After school on Monday, I took the public buses for the first time. I went with one of the other new teachers who has used them to go to a nearby mall. Although if I were not paying attention he would have had us get on the bus going straight to the barrio! Once we got on the bus it was easy to get to the mall, it just took a while because of traffic. The Centro Comercial Plaza Las Américas is a five story mall; it is nice with a lot of clothes shops and salons. The store I was most excited about was the grocery store! It was huge, but unfortunately that did not mean a better selection; it just meant more of the same things... There was a whole isle of one brand of margarine.
As soon as it started to get dark, the shops started closing and the mall emptied pretty fast. Finding the correct bus to get on to go home was a littler harder because it was a larger stop. I was laughing at one bus in particular that was pimped out with LED lights around the windows, on the windshield wipers, and on the wheels. Of course that was the bus we had to take to get home. All of the buses have names, they have them displayed on the outside. Most of the houses here have names too.
I observed some of the trending Venezuelan fashions while at the mall as well as waiting in the doctors office for a couple hours… Obnoxious patterned leggings, with heels, see-through shirt, and giant purses seem to be the outfit of the season. And don't forget multiple bracelets and necklaces.
I had my first spanish lesson on Tuesday! It went surprisingly well. My instructor is extremely nice and I understood a lot of what she was saying (the whole lesson was in spanish). I am excited to start learning.
My ninth grade students have challenged me to the ice bucket challenge. I'm hoping they forget, but I will be taking extra clothes to school tomorrow just in case :)
Yesterday morning, I went to a cafe and ordered my first "cafe guayoyo" myself. I was proud when I was able to answer all of the barista's questions like how many shots, what size, and if I wanted sugar. I also was able to have him put it in my travel mug. Yay for saving the environment/ not drinking plastic chemicals! Usually the steaming hot coffee is served in thin plastic cups. It doesn't make sense.
I also booked my flights for winter break! I will be meeting Lane in Curacao from December 13-21, then I will be in Columbus from December 22-28, and then Jacksonville Beach from December 28-January 2 and I will flight back to Caracas from Miami on January 3. I can't wait!!!
One of the highlights of my weekend was my first Hash run (…walk, let's be honest, we all know I don't run). They have them all over the world, but it's a running club with a drinking problem…or a drinking club with a running problem…something like that. You follow a trail of flour around the city and finish with dinner and beer. The locals must think it's crazy that the hashers are pouring flour on the ground because flour is one of the items that there is often a shortage of right now :/ But I will definitely go to the one next month and I encourage everyone to check out their local hash. http://gotothehash.net
(View from part of the hash walk)
The week ended with a worldly brunch with my teacher neighbors. We had blueberry Venezuelan pancakes with Canadian syrup and fresh Honduran coffee and Peruvian Chicha (drink made from purple corn). Followed by lots of lesson planning and online classwork.
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