Because automatic gunfire is the equivalent of a lullaby

I was going to write about last night's gunfire down the street from our home here in Nogales, Mexico, and explain how one of the leaders of a Mexican drug cartel was whacked yesterday, which is why there were roving shootings throughout this lovely bordertown all night (either in retaliation or celebration; I have no idea which).  BUT.  But.  But I just heard that calls started yesterday for the February A-100 training class for Foreign Service Officers.  I cannot confirm, but it looks like Public Diplomacy (my "cone") offers haven't begun yet, but I am hopeful they will start soon.  At no. 23 on the list, I have a good shot of being invited.

Watch this space: I will be back with an update soon...

(P.S. the auto gunfire is a true story.  It scared the crap out of me, but then I hugged Grace tight and let her deep sonorous snores lure me back to sleep.)

Tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-Tucson!

Yesterday I bummed a ride from the Principal Officer's wife into Tucson and snapped a few pictures I thought I would share.  My impression of Arizona so far is that it is yet another alien landscape to me.  Having grown up in the Northeast of the U.S., I am accustomed to dense populations (or "Thickly Settled" signs, right Mel?), lots of greenery, hills and forests, and grass.  The area south of Tucson, between the Mexican border and the city, is basically flat, with some dry shrubs and dehydrated looking trees, and then some mountains ringing the whole expanse.  Much of the main highway (I-19, the only interstate highway in the U.S. to have markers based in kilometers) linking Nogales and Tucson is pretty barren - there are exits for places like Tubac (the artist colony), Green Valley (an essentially over-55 retirement community), the casino for the Tohono O'odham nation, and what appears to be an expansive trailer park.  When there are homes or businesses dotting the landscape, they are all low to the ground structures with plenty of space surrounding them.  It's a completely different desert than I am used to (Lima and the surrounding desert in Peru is so different).

And the people are different, too.  You cannot walk into and out of a single store without at least a twenty minute conversation.  Even if you're just browsing.  People here are so friendly and want to know everything about you.  Being the noncommunicative and purpose-driven New Englander that I am, I find all of this strange and wonderful and completely wacky.

So when I was chauffered in to Tucson yesterday, I wasn't yet sure what to expect.  I would assume that Tucson is built like your typical Southwestern city - it covers a huge amount of geography and the stores, restaurants, businesses, clubs, and bars are all spread out.  Dropped off at the University of Arizona campus, I wandered up and down streets, looking for new and wonderful discoveries.

The first thing I noticed was the public murals, which seem to pop up just about everywhere, just like they do in Philadelphia.  The first mural I chanced upon was this one:

Since it was early yet, most businesses were closed.  The first place I stopped at was Cafe Passe, where I got myself a really wonderful cup of chai and listened to some cover music done in a combination of English and Portuguese by Seu Jorge, a Brazilian musician who is perhaps most well-known for his David Bowie covers that were featured in the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissau.  This cafe was just one of many funky, brightly colored shops running along 4th Avenue between University Boulevard (which is home to all the bars, restaurants, bistros, and shops that are frequented by the University of Arizona students) and Ninth Street.  My guide book tells me that this is one of the best places in the city to shop for everything from books to bicycle parts, and it is perheps THE BEST location of thrift store buys.

Also on 4th Avenue, I also came across this uniquely named bar, which I couldn't resist snapping a picture of, as I could imagine Bob and Anthony requiring something on tap there:

From 4th Avenue, I navigated towards the skyscrapers I could occassionally see over the tops of buildings.  Most of what I passed through felt like industrial neighborhoods and I did pass more blue collar workplaces such as automotive centers, but I also passed by a number of (closed) galleries and buildings I couldn't readily identify.  One of the more creative locations was this one:

Perhaps the strangest thing about Tucson that I began to notice around this time was the fact that I was almost always the ONLY person walking around on the street.  At first, this realization made me a little fearful that I had somehow wandered into a "bad" neighborhood, but as I thought about it some more, I concluded that the real reason for the solitude I found on the sidewalk is that Tucson is so geographically huge, everyone around here drives.  Moreover, Tucson isn't heavily populated.  So there will be some neighborhoods at certain times with some foot traffic, but many areas will be far quieter.  It is, by far, the smallest city (in terms of population and culture) I have navigated in a long time.

Somewhere in the midst of all these apparent warehouses, there are railroad tracks.  Once you cross over them, you basically land amidst the skyscraper portion of downtown.  One of the first modern buildings I passed appeared to be some kind of public works building and had this really cool structure in front of it:

So, I had thought that the skyscrapers would mark the city center, and that assumption is basically true.  Tucson basically hosts only 3 skyscrapers, and the surrounding blocks are full of professional businesses, government offices, the public library, and a host of eateries and shops.

The white and glass building photographed in both pictures is actually directly across a small park (I almost hesitate to call it a park, as there is very little greenery, but there are benches, a food truck, public art, and a wide walking expanse for city residents to enjoy) from the Pima County Public Library.  After spending much of the last 2 months in Massachusetts and the Lancaster Public Library with Christy and her girls, the library became the highlight of my downtown trip.  I finished my chai in the first floor lobby, watching people as they went about their daily business, and just enjoying the feeling of having nothing pressing to do.  Then I immediately signed up for a library card.

I walked around the library a bit, familiarizing myself with its layout and enjoying some of art exhibits on display, but chose not to borrow any material, thinking that I wouldn't be able to return anything on time just yet.  But I believe I will be back on Sunday, and Anthony has promised to help me return books as needed, so next time, I am all over the book stacks like white on rice.  Yeah, baby!

Then I wandered around the buildings a bit and found a few more interesting things to photograph, starting with the Pima County historical courthouse.

The Superior Court and other justice buildings are located around a courtyard behind the Courthouse, as well as a fountain, a John F. Kennedy bust, and a World War II memorial.

At this point, I really only walked around the block surrounding the high rises, and I found myself in a little boutique, where the woman was just setting up for the day.  As I mentioned previously, Arizonans seem particularly friendly, so, after a nearly 40 minute conversation in which I learned all about her daughter's academic career in Library Sciences and taught her a bit about the Foreign Service, I decided to walk back towards the University of Arizona campus to have lunch.

I walked mostly through residential streets and took a few pictures to give you an idea of how different the neighborhoods look.  (My favorite picture, of course, is of the self-identified Love Machine #13 - the name was spraypainted across the rear bumper.  It just makes me wonder what happened to the other 12 love machines...)

I ate my lunch in the outside seating area of Cafe Paraiso on University Boulevard, which allowed me to alternately watch the UofA students as they wandered by in large numbers (now that it was past noon and they were actually awake) and read the book I had brought with me (George R. R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones," gifted me by Aurit for my 30th birthday!  Thank you, dearie).

When I was done and it was nearly time to meet up with my ride, I took one last meander through the University of Arizona campus, and then sat again to bake in the sun and read more of my book. 

It really was a lovely way to spend a day in Tucson, and I look forward to learning more about what my temporary home (the AZ part anyway) has to offer.  I am most looking forward to the outdoors opportunities for hiking and such, but I think a visit to the zoo, the Air and Space Museum, the Missile Museum, the botanical gardens, and a few other hotspots will be totally necessary.  I also found out that they have an independent movie theatre in Tucson, which I am very excited about.

Let's see how much I can fit into the next month or so of exploring before I head off to DC to start my new career...