The first 9 days

I'm here!  Finn's not :( 

I arrived in the wee hours of the morning on Friday July 1.  My boss and a driver thankfully were at the airport to meet me. I had a little trouble filling out the customs form since it was in French and Arabic.  I guess it was okay since they let me in. 

There has been problem upon problem getting Finn here.  I could not get him on my flight (I had a three day stop in Antwerp for meetings) and the plans I had to get Finn to Algeria fell through. Then the pet shipper experienced a warm weather embargo during which many airlines refused to ship live animals.  We finally found a good company to get Finn here next week. He will definitely be a world traveler as he is going through Germany and Kenya to get here! 

Friday is a weekend here but I went to work anyway.  In fact I've been to work every day since I arrived! On July 3 the Embassy hosted an Independence Day reception at the ambassador's residence. I spent the day blowing up balloons and putting up little flags. It was about 97 degrees. Fun. Then I went to the party and tried to make small talk with people who don't speak English. I mostly talked to the other Americans who are new and only speak English.  We also had a more casual barbecue on July 4. July 5 was another holiday for Algerian Independence Day.  

Everyone here has been very welcoming. My social sponsor took me out to lunch my first day to a traditional Algerian restaurant.  The food was great but I couldn't begin to remember exactly what I ate.  I ventured off compound all by myself (I was very pleased with myself) and went to the Superette which will hopefully someday grow up into a real grocery store. They had Coke (the label of course is in Arabic, but even i knew it was Coke) and cheese I recognized and Dove soap. Good enough for me!  

On the walk back up the hill to the compound, I saw a man leading a camel along the road. I really, really wished I had my camera!!

I had my first full day in the office on July 6.  The learning curve is going to be steep but I was fortunate to overlap for one week with the person that I am replacing.  He is heading back to Lewes, DE to continue his retirement. For those of you who don't know, Lewes is a short distance from Bethany Beach, where my mom lives.

Yesterday I wwnt for a long run with my boss and her husband.  We are pretty limited with our movements off compound in some areas, but the is a park along the coast that we are allowed to use. I cannot go running by myself at all off compound. Men have a bit more freedom here but it's simply to dangerous and conspicuous for women to go out on their own outside the designated safe areas of the city.  So we use the buddy system.

Today I went to the market with a group of people that live in "The Ark" or the American Residential Compound.  I wish I brought my camera.  Things I would have taken photos of: rabbits in meat cases skinned except for the head, whole heads of cattle, sheep hooves, and the lady that hit me with a stick when I didn't give her my change at the cheese stand.  I came home from the market and washed my fruits and veggies with bleach. Yes, bleach.  They are all clean and ready to eat now!