I finally made it!

It's been a long time coming, but I'm finally here in El Paso.

I first made contact with Jill, the woman I'm working with, on August 28, 2011.  Over the past 8 months or so, we have worked together extensively to create my research project, secure funding, and make sure everything was ready for my arrival.  Now it seems absolutely unreal that I'm here.

Jill and I finally met in person last evening.  She and her husband had me over for appetizers so that we could get to know each other a bit and then work out some last-minute parts of the study we're doing.  Then we went to El Taco Tote for dinner, which is essentially an authentic Mexican fast food restaurant.  It was awesome.  Here's a picture of the view from Jill's back patio:

Actually, El Paso as a whole so far has been awesome.  I arrived on Saturday at 4pm local time after a layover in Las Vegas (because clearly in order to get from Atlanta to El Paso it's necessary to go through Vegas...). I was exhausted after the long travel day, the super crazy week I had last week, and an overall busy semester.  However, my amazing friend Tom picked me up at the airport and brought me to my new house, called Casa Puente, which he helped set me up with.  It's located downtown and is a really cool place to live.  It's fully furnished and there are a few other people living here that are doing some really interesting things in El Paso.  I have two rooms of my own (they're adjoined, but one is my office and the other is my bedroom), and then there's a shared kitchen and living room.  I'll take some pictures of it soon.

Anyway, Tom and I dropped my stuff off and met the other people that live here, and then we went to his house.  He's doing a volunteer program here and lives in community, so I met his roommates and then got ready for a "150th Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla" (commonly known as "cinco de mayo") fiesta at the Mexican Consulate.  Yes, it was as ridiculous as it sounds.  It was very exclusive (the majority of the guests were older wealthy Mexicans who likely work in some way with the Consulate), but since Tom gives "Know Your Rights" presentations there for his job he got tickets.  When we entered, we were immediately offered tequila shots.  When I tried to politely refuse since I hadn't eaten much that day, I was told that I couldn't enter if I didn't drink tequila.  I must admit that it was the best tequila I've ever had.  There was a big open bar and buffet of Mexican food; the blue margaritas served out of a giant plastic container were amazing.  Needless to say, I had a lot of fun.  I met several of Tom's friends here, all of whom are doing really interesting work related to the border.  There was also a mariachi band and traditional Mexican dancers, and the place was decorated with lots of piñatas, which was entertaining in so many ways.  Here's a picture:

Yesterday morning I went to a Lutheran church with Tom and his roommates.  Tom actually worked there last year, so it was cool to be there.  The service was completely bilingual, making it quite long, and then there was a despedida luncheon for a visiting pastor.  Despite the fact that I was exhausted, it was an enjoyable experience.  Plus, it was the first time I visited a Lutheran church, adding to my list of new church experiences for 2012!

When I got home yesterday afternoon, my landlord, West, took me grocery shopping.  He is so nice.  We also went out for coffee and he gave me a tour of part of the city.  My impression of El Paso so far is that everyone is way friendlier than anywhere else I've ever lived in the U.S.  People at the grocery store, the bus station, the coffee shop, etc. all smiled and said hello.  Although Georgia is known for having a certain slow southern pace, it seems that Texas may have it beat.  It's weird how brown the place is, but I'm loving the mountain views, the consistent Spanglish, and the quietness of the place.  It also probably helps that it hasn't been too hot here yet (and I am SO grateful to be out of the humidity of Atlanta!)

Today was my first day of work.  I'm conducting a primarily qualitative study about the decision making process for method of delivery in first time mothers in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.  I'll be interviewing 15 women on each side of the border twice: once before they give birth and once after they give birth.  I'll also be observing a prenatal care visit for each woman and doing brief interviews with the delivering obstetricians after the birth.  And I'll be supplementing my data with some quantitative hospital-level data for the region regarding C-sections, inductions, anesthesia during labor and delivery.  That's the plan at least.

This morning Jill and I went to a few offices of obstetricians in El Paso.  Some were stand-alone and others were in hospitals.  It seems that we are in good shape, but there are still some kinks to be worked out.

I spent the afternoon in the office getting some random paperwork done.  I also did some research about different government assistance programs related to health in Texas, which was really helpful.

Everyone I work with is very nice and friendly, and the office in general is great.  It's downtown- only about a 10 minute walk from my house.  I definitely need to take pictures of my office- I even have my own phone extension! :)

Jill and I went on a walk in the middle of the afternoon to get coffee so that she could show me all of the museums and restaurants that are within a couple blocks of our building.  I need to spend some time playing tourist around El Paso with my camera soon!

I'll be spending most of tomorrow in Ciudad Juárez!  Have I mentioned how excited I am to be here for the next 14 weeks?!