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!!!

Margarita Island

We had no school on Thursday and Friday, so a group of teachers headed to Margarita for a fun-filled 4 day weekend.

The island is 14miles off the coast of Venezuela. You can get there by ferry or plane. It is a 2 hr ferry ride or a 15min. plane ride. The round trip plane ticket is $44.00
....so PLANE IT WAS!!!

This is the smallest commercial plane I have ever been on!





The island is gorgeous. We rented 2 houses on a beach called Playa el Agua. I thought the island was a good mix of Cabo & Hawaii. It had all the touristy stuff like Cabo, but it has more of a tropical climate that reminded me of Hawaii. The best part is the White sand & Turquoise water of the Caribbean!

We went Snorkeling and Scuba Diving

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the weekend...