (his 16th Grand Slam title) by beating Andy Murray. Though Murray showed flashes of brilliance, his overall game was somewhat tentative and he seemed a little overwhelmed by the moment. He is young and his composure will certainly improve with age. Federer, of course, was his usual unruffled self.

We watched the game at Yue Man and Francesco's house while eating a great breakfast. Due to my current dietary restrictions, I could not eat any of the great-smelling eggs or sausages, though I did get to eat plenty of fruit, including mango.

Tonight was the Burns supper at Mary, Blair and Tom's. Plenty of laughs and good food and drink. The bagpipe music was Skyped in live from Claire's uncle in Pittsburgh for the Entrance of the Haggis. Francesco's Toast to the Lassies was hilarious, and Tom's Address to the Haggis was suitably passionate. The haggis itself was delicious; I was not sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised that I liked it enough to eat a couple of helpings. After the meal, we played a drinking game to the Burns poem Tam o' Shanter. Overall, an excellent experience!

Went to an art exhibition at the US Embassy today. I did not have an invitation initially, but after some efforts by Shalini's colleagues Blair and Francesco, I was able to get in. The art was by Rwandan artists and looked very good, at least to my uncultured eyes. We ended up buying a small piece for $80.

Played a couple of sets of tennis today at Nyarutarama Tennis Club. My serve was working pretty well, though the rest of my game was off. Still, I lost the first set and won the second, so at least I did not suck too much. It was my first experience playing under lights and also my first time playing on clay. It cost us about 3000 Rwf total ($5.20); 2000 for the court and lights, 1000 for the ballboy.

Looking forward to much more tennis to come...

I went to my first Kigali pub quiz today. It was at Sol e Luna, and there were about 40-50 people there. Each team is allowed to have a maximum of 6 people. Each week, the team that wins the previous week gets the honor of setting the questions. Our team did not win (we came 4th or 5th), but I still had a lot of fun -- quizzes always remind me of my schooldays in the Lit Club at St. Joseph's. Definitely going to quiz night every week while I am here.

Just landed in Kigali by Kenyan Airlines from Bombay through Nairobi.