Entry 2

I can hardly believe I've been here for over two weeks now. It seems like just yesterday that I was getting off my plane on Ekon. It's an amazing planet, but very different than my home nation. There is no open country here! They're painted landscapes across my walls to make it look like home, but out my window I see another skyscraper across from me. My building houses most of the representatives from Earth. My living space is half of the 171st and 172nd floors. The opposite half of my floors are occupied by a sweet gal from a tiny European nation called Ireland. The fellow from Kenya lives above me.

Outside my window I see the building that houses the representatives from Ewthers and Went. Ewthers has less than 100 representatives, so most of the occupants are from Went. I still have a lot of training to do before I can meet any representatives from Went. Carlos, the Mexican representative, tells me they would find my southern hospitality offensive. England's representative, Chelsea, has been Earth's most effective communicator with Earth.

Carlos suspects that I'll have better luck with the Alamans from Kalaki than Mugo, my Kenyan neighbor, has had, and he's asked me to accompany Mugo on his next visit to the Kalaki Skyscraper. I was a little nervous to agree to make a political visit so soon to my arrival, but Carlos nearly insisted.

I have a hard time saying no to Carlos; he's been my biggest advocate for the last eight years. While I traveled here in hypersleep, Carlos was tirelessly preparing my place in the Earth Skyscraper and advocating for me as a valuable representative among the nations of Earth as well as the ambassadors from other planets. Having represented Mexico in the IPC for nearly twenty years, he's earned the respect of all of Earth's ambassadors, and most ambassadors from other planets. He asked me to help out Mugo a couple days ago explaining to me that Kenya was asking for the removal of Alamani research plants from his home nation. Apparently the Alamani had asked to conduct research on the Kenyan soil thirty years ago, and when the researchers arrived two years ago they began siphoning natural resources out of the land.

Before I forget, I need to record my up to date report of what I've learned about my nation and our interactions with America. Texas is alive and kickin'! Not that I doubted that would be the case when I arrived, but we were only two years old when I set out, and I wasn't sure how the other nations on Earth would respond to my arrival on Ekon. I've been welcomed by everyone I've met, though perhaps a little more coldly by Juniper, the American ambassador. Juniper has been polite every time we've said hello, but our formal sit-down to establish our respective nations positions in the congress has yet to happen. That's scheduled for after I come back from the Kalaki adventure with Mugo. We leave on Tuesday morning.

J. J.