¡He llegado! (I have arrived!)

11:50 p.m. Monday, Sept. 6, 2010 – La Casa (quarters for the field assistants), circa de Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico

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Too tired to write much, but I made it to my new home. The drastic difference of my new surroundings was apparent as soon as I stepped of the plane in Villahermosa; we had to wait outside before going into customs and hordes of mosquitoes greeted me immediately. Of course, I will have to get used to them quickly if I’m going to survive here.

Jason was there with a driver to pick me up, and it was nice having the two hour drive to Palenque to get briefed by him on what to expect in the field and around town. Luckily, a couple of new people just arrived within the past few weeks so I won’t be the only rookie around. I’m also thankful I don’t have to go straight into the field tomorrow, so I will have a day to settle in and put on my tennis shoes before I hit the ground running.

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