Well…before the good, there was some bad. I needed to "re-up" on my data for my phone. Mobile contracts don't exist here, you just pay as you go. So I stopped at the mall and I payed the lady but I never received a message saying I had more data. The lady told me to push *88 and then a message was displayed. I read 260 Bs so I assumed it was my new balance since that was the amount I had just paid her. An hour later I realized (with the help of a Spanish speaking friend) that the message actually said that my balance of 260 Bs had expired three days before. So my phone was still not working. I was pretty angry. I thought I had been ripped off and I felt embarrassed for being a dumb American. So the next day I went to a different place to get more data on my phone. I paid and again, no message. This time I knew not to leave until my phone was working properly again. That's when I realized the man had copied my number down wrong. I had my cell phone number written down so I could show them the number and not have to worry about them not understanding my Spanish. He had thought my 7 was a 1 since I did not put the slash through it. So I don't think the lady at the other place meant to rip me off, it was probably an honest mistake and I was angry at her when it was really my own fault.
Anyway, on to the good! Friday night I went to dinner with some teacher friends. We ended up going to a pretty nice Thai place. Mmmm. It was apparently a HUGE deal that there was a decent selection of desserts. Everyone had to purchase something different and share with the table. I guess dessert menus are not common around here or maybe there usually is not many options.
We followed up dinner with some drinks at a fancy Lounge called Favola. Two things about this place:
1. It is an Italian "Ristorante" but it is decorated in British fashion.
2. The receptionist was not ashamed to show off her rhinoplasty bandages. It seemed so strange to me. If I ever had a nose job, which I will not, but I would want to keep it more discrete I guess. I asked the other teachers about it later and they said that it is culturally "the thing to do." Even one of our eighth graders got a nose job last year and she wore her bandages proudly to school. I can't imagine a thirteen year old having plastic surgery!
We finished the night at another mellow bar that was more Middle-Eastern themed and headed home "early" around 2 AM.
As soon as I woke up Saturday I realized I had been invited to an art gallery event that started in a half hour. I rushed to get ready and was right back out the door. It was a small gallery that had a bookstore and the event was a poetry reading by a famous Venezuelan author. I couldn't understand anything, but I was happy to be there anyway and work on my Spanish with the barista.
We took a taxi to the gallery, but the plan was to take the metro and then a bus to get back home. I wanted to go a Couchsurfing event that I had heard about (La Gran Ruta Caraqueña) but wasn't sure how I was going to get there and wouldn't you know that they were meeting at a metro station. Things always have a way of working out like they are supposed to :) So I met up with the couch surfers who were all very nice (and surprisingly spoke a lot of English). It turns out the event was not just a "route" of the city, but a bar crawl of sorts. The plan was to start on the west side of the city and stop at ten different bars and end up at the east end of the city. In typical Venezuelan fashion, we started an hour late and had only made it to three places after six hours.
(Don't worry Mom and Dad, there was a group of
twenty of us, we were secure)
with Parchita (passion fruit), so delicious!
Our Group of City Explorers
(Please know that I was rocking Ohio State gear since it was game day…)
The group was mostly Venezuelans, some from around the Country even, and there were a few Russian girls and a few French girls. I practiced so much Spanish! It was the most I have ever spoken and they were so helpful with teaching me correct pronunciation. And they invited me to a weekly meeting where they practice different languages. Every Wednesday they meet at a restaurant and there is a table for each language: English, Spanish, French, German, Latin, and Russian. I will have to check it out sometime.
It was also great to see some of the city. I wanted to take more pictures because it is beautiful, but I have been told not to flash my iPhone around so I only got a few and they are not that great.
The side of the Capital Building. Wish I could have taken a picture of the front. It is beautiful and it had a huge Palestinian flag hanging in the front to show the government's support of the country.
Simon Bolivar Plaza
In the capital area, it was a nice surprise to find subsidized Venezuelan chocolate at a fixed cheap price. I obviously stocked up on a couple of dark chocolate bars before heading home. I did not finish the route with the group because it was dark and I was exhausted.
Sunday came too quickly and I had lots of school work to do. At least I got a nice break in the afternoon when I attended a "fashion party/ fiesta de moda" at my teacher neighbor's house.
Every so often, some girls get together and have their friends who make jewelry and clothing showcase and sell their work. I got a nice necklace and shirt from the event and then went back to work.
Slowly adjusting to the city. I REALLY miss the beach! Hopefully I can go to the beach here soon. But I am enjoying meeting new people and trying new things…
Trini Eggplant Roti Beets I actually liked
Veggie Sandwiches Drizzled with BBQ
No comments:
Post a Comment