Hello from Liberia!

Hello from Liberia!  I know it’s taken me a while to post, but I’ve barely been here a week.  Rest assured, I’ve arrived and I’m doing fine.  Logistics are still an issue because I’m in “temporary” housing and cannot hook-up my own internet until I get my “permanent” place.  For now, I have to go to the recreation hall to access internet for personal use and the rec hall isn’t always open.  I made the mistake of using the outdoor wireless to chat with Ann for a bit in the late afternoon today and came home with 12 mosquito bites (thank goodness I’ve been dutifully taking my anti-malarial medications).  The trade-off was that I got to chat with Ann while watching local fishing boats sail by in the Atlantic.  

For those of you who may have been worried about me, you should not have.  Folks here are taking good care of me.  The night I arrived, I moved into an apartment that is larger than my home in Oregon.  I have 3 huge bedrooms, (one largely empty which has become my taiji room), a huge living room/dining area, a kitchen and a laundry room.  I’m not complaining!

Sinced this is a “normal” embassy, on my second day here I had a meeting with the Ambassador (she is in a single word: GREAT!) and the Deputy Chief of Mission.  Together they welcomed me, discussed a bit about how important my work will be to the United States’ efforts in Liberia, and asked me to let them know if there is anything they can do to help my stay here.  Needless to say, I was very impressed.

Now, I don’t know if it was anything I said to the Ambassador, but the State Department decided that they really wanted to make sure that I was doing ok, so they decided to send the Secretary of State to come and check in to see that things were ok for me.  And if you don’t believe me . . .

I mean, it’s not like she spent all her time checking in on me because the Secretary also attended the inauguration of the President of Liberia.  You know, heads of states, diplomacy and things like that, but it was a good to know they were looking out for me.

I guess they figured that the facilities here weren’t quite good enough, so they decided that they needed to move us to the New Embassy Compound.  So starting Monday I have a brand new desk, chair, computer and work space (about 3 times as much space as before)!  Fortunately, we are keeping the old embassy compound and, more importantly, the rec center open for awhile.

So, I’ve been here about 10 days now and I meet the Ambassador, the Secretary of State visits and we move to a new embassy compound.  I guess they want me to be happy.  I am!

I’ve already recovered from jet lag, figured out the basics of living (like where/how one shops for food), and even started exploring the area.  There is no doubt that this is a developing country, but there will be lots of time to talk about those things.  For now, know that I’ve landed safely and I’m doing fine!