San Jose Hotels
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Another Countdown
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First, my disclaimer! Please don't let the lightness of my mood or anything else in this email give the pretense that there are not more important things going on in the world right now (i.e. war)...but I think it's important to maintain a sort of normalcy to life even during such times. This, coming from myself who's little brother is a US Marine stationed on a Naval ship at the moment. That said, moving right along.
Many of you have had the pleasure (or displeasure) at hearing me fret and worry over my internship. To recap, I applied last summer for a Department of State internship. In August, just before setting off to Europe, I received my acceptance to the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and a posting at the embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I was totally ecstatic and did not care if the internship was in Timbuktu...I just couldn't believe I had been accepted. Furthermore, I was placed in the most prestigious division within the bureau. The political division will allow me exposure to top Ambassadors and political officials inside and out of Honduras. Generally, my duties will be those of a jr. Foreign Service Officer. As most of you know, I am going to pursue the FSO line of work professionally and see if I can get in. NOTE: I, and all of you, will become masters of acronyms! The govn't uses them more than they do actual words.
The next step was the grueling security clearance process. I was forewarned that it could take anywhere from 90-120 days...with no guarantees. Long story short, I was set to leave February 1st, but no word on my clearance had appeared. I began to worry and stress as I do so often. I was told by the other intern to contact my congressman's office. This is what finally made everything happen. They found out within two hours that I already had my clearance. And for whatever reason, my billions of emails and phone calls to D.C. did not tell me this. Sooooo......
I am out of here in exactly one week's time! I leave San Jose next Thursday the 27th and head to Miami for the night. Then on Friday, I have a 2.5 hour flight to Tegus (this is the nickname for the city, it's easier and shorter to write and say). Then the adventure will begin-literally-from the landing of the plane. I will be sure to recap this to everyone as I've been told that the landing strip at the Tegus airport is one of the smallest anywhere. It appears that the plane will simply drop off the runway right into the surrounding jungle of trees, but miraculously the plane stops just in time. Can't wait!
I will be sending out these regular emails to everyone just as I did from Europe. I am hoping that you will learn right alongside me what life is like in the poorest country in Latin America. I have no idea what to expect, but do know it'll be an experience of a lifetime-both professionally and personally.
One other sidenote...as I have a LOT going on in my life right now. I have forged ahead with my graduate school acceptance from Seton Hall University. It's a Catholic university located in South Orange, NJ-just 15 miles outside of New York City. I'll be there at the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations. The school was created in alliance with the United Nations. I know it's not the most popular government body right now--but it really will be a huge asset for my schooling. So I'll be off to the east coast around the last week of August.
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