Can't Wait to Get Home!

There are several things I have been dreaming about for weeks now.  Here is a list of things I miss most about home, and stay awake at night dreaming about!!!

• AMERICAN FOOD - Venezuelan food is DISGUSTING!!!
• American TV - I miss all the current TV shows...Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Houswives, etc. etc. (and I'm excited to go to the movie theatre and watch movies in ENGLISH!!!)
• Grocery Checkers that friggin' SMILE - The general public here in Venezuela isn't too friendly...especially the grocery checkers.
• Restaurants that actually have the things that are on their menus - Here in Venezuela you need to prepare yourself to find 4 or 5 things that you'd like on the menu, because they RARELY have anything that is on their menu. (and they look at you like you're rude for expecting them to have it!)
• Scarves, hats, mittens...anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE my winter accessories.
• A Bath - I'm dying to take a bath!!!!! (and hot water would be nice too)
• NO BUGS!!!  - Getting eaten alive by bugs is a daily occurrence here in Venezuela.
• Being able to walk down the street without always looking over my shoulder.
• Not having to always cary my money in my bra. - I wonder if they'd look at me strange if I walk up the the counter at the GAP and pulled my money out of my bra?
• Being able to understand what the heck people are saying!!!!!!!
• FRIGGIN' INTERNET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Driving - Can you believe I've gone more than 4 months without stepping behind the wheel?
• Being able to get into a car without thinking, "OH LORD PLEASE LET ME LIVE THROUGH THIS!!!"
• BUDDY!!!!! I don't care if Mom spent 4 months ridding him of all his bad habbits...He's sleepin' under the covers with ME!!!!!
• BUT MOST OF ALL...SEEING ALL OF MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY...I MISS YOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!

Casa Hogar

Casa Hogar is an orphanage here in Anaco.  Gary, Sam, & I went to Casa Hogar to do a Christmas Craft with the kids.  It was a very rewarding experience for me and really opened my eyes to the struggles these kids encounter in life.  They were adorable. I wanted to take them all home with me!

Thanksgiving Feast

I think Asabache, the camp dog was most thankful this Thanksgiving!  We invited all the families to school for a huge Thanksgiving feast. There was more food than we could imagine. As I helped clean off the tables I scraped all the scraps into a huge tray and gave it to Asabache for a special treat!

Camila's Apartment

Camila is one of my students.  Her parents are very gracious. They have an apartment in Puerto La Cruz and they let us stay there whenever we want. It's nice to use to apartment to get away for the weekend. It is also close to the airport, so it is a great place to stay if we have an early morning flight.

It is a gorgeous place right on the canals.

It is amazing how giving the parents are here...they really are wonderful families!

Mi Dulce

Halloween VENEZUELAN Style!

Halloween is a perfect example of how people here in Venezuela do everything over the top!  

The PTA started planning in August for the BIG event.  To kick off the festivities we had a door decoration contest that started early in the month. When I heard that we were having a door decoration contest I thought, "This should be fun...we'll cut some scary monsters out of construction paper and tape them to the door!" Boy was I wrong.  It was not our job to decorate the classroom doors, it was a job for the PARENTS!!!  So basically it is a contest to see which group of parents can out-do the others.

The mothers of my students approached me with an idea.  They wanted to make a bed with a monster coming out from under it. (...and I'm thinking they're going to cut this out of construction paper.)  NO FRIENDS!!!!  They actually hauled in an entire bedroom set! (the funny thing was none of this actually touched the door!)  And it got worse!  Some of the doors were so scary that MANY of the children were scared to even walk in the hallways!!!  

Here are some pictures of the doors...

The day before halloween we had Family Pumpkin Carving.  This was a lot of fun.  All the families brought in a pumpkin and carved it here at school.  There were some SERIOUS pumpkin carvers. Families brought in all sorts of supplies. Huge knives (that the kids were using!), saws, even drills! It was so nice to see all the families working together.

Have I mentioned how the mothers dress here in Venezuela?  Even though they were up to their elbows in pumpkin guts...they were still in their "sexy" outfits!

Here are the finished products!!!

Later in the evening we had a Halloween Carnival.  Apparently it was the talk of the town because over 1,000 people showed up.  There was all sorts of activities. Carnival games, costume contest, a haunted house, a disco party with a live DJ...it was CRAZY!!!

Parents set up their own tables and all the kids went around trick-or-treating!

Here's us teachers having a good time!

Overall it was a fantastic time!  It lasted until 11:00...AND WE HAD SCHOOL THE NEXT DAY!!!!

(The best part of the story is that several of the parents were upset because alcohol was banned this year, (apparently alcohol was sold in the past!) I could only imagine what would have happened if we had alcohol!

Venezuelan Hospital Visit

After returning home from Trinidad Sunday night, I noticed my hands were extremely itchy. YES MY HANDS!!! And everybody's response was..."Well, go WASH them!"  But nobody could understand. The itching was from the INSIDE...and it was DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!

It was sooooo strange.  I was up all night itching and trying not to pull my hair out.

When morning came I couldn't bare it any longer so our secretary Rosangela took me to the Doctor. The doctor took a look at my hands and asked me what I ate the day before. (A Turkey Sandwich from Subway). He told me that I was having an allergic reaction to the Turkey. But that confused me even more because I eat turkey all the time...

 Well...things are a little backwards here in Venezuela!!! When the doctor says that I am having an "allergic reaction" to turkey, what he really means is..."There was some funky bacteria in your turkey that is infecting your blood and it is causing you to itch like crazy!"

Soooo...he took me into the lab & sat me on a stool so the nurse could give me a shot of "God knows what" to fight the infection.  I have had many shots before but this one was different. It was like fire going into my veins and I could feel it rushing to my head, then all of a sudden...LIGHTS OUT!!!!

When I woke up I was laying on the floor of this Venezuelan hospital with 8 people standing over me. They were all talking franticly in Spanish and I had NO IDEA WHERE I WAS!!! I seriously thought I was dying. I couldn't remember who I was, where I was, or what was happening. I was trying to get up, but they kept restraining me and sticking an oxygen mask on my face.  

It wasn't until I looked over and saw my secretary that I finally figured out what was happening. They picked me up off the floor, sat me on the examination table, finished the shot, and sent me on my way.

All the while I am thinking to myself....WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?

So...you ask...did it work? Yes, by God it did! The itching has subsided and I am back to normal.

And if I seem a lot skinnier the next time you see me....you'll know that it's because I'm to scared to eat ANYTHING in this friggin' country!!!

Trinidad!

My friends Jen, Sam, and I headed off to Trinidad for the weekend. Our visas were expiring, so we needed to leave the country.

One of my students, Marisabel, is from Trinidad, so her family was gracious enough to set us up with a place to stay.


It was a quick 45 minute flight.


We were met at the airport by Marisabel's Grandma and Uncle Steve.
They took us to dinner, shopping, and to their house where we had 3 SUPER comfy couches and AMERICAN TV!!!



Later that night we went out on the town to experience the TRUE "Trini" lifestyle. Trinidad is VERY MUCH like Jamaica. The people speak English, but we often found them harder to understand than Spanish! The island is filled with dread locks and true Caribbean music....VERY COOL!





On Saturday, we met up with even more of the family and headed for a scenic drive to the beaches on the north side of the island. The view was absolutely breathtaking.



We stopped along the way for some Trini Treats. Every type of Candy you can imagine!



We went to some beautiful beaches!











...and goofed off a little!





Overall it was a fantastic weekend. Marisabel's family was amazing to open their arms to a bunch of American strangers and show us a fabulous time. I definitely reccomend Trinidad to anyone!


We had one last stop to make before heading home...
Ali's Candy Shop!!!