VENEZUELA!

First off my family in New Orleans lost everything, so all my family and some family friends are living in NC right now. Everyone back home has been so giving though denoting 2 houses fully equipt and food and clothes and stuff. They've been really great. Spirits as far as I can tell are up, just keep them and New Orleans in your thoughts please.

VENEZUELA

DAY 1 – September 3, 2005

So, when I woke up this morning the ship was already docked in La Guaira, Venezuela. We had finally made it to our very first port. The view out on the deck was pretty surreal. I mean, here we were, standing looking at a huge mountain beyond which the city of Caracas laid. It wasn’t just any mountain either. This mountain had been converted as a living place for hundreds and hundred of squatters. Squatters are mainly illegal immigrants that build very small houses on other people’s land. I’m not even sure how these tiny, disheveled houses remained standing, let alone how they could receive the electricity to run their tvs, refrigerators, direct tvs satellites, and playstations. Despite having those amenities it would still be a pretty hard way to live.

I took the Caracas City Orientation tour today. I boarded a bus with some other students and with the help of our driver Hector and our tour guide Marveda we started towards Caracas, and let me just say, I would never be able to drive in Caracas. Drivers made up their own lanes and apparently traffic laws because I saw more people run red lights than I cared to see. On this tour, we went several places. Our first stop was the National Pantheon where South American hero Simon Bolivar is body is kept. It was pretty humbling to be the presence of a person whom many Venezuelans nearly worship even if he wasn’t alive. Although, the little Venezuelan boy who broke away from his mother to grab the penis of the baby sculpture, was also humbling in its own way too.

We also went to the Colonial Arts Museum of Caracas which was a converted house filled with countless antiques. Bolivar would come to visit this house whenever he was in Caracas. Next we took a self tour of the Museum of Fine Arts which was pretty interesting. We saw everything from 19^th century art to some pretty unique modern art. There will be pictures eventually, I assure you. It just might be when I don’t have to pay 40 cents a minute to upload them.

We ate lunch at a restaurant Rucio Moro. This represented the culture of the Venezuelans who lived in the Plains area, or what we would refer to as the good old country. These cowboys could give Texans a run for their money, that’s for sure. After lunch we headed to East Park where we went to a reptile exhibit at the zoo. This was a true highlight. No, not the snakes, but the expressions on all the kids faces as we took pictures of them and they got to see the pictures on our digital cameras. It was priceless. It was the kind of excitement that only kids can create within themselves.

And that was pretty much the first day of Venezuela. On to DAY 2…

DAY 2

Today was awesome! I did the Coastal Explorer Adventure, so at 8:30 this morning we boarded these 4-wheel drive vehicles and took a drive down the Venezuelan coastline. It was so beautiful. Again, pictures will be posted/sent out eventually, so just trust me, it was gorgeous. Our first stop was at a small town just off the coast. There was a short tour of the Truth Museum. This museum was basically a small building where this local artist displayed his sexual and political wooden sculptures. He explained what a few of them meant. Outside of the museum there were many children from this small town. They posed for countless pictures with us and were so excited to see us.

Once we left that small town we head for a public beach, and then to this beautiful fresh water pool where there was a waterfall and everything. For the first time I could really get a sense that I was in Venezuela. It was very surreal. So, after swimming with the locals we headed to a restaurant called Hotel Rest de Gua. It was an outdoor place and had several cats just roaming around. It also had this cute little baby monkey that liked to nibble, chew and bite things like my thumb. It tried to break the skin, but fortunately failed. Come to find out later there might be an incident form filed for rabies or something. I don’t know. I don’t really think I have anything to worry about. At least that’s what Dad says.

After lunch we headed back the town with the artist and children where they played the tambores (a type of drum, I probably butchered the spelling) along with some of the locals. The little kids showed us how they dance to this music. It basically consists of the children standing around in a circle. A boy and girl go into the center of the circle and dance sort of sexually, but not really because they are just kids, you know. Anyways it was pretty funny because whenever the little boys would get too close the girls would physically either push them away with their hands or basically hip-check them. Whenever someone else wanted to dance they would just step in and takeover. Eventually, some of us students danced with them. Yes, I danced! I danced with a cute little boy and he was very respectful. There was no hip-checking or pushing. After having a local drink called La Guara Pinta (again butchering the spelling) that consisted of some type of rum and either peach or they also had blackberry, we say our thank you’s and goodbye’s boarded the truck and headed back to the ship. We did make a pit stop at a McDonalds though that was nice.

I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better 2^nd day in Venezuela. The trip was great. The tour guide, William, was awesome, and the overall experience was beyond these words. I can’t even imagine what tomorrow is going to bring!

DAY 3

Today a group of us headed to the Hogar Bambi Orphanage in Caracas to spend some time with the 50 plus children there. A group of SAS students had already been there the day before, but you would have never have known it. Before we could even get back to the playground they were knocking on the windows with smiling faces eager to get a hold of any thing we had to offer, whether it be love or our sunglasses. Once we went out to the playground several ran up to us planting big hugs and pulling our arms to follow them. All of the kids were great. They were happy to let us play with them and take their pictures, show off their dancing skills to the Regge-ton music or their jump roping skills. By the time we had to leave they wouldn’t let us go. Some even physically blocked us from getting out the door to head back to our bus. All of the children there come from some kind of disruptive family. The girls have their own bedroom as well as the boys, but they all have to share clothes. The Orphanage has done an amazing job making sure the children are as healthy and best cared for as possible. I’m looking forward to going on more similar trips in the other countries we’ll visit.

Tonight about 7 of us took a taxi into Caracas. We went to the Centro San Ignacio mall to see a Venezuelan movie. It was entitled Secuestro Express and it starred Mia Maestro (aka Sydney’s sisters on Alias). Even though we didn’t understand every word we were still able to get the gist of the film. It took place in Caracas and depicted the level of crime in the city. It was pretty scary considering we were in that city. Fortunately, we made it back to the ship safely.

Tomorrow is our last day in Venezuela. I’m going to try to do some souvenir shopping. It went by pretty fast, but I think I’m ready to see what Salvador, Brazil has to offer.

DAY 4

For our last day in Venezuela we decided to stay in La Guaira and check our the local street markets. We had some bolivars left, so we figured we should rid of them by buying some cool souvenirs. We also ate at a restaurant called Avila. I had some great filet mignon. It was delicious! After lunch we did some more shopping in our port terminal before relaxing at the pool on the ship. Tonight there’s going to be a harp demonstration in the union, so that should be cool. Tomorrow it’s back to classes. We’ll have classes for 6 days straight before reaching Brazil. Fun stuff.

Seriously though, when I think about what I’m actually doing, it blows my mind. I’m one of the, if not THE luckiest person alive! Thanks Mom and Dad! Nothing will ever be enough to repay you two for this experience!