I've landed on the moon!

Well, at least that's what it feels like! It's an entirely different world--different than anything I could have ever expected. Where to begin?! I am going to leave out my boring airplane travels from the past two days b/c there's much better stuff to tell. But obviously, I made all of my flights okay. So I promised an exciting story about the landing at the Tegus airport. It was pretty good...you know it'll be good when the captain comes on prior to landing and gives a 5 minute debriefing/disclaimer on what will happen. It was the bumpiest ride ever and as you approach the SMALLEST runway in the world, you appear to be ready to land on top of the surrounding rooftops. I mean this literally! The plane touches down okay and then the force of the braking just jolts you. It was pretty exciting! There were many more Americans on the flight than I expected, too. I was sitting next to my new boss' wife and duaghter on the plane...so that was nice.

American Embassy in Tegus

As promised, someone was there to meet me. Walking out of the only terminal-there are throngs of people pressed up against the security fence yelling and crying for the loved ones who've arrived home. We were immediately escorted to the Embassy suburban. I can't even begin to describe Tegus. You know those "save the poor children" commercials with Sally? Okay, that is Tegus. I'm not kidding. It's a huge shanty town with just run-down everything...poverty like you've never seen. People walking in the middle of the streets selling everything imagineable. Women carrying baskets on their heads, cars loaded down with as many people as will fit in them, small children playing by the side of the road. Furthermore, there are no traffic regulations here. People cut you off and most roads are pretty much one lane only. It's like a roller coaster to drive through the streets. The only feelings of home are the Burger King, McDonalds, and

Ariel view of Tegus

Pizza Hut we passed by.

The woman I am living with has a cool house. It's in the "rich" area of town called Las Lomas. You can tell the houses are much nicer; bigger than I expected. They are very Spanish "casa" style (Mom-like the ones in San Felipe) with arches and white-washed walls. BUT-the catch is that this doesn't mean the riff-raff doesn't exist there as well. There is tons of construction going on right now...actually the lot next door is having a new house built on it. Now, the creepy part. You know the movie "Panic Room"

with Jodie Foster (I think)...we have one in the house! First the house is surrounded by the tallest walls I've ever seen. On top are spikes sticking out and then on top of that is barbed wire. So the safe room is Joyce's room and she taught me how to lock yourself in there and call security in case of a home invasion. There's also this hidden door behind the dresser where you can go into just in case. But really, home invasions are known to happen on her street. She said it's just a matter of being smart and not leaving doors or gates open and there'll be no problem. She's lived there for 14 months and never had a problem. We have personal security who comes by the house every hour and we have a security camera/tv where we can see the front of the house. I stress about stuff, and I'm not really at all worried that anything will happen.

Ariel view of Tegus 2

The house is very cute. It's spacious and all tiled inside. I have my own room with AC and bathroom!! I am very excited about this b/c it is hotter than hell here! The humidity isn't too bad, but it is just plain HOT! She also has two dogs that are just the cutest. They are a mother and son from Kazakhstan, where she was last posted.

Okay, I need to cut this short b/c I know a lot of you don't even read these all the way through (Julie). Joyce brought me to the embassy about an hour ago. It's all very confusing at this time and until I figure out what is where...it's a bit overwhelming. The embassy is nothing spectacular in the way of architecture...your typical gov't building. There are about 6 people in my division that I've met and they are all very nice...mostly men. Renee, the other intern, is from Michigan and seems pretty cool. Apparently in a few minutes we are going to a happy hour hosted by the Marines here, so

Embassy Motorpool

hopefully I'll get a chance to meet some more people and learn the ropes.

Tomorrow I'm pretty sure I'm going on an embassy-sponsored trip to a Lenca village (they are one of the local native Indian grous) where they sell beautiful pottery. Then on Sunday we're going horseback riding. Okay, I know I need to stop writing, even though I have a bunch more to say. You'll probably be getting quite a few emails from me in the beginning so I can share all the new stuff that is happening. So be prepared! Until next time, I miss you all already!