Day 10: Let’s Eat!

June 10th, 2012

Jess’s family wanted to treat me to  authentic home cooked Venezuelan meal, and they wanted to invite the neighbors over as well to make one huge buffet. I didn’t mind! I was anxious to try out all the different kinds of food and taste all the exotic flavors and to get to know Jess’ family better. Her family is really close and they all take part in helping everyday chores, so I got to help in making some of the food for tonight! There’s going to be a lot of courses, so time to get cooking.

Jess’s mother told me I would help in making Arepa, which is a flat, round patty made of cornmeal or flour which can be grilled, baked, or fried and stuffed with cheese, butter, ham or meat. Sounds easy enough! I set out to grinding cooked maize flour to use for it. My arms got tired after a while, but I kept at it. Eventually, the flour was grounded enough and I could form it into small patties the size of the palm of my hand. Then I baked them! While they were baking, I got out a big plate and put food on it that you could stuff your Arepa with. Then, I got the baked Arepas out of the  oven and let them cool while I helped set the table for the 8 people that were going to dine tonight.

Time to eat! So many different foods to pick from! Jess made Pasticho, which is like the Venezuelan version of lasagna. Jess’s dad cooked a dish called black roast. It’s another common dish, which consists of meat extracted from the rear part of a cow, and prepared with spices and papelon. It tastes really sweet, surprisingly. Jess’s younger brother prepared Chicha which is a thick drink made up of rice and milk, commonly enjoyed with cinnamon and ice. Strange texture, but good! My Arepa’s were perfectly made and they tasted great. I stuffed mine full of cheese and ham. Last, but not least, Jess’s mom made small snacks and the desserts! The pudín de chocolate and torta de auyama were delicious and I’ve taken a liking to her Mandocas which are Venzuelan deep-fried pretzels made from cornmeal. I eat them with melted cheese. Mmm! I wish I could eat like this everyday!

Day 9: The Economy

June 9th, 2012

Another learning day for me! Today it will be about Venezuela’s economy. Venezuela’s major industries are petroleum, construction materials, food processing, iron ore mining, steel, aluminum, and motor vehicle assembly. Natural products are corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee, beef, pork, milk, eggs, and fish. Venezuela also has a lot of natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, and diamonds.

Ever since the discovery of oil in the early 20th century, Venezuela has been one of the worlds major oil exporters. Other exports include bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, and basic manufactures.

In 2010, Venezuela was listed as having the highest inflation rate in the world, averaging 29.1%.

Day 8: Let’s Go To The Beach

June 8th, 2012

Something I have been wanting to do since I’ve been here is go to a beach. There aren’t any beaches where I live that have clear blue water and warm, sandy beaches! Jess and her family loaded up the car with everything we needed for a great day at the beach and we headed out. Since Caracas is 800 feet above sea level, most beaches are far away or only accessible on a boat. We’re heading to a beach not far away called Macuto. It’s only 6 miles north of the airport I arrived at! Not only is there a beach, but there is also a full-scale marina for sailing enthusiasts, dining, museums and a promenade.

After a short drive, we arrived! It feels amazing to have warm sand between my toes! After unpacking the car, Jess, her little brother, and I ran immediately to the water. The water feels great! Not too cold, and not too hot. Just perfect. We built a giant sand castle together and then ate the picnic Jess’ mom packed. Before we left, I walked along the beach and picked up all the pretty shells I could find. I could make a bracelet to remind me of the wonderful day I spent here!

Day 7: Shop Till You Drop!

June 7th, 2012

Shopping day! Jess has been dying to take me to her favorite shopping mall in the city, Centro Sambil! This mall has an area of 250,000 square meters, and it has five levels to it. It has more than 500 hundred shops! It also has a terrace, a gallery which has works from the Jacobo Borges museum, an aquarium, and numerous eating establishments such as 14 fast-food outlets, a romantic restaurant, and a cybercafe. Jess told me that since it is such an attractive place to visit, she’s heard many shop owners complain that people are going to sightsee rather than to shop!

We spent a majority of our day here, going in almost every shop that looked like it had something interesting in it. I bought some new clothes for myself and some souvenirs to bring back to Alaska. I also secretly bought Jess a birthday present while she was preoccupied with some shoes. Her birthday is in a little over a week so might as well get her something now before I forget! After all that shopping, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at one of the fast food places and headed home with our newly bought items.

Day 6: The Waterfall!

June 6th, 2012

Time to put on my hiking shoes! Today we’re heading up to Parque Los Chorros to spend the day exploring nature and to look at the beautiful waterfall located there! This park is located at the foot of Caracas’ Avila Mountain, and it consists of 4.5 hectares of gorgeous fauna. The cool thing about this park is that it has several levels to it. There’s a lot of steps and paths going everywhere, so I got to make sure not to get lost with Jess!

After finally making it to the waterfall, my breath was taken away. It’s so beautiful and tranquil! Jess and I took a few minutes to just sit on a nearby bench and just listen to the birds and waterfall. We watched a large group of people walk by and position themselves by the waterfall. Curious, we walked over and observed to what they were doing. They were mediating! The leader of the group saw us watching and asked us if we wanted to join. Of course we said yes. This is a perfect place to sit and mediate. When the session was over, I left feeling the most relaxed I have ever been. I think this would be the perfect place to set up a spa! If one existed here, I definitely would go just to feel this relaxed again.

Day 5: La Casa Amarilla

June 5th, 2012

Luckily, today isn’t as hot as yesterday so Jess can take me sightseeing again! Yay! A couple of days ago, a bright yellow building caught my eye while Jess and I were on a bus going home from the Plaza Bolívar. I asked Jess about it and today I finally get to see what it’s all about!

La Casa Amarilla is a national historic monument in Venezuela, and was originally home to the Royal Prison and the City of Caracas. It was painted yellow in the 19th century because that was the color of the liberal party. In 1912, it has been reformed to become the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Venezuela. This ministry works closely with its neighbors to try and help them out in any way they can. For example, the relationship between Argentina and Venezuela is close because of the large amounts of trading that happens between the two countries. The ministry used to have close ties with the Untied States, but since the election of Chávez, it has deteriorated. 

Such an interesting color for a building, but I like it! Makes it stand out more to people and more noticable.

Day 4: Government

June 4th, 2012

The heat today is crazy! It has to be up in the 100’s. Jess and I feel too hot to go out and do anything so we decided to stay home where it’s cooler. Since I’m not doing anything productive, I decided to do a little research on Venezuela! Better to know more about the place I’m staying in!

Something I didn’t know a lot about was Venezuela’s government so I decided to focus on that. Venezuela is a federal presidential republic which is governed by a constitution. The chief executive is the President of Venezuela who is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Currently, Hugo Chávez is the president of Venezuela. Chávez actually spent about two years in jail, for his role in the military rebellion of February 4, 1992. On February 2, 1999, Chávez was sworn into office as the president of the Republic of Venezuela. President Chávez called for the creation of a constituent assembly that would draft a new social and political pact for the country. The new constitution  was approved with more than 70% of the popular vote.

He ran for president again on December 3, 2006 and won it with 62.84% of votes and the highest level of participation in the democratic history of the country. This really reminds me of Venezuela’s motto, “Power to the people”. The people as a whole are ones who really get to make the choices.

Hugo Chávez

Day 3: Visting Plaza Bolívar!

June 3rd, 2012

Today, Jess took me to see one of the more famous landmarks in her city, Plaza Bolívar! It is located near the Metro Capitolo, in the center of the city. My first impressions of the plaza is that it is really beautiful, but very busy! There were people everywhere, ranging from tourists to natives, walking to and fro.

Something I noticed immediately about the plaza is the statue of a man on a horse in the middle of the area. I asked Jess about it and she gave me a little history lesson! She told me that the man was named Simón Bolívar and he played a big part in Hispanic America’s struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. He is not only the liberator of Venezuela, but also Colombia, Panama, Ecuador , Bolivia, and Peru. Today, he is considered one of the most influential politicians in the history of the Americas!

A picture of Bolívar

Day 2: The Zoo

June 2nd, 2012

Today, Jess kept her promise and took me to go exploring her city. I was still a bit tired, but that quickly disappeared when I saw how big Caracas is! The city area has a population of around 5,905,463, while the metro area has a population of 6,474,367 people. Jess told me that they call natives or residents of Caracas “Caraquenians” or “Caraqueños” in Spanish. I guess I would be a mock Caraquienian for the time being!

Jess decided to take me to one of her favorite parts of the city, which is simply called the East Park. Strangely enough, it isn’t located to the east of the city, but rather in the middle of it. We took the bus to get to our destination because it is one of the more common ways to get around the large city. No complaints there! Would take forever walking. The park is beautiful and it even contains a small zoo! We strolled around the zoo and I saw so many animals that I have never seen before, except in pictures. Animals such as exotic birds, tapars, monkeys, and my favorite, red pandas!

We spent the entire day at the zoo looking at the animals, then we decided to head back home since we were getting exhausted and overheated from the 90 degree weather. Way warmer than regular Alaska weather! One more day successfully down, 18 more to go!

Day 1: Arrival!

June 1st, 2012

School has been out for a few weeks now and it’s time to go on a vacation! My parents decided to let me go vacation in beautiful Venezuela for a few weeks as sort of a present for doing excellent on all my finals. I’m so excited!

For this vacation, I had to get a little bit of background information on Venezuela to see what exactly I would need to travel there. I packed two suitcases full of clothes and objects that I would need in Venezuela. Clothes such as a swimsuit, tank tops, short sleeves shirts, flip flops, shorts, sunscreen, and sun glasses. I’m also planning on doing a lot of hiking and exploring while I’m in Venezuela so I packed some hiking shoes, regular tennis shoes, a small first aid kit, and some other miscellaneous items.  I’m bringing tons of money with me to exchange for Venezuela’s currency, Bolívars Fuertes. Right now, one US dollar is equivalent  to 4.30 Bolívars Fuertes.

When traveling to another country, there’s quite of bit of things you must do first to make sure you can go legally. I made sure my passport was up to date and my immunizations also. I made sure to ask my doctor if I needed any shots to protect me from any foreign diseases. Since I’m only going to be there for 20 days, it wasn’t necessary to get any new shots. Phew! I’m not a fan of needles at all!

My suitcases weighed a ton, and they made me extremely tired dragging them through the airport. Luckily, my dad and little brother helped me out. I was going on this vacation by myself, but I was going to meet with a pen pal when I arrived in Venezuela so I won’t be alone. Her name is Jess, and she invited me to stay with her family in her home in the capital of Venezuela, Caracas. Home cooked meals every day, and a comfy bed to sleep in every night. Lucky me!

As I got on the plane, I prepared myself for the long travel time. Including the two layovers, it would take me just over 24 hours to make it to my final destination! I went from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, to Houston, Texas, and finally to Caracas, Venezuela. When I finally arrived in Caracas, I was nearly bouncing up and down in my seat. I wanted to finally meet Jess in person and explore my new surroundings! I spotted Jess’ face in the crowed airport lobby and immediately ran over to hug her. We talked up a storm as her parents drove us back to their house. We had a fantastic dinner with some traditional Venezuelan food such as Hallaca, which is a a mixture of beef, pork, chicken, raisins, capers, and, olives all wrapped in cornmeal dough, folded within plantain leaves.

Currently, I am laying on my borrowed bed typing this entry while I try to get used to the seven-hour time difference. It’s almost midnight here, and I’m not tired at all. Jess fell asleep almost immediately after dinner. She told me that she’s going to take me to see the city tomorrow and I can’t wait. When I was still in Alaska, I made a list of all the things I want to do. The list included things such as visiting any landmarks in the area, trying all the unique food, go shopping for exotic clothes or trinkets to bring back home, hike on any nearby trails or mountains, and many other things I hope to accomplish while I am here.  This vacation is just getting started and I can’t wait to see what happens next.