Peter landed in Bogota last night and the city decided to welcome him with a big bang.
In the form of a car bomb.
While the blast happened earlier in the morning, Peter was still met at the airport by his director -and her driver/bodyguard- and was driven to his hotel/suite in an armored vehicle.
I couldn't help but laugh when he told me all this.
Not that a car bomb is ever a laughing matter... except when I've been spending the last four weeks arguing that no, mom, Bogota really is safe!
Even with this car bomb, I'm not worried or fearful of living in Colombia. It seems to me that if those responsible had wanted to really hurt or kill a large amount of people, they would've set it off in a highly populated location, like a market or outside a church. This bombing was outside of a building housing a radio stations, a newspaper (I think) and the Ecuadorian consulate. Seeing as the government and the media are HEAVILY involved in Colombia, and a new president was sworn in six days ago, this was pretty obviously a political statement against the current government.
I'm anxious to hear about Peter's first day at work today. If I can walk him through using PhotoBooth on his laptop, I'll get him to take some pictures of the super swanky suite he'll be calling home for the next three weeks. It's a two level loft-style suite and looks reeeeeeally nice.
When we talked last night on Skype, he told me that he'll be playing soccer with the embassy team this Saturday. The Canadian Embassy vs the US Embassy. The US team is apparently quite good, having a large pool of employees to choose from, but hopefully he'll still have fun and it will give him the chance to get to know a few more of his co-workers.
However I did remind him that a) he hasn't played for a few years, and b) he'll have only been at that altitude for less than three days*. My guess is that it's not going to be pretty.
*Bogota is at 9,000 ft!
Oh, that's quite a bit scary. But you seem to be handling that news quite well. Better than I would. So glad he has a driver!
ReplyDeleteholy crow. i go off line for a couple of weeks and you are packed and gone! how freaken' fast was that! car bombs sound scary, but having lived in india for 7 months, they do tend to be rather removed. and you'll get used to seeing people walking around with machine guns. very unsettling at first, but then just part of the scenary.
ReplyDeletecan't wait to hear about the move and the first few days. because you are going to be blogging from the plane, right? ;-)
Then now is definitely NOT the time to watch that one Harrison Ford movie with your mom. You know, the one where there are bullets flying and NO armored cars are around? Yeah, that one :)
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness AMY! I need to visit your blog more often! I don't think I even knew you were moving to Columbia! OMG!
ReplyDeleteWell that was quite the greeting! I'm a sucker for the luxury suite photos, but what I really think you need to post are the after game photos *g*
ReplyDeleteI got your comment on my blog this morning -on my post for my son Sean- and you SO get it. We seem to have the same reactions...appreciation and love for the gift of our sons. My pictures look much like yours. We had Sean for two hours but he never moved or opened his eyes. He would have been six this past summer. I loved your video and am so glad you keep him in your lives as we do our son. I look forward to reading more on your blog.
ReplyDeletePeace,
Kathy