Last Venezuela Post

Well looks like I am out of here in less than two days. Papers are done and over, and looks like I am here to wait out my time, so I might as well reflect on my time here in Venezuela. Needless to say, this trip has been easily the most life changing thing i have ever done. From my own experience and from others experiences, all programs are the same way. Where else can you be thrown on your own and survive all on your own. I came into this trip not knowing anyone here and have come out with some amazing friendships. I have learned to be open to all people, throw away the stereotypes because they are just not worth it. Even if some people might get a little under your skin, its not worth getting into it or throwing them out to the curb. Also i have learned to use the time you have to your advantage. You may think you have so much time somewhere but it can go so fast, so take advantage to every minute you are given. Also, just because you afraid or unsure of something, as the famous nike logo says, just do it. There have countless things here where i have gone into them(canyoning, ziplining, moutain trek, or simply trying out a new bar) where i was aprehensive about, but turned out to be some of the greatest decisions i have made.
Another thing is to keep your integrity in tact. Mine has been tested here countless times and its the decisions you make in those types of situations where your integrity is truly measured. Stand up and take a stand if something is not right. One of the most important lessons i have learned is to not care if something is not right on plan. The Venezuelan method here is to usually never go with the plan. At first i couldnt take this. I am used to my ridiculously structured life in the states, and if something doesnt go to plan, i would get a little upset. After time here though, i learned that sometimes the best times where just winging somthing or just being spontaneous and figuring out something to do. Also, i mentioned this in an earlier post but, just dance. Who cares if you are bad or look like an idiot. Have fun and let loose.
Well, thats it from this country. But there will be more to come. The travel bug has made its way into me. I have already grow to love South America and will be back. But anyways, for the next three weeks I am headed to Ecuador and Peru. Will try to blog there if i can.

Canyoning Fun

Well this past weekend I went on a really cool adventure called canyoning. Its this special extreme kind of sport that can only occur in certain places of the world. We trekked up in the mountains and reached this river. From there we geared up in full wetsuits and helmets and traversed down this river. From there we reached spots where we had to jump in the water from cliffs and also a couple of spots where we slid down rocks and waterfalls to reach the next point in the river. Thankfully this trip came after about 2 straight weeks of rain, so that the river was really flowing well and fast. The coolest part about my canyoning trip was the big waterfalls. There were three waterfalls in total we made our way down. The first was probably around 60 feet tall in which you repelled down. The second was probably around 80 feet and that one consisted of fast roping down it. You pretty much had to move your hands as fast as you could to get down without being completely smothered in the gushing water. Needless to say my ropes got caught but made it to the side while they adjusted. The last one was the highlight of the trip. A 120 foot waterfall in which you had to repel down. You go over the edge having no idea what lies below but you just have to do it. It was so amazing and terrifying at the same time. Adrenaline just pumping. Honestly one of the coolest things i have done here so far. Unfortunately going through all of this water makes it a little hard to take pictures, but here is a picture from the waterfall in merida of someone else repelling down the giant waterfall.

Anyways, after the trip we headed back to merida and were treated pizza and pop. Really great day.
Classes are winding down here. In both of my classes all i have left is the final paper. Shouldnt be all that tough but i still need to put in a lot of work in order to pull off the grades. Sad to believe I have 9 days left here.

Los Llanos and beyond! pt. 2

So we get back to Merida and go out to this really nice restaurant. We each had fish which was really great. For an excellent meal and beer it was less than 9 dollars! The next few days I showed my parents around the city so that they could get an idea of what my life is like here. We went to my favorite places to eat and hang out, and spent alot of time in the plazas. The plazas here are great, surrounded by vendors and a great place to people watch. Our posada just happened to be really close to the two main plazas in the city. The days went on as we caught up and ate alot! My parents had a venezuelan burger (complete with ham and chips and absolutely huge) and ate at the famous guiness book of world records ice cream shop (that being for having the most ice cream flavors in the world). Something very cool was that on Thursday and Friday we attended the passion of christ play right in my neighborhood. I later found out that these are popular for holy week but the one we attended is the most popular in the country. That is for good reason because the plaza was packed with people and the production quality of the play was excellent. Great costumes and actors! On friday my parents got to meet my host mom here and see what shes like. That was fun even though the language barrier makes everything a little more difficult.
I really got to practice my spanish while they were here. Being a constant translator can really improve your Spanish! My parents headed out Sunday afternoon. We went to the airport to find that their flight was canceled. They couldnt help them out because my parents had to catch a flight in caracas at 8 in the morning. So...I had to work quick and arrange a 10 hour cab ride to caracas. Not a very easy thing to do especially late at night. But, they made it there fine and all was good. I really enjoyed having my parents here. It was great to catch up and for them to see how i live here.
Anyways, I have only 3 weeks left in Venezuela. Really sad stuff. I am gonna miss it here so much but do look forward to being back in the US of A again. Next weekend we have a four days weekend so i might go to the beach or take some kind of trip. Oh yes, and the rainy season has oficially started here. It rains like 3 hours a day now.
Well thats all i have for now.

Los Llanos and beyond! pt. 1

Well my parents came for a nice long week visit over easter break. Soo i took a taxi down to the airport to meet them in the airport about an hour and a half away. The plane of course was 2 hours late. Welcome to Venezuela Mom and Dad, haha. We took a taxi back to Merida, and arrived at our posada. It was called Posada la montana. Really nice place with plants all around and with a beautiful courtyard and balcony. From there we walked around the city and got some dinner down the block. Typical meal of rice, beef, and tostones(fried plantains). From there we headed back early because we had to wake up early the next morning.
The next day we headed to a place in Venezuela called Los Llanos (in spanish means the plains). We headed out of the mountains on a 10 hour drive to the camp. The transition between the mountains and los llanos was amazing. As soon as we left the mountains, the land was completely flat all around and not many trees. As we got farther into the countryside, the vegetation became more and more sparse and it seemed like you could see forever in all directions. It was very pretty and almost looked like the Savannah in Africa. Los llanos is known for their cattle industry, so we saw many cattle farms with thousands of cows there. On the way to camp, our guide spotted an anaconda, and got to hold it and learn all about them. We then got to camp which was really nice. Showers and good food, but really hot! During the day, it was probably 95 degrees out! I got to sleep in a hammock every night which was surprisingly comfortable. Mom and Dad had some troubles sleeping with the heat because of the extreme climate change from the cold of Wisconsin.
I dont exactly remember the order of the events of days so I will just give events. One day we headed out on horses and spotted a giant anteater. Very cool looking animal and we were quite lucky to have spotted it. Really fun to ride around on horses on over 500 acres of land! Another day we headed out on a canoe ride. Really amazing to see caiman (similar to alligators) all around us (sometimes a little too close!). Caiman are all over los llanos which is so cool because obviously in Wisconsin we dont have anything like them. Another day we toured around in a jeep and I got to sit on top of the jeep which was really cool! We saw foxes, deer, and some really cool burrowing owls. My favorite part of the trip was the long boat tour. We headed out on this river(which are actually hard to come by because it is the dry season. Everything was so dry but made it easier for us to get around) and saw over 40 species of tropical birds, freshwater dolphins, caiman, iguanas, and a really cool sidenecked turtle. Our tour guide was sitting in the front of the boat and all of a sudden he just jumped into the river. He came out with this huge prehistoric looking turtle! Also he caught a pirana and stuck it on a stick. He then tossed the fish in the water and a huge hawk came down and snatched it as soon as it hit the water! We also saw this owl that blended in so well with a tree that you could barely even see it! Photos will be up soon!
Anyways, los llanos was great. We went to this huge party that only happens once every three months with a famous Venezuelan singer (he just happened to stop by our camp). He really liked my dad and came to the party and bought beers for everyone. The party was fun. Typical Venezuelan drinking and dancing, but was different because there is a specific type of music that comes from los llanos called jorropo. It includes a hard, maracas, bass, and a four stringed guitar. They sing about the hard life on the farms and tending cattle and such. We left los llanos after our 4 day 3 night tour exhausted and headed back to Merida on another 10 hour jeep ride.

si dios quiere

well as more and more time passes here, the more I learn about culture and meet more venezuelans. the title of my blog, si dios quiere is one of my favorite slang phrases here. It translates into if god wants. They say it all the time here if a situation is uncertain. If they dont know if they are going somewhere they will say it instead of maybe. Religion is huge down here. With the population being 95 percent Catholic, it is pretty unavoidable. The church always has people in it, its crazy. Also they place churches here right by the main square so that its central to everything. Coming up is holy week here which is supposed to be really cool. They have practicing here for recreations of the passion. There have also been drummers practicing for some kind of procession. Cant wait to see what is all entailed and for my parents to be here for all the activities. My parents come tomorrow. From there, we are headed to los llanos to catch some anacondas and see some amazing wildlife. Spring break is here and could really use the break from school! I cant wait to show my parents around this beautiful city and more importantly eat some really good food!
On another note, registration for next semester is coming up. Very strange looking for classes while in another country. It more difficult because all communication with advisors is through email. Anyways, I am still continuing down the path of public relations. We will see where it will take me. I have been doing alot of thinking about switching into education. I have concluded though that the best thing to do is finish up my undergrad in 3 and a half years and figure it out from there. If all works out this summer i will land this job through americorps doing public relations for habitat for humanity. The nice thing about public relations is that you can work for any company or field you find interesting. If i stick with this i would love to work for a company like habitat. oh well we will see. si dios quiere.
-Alright this post is full of random things but oh well. Its crazy here that it costs more to buy a bottle of water than to fill up your gas tank!
-also if you dont know how to dance salsa you are kinda screwed. They breathe salsa down here and if you cant dance even a little bit, it is very hard to meet girls. All of them want to dance and if you cant, they will easily find someone that can. I actually love dancing salsa. I am not very good, but am slowly getting better. I have come to overall appreciate dancing more while being here. Honestly, why not dance when given the opportunity. It brings people together and is absolutely part of the culture.
-I love the way people greet each here. For guys you say something like epa chamo, which is like hey dude! when you greet girls or women, you give a kiss on the cheek. They are incredibly friendly with anyone they meet. Its such a nice change from the more reserved american style of greeting.
-Well thats it for now. Off to los llanos!!

Big Post

Another weekend gone in Venezuela. I have been in this country for almost 2 months and time is just flying by. I find myself really enjoying the culture. Spanish is coming along nicely. I find it pretty easy to understand most people and their conversations and can talk back pretty well. I have also found the magic of non verbal communications. I find myself using my hands so much more to try to get my point across. I really enjoy learning the slang of this language also. I feel like it makes you so much more less of a foreigner than you already are. However, my Spanish class Is pretty tough. I find it difficult to grasp concepts in grammar because there are so many different kinds of verb tenses here that we don’t have or use in English.
Anyways, this past Saturday I organized a camping trip about an hour out to this mountain lake called la laguna de coromoto. We took a 20 minute bus ride out to the next closest city called tabay. From there we took another 20 minute jeep taxi to this city and park called la mucuy. From there we take this trail to the lake that was supposed to take around 3 hours. Mind you, this trail was pretty much uphill and with all of my gear strapped on, this was no easy task. The trail was beautiful, gaining some real elevation and going through the jungle. The trail was very well maintained however, the signage was absolutely terrible. We reached a point around 3 times when we hit a point where the trail broke into a 3 way fork. Because there were no signs, we pretty much had to guess where we had to go. So needless to say we were pretty much lost in the andes mountains. We had to backtrack like 4 times and reached a point where Andrew ran up the trail to see if there was any chance of making it to this lake before it got dark. He was gone for around 20 minutes running up the trail. Meanwhile, the rest of us were sitting and taking a breather when it got really dark really fast and it started to rain. Andrew came back and let us know that the lake was nowhere to be found and that the trail doesn’t open up for a camping spot. Sooo, we backtracked yet again to see if we could find someplace to set up camp. It continued to rain and we were in a race against time against the darkness. We tried a couple other trails and finally found a spot to set up camp (consisted of an old slab of concrete). As soon as the tents got up, it started to POUR. I guess this meant no fire and no hot food. But…my friend Andrew and I worked to get a fire started for around 2 hours. With the help of a pair of sweatpants of my friend Kelsey, we finally got a fire going with wet wood. This meant all of us huddling around the fire for warmth with bottles of rum and slightly cooked vegetables. Overall if I had to do it again, I would. The trail was gorgeous, like something out of Indiana Jones, crossing waterfalls and running into people fishing with sticks. I love the mountains here and it is soo easy to get up there and spend just a night. The weekends are pretty packed from now on so the night time I get to go will be the last weekend here.
I am going to really miss it here. It has been such a blast. Sometimes I catch myself walking down the street and remembering that I am in Venezuela. But there is so much on my plate coming up. Next week I am heading to the colonial city of Coro with my roommate and some buddies. Then next weekend my parents are coming for a week and we are heading to Los Llanos ( a wildlife paradise full of piranhas and anacondas) and to the mountains. The weekend after that I am going to Catatumbo, a place on a lake where natural lightning occurs. The weekend after that I might take a weekend trip to Columbia..maybe. After that is the last weekend here. After the program is over, I am planning an epic trip through part of South America. My roommate Adam, my friend Nora, and I are going to Cartegena, Colombia for a week. After Nora and I are going to bus through Colombia stopping in Medellin and Cali, and then to Quito, Ecuador. From there were are going to spend a week on the coast of Ecuador. I am soo excited for the epic journey. I have 24 days total after the program is over and cannot wait to explore more of this awesome continent! Well that is it for today, but tomorrow I am going ziplining through the jungle!!

Slow and steady

Well wow, I guess i didnt realize that it has really been a long time since my last post. I am really starting get into this lifestyle and culture. Its kinda neat to know that I have been here for almost 2 months. I have learned so much already about myself and about other people. I feel like this is why they encourage students to study abroad. You can really only learn so much in a classroom. But to be thrown into a brand new culture with a language you dont really know and with no one you know is a humbling experience. I already feel different on the inside and am sure that it is for the better. But anyways, what have i been up to?
Earlier this week, my roommate adam and another buddy and I decided to go to a venezuelan casino. Everything was pretty much the same there except for one major thing....all the games were automated. There were no actual tables or dealers there. I sat at a blackjack table for a while that was an old sega game. too crazy. all video poker and slots. even roulette was automated. The wonderful thing about that place though is that they give you a bunch of free food and drinks. Its a cool feeling sitting playing bingo while eating hot soup and drinking some fruit juice. Free beer, soup, juice, even cake. Anyways, i ended up loosing only 20 dollars but was a great night overall.
Another thing I did this weekend was go on a super cool day hike. Classes on wednesday were cancelled because American supervisors of the program were here evaluating everything. So, me and some friends decided to make the long hike up the mountain to the first teleferico station. The teleferico is the longest cable car system in the world...but I am in venezuela so of course it is broken. Something like one time the car fell and everyone died. But anyways, there are something like four stops on the route before reaching some really high elevation near the top of this mountain. We kind of just wanted to see how long it would take to get to the first station. Its something like a 1000 meter walk total. The walk was strenuous and in the heat, it was no easy task. We made it something like 3/4 of the way there but decided to take a different route that led down to a river. This was a great decision because it was a great time there. We all climbed up this river, scaling rock faces and trailblazing the whole time. we found a series of waterfalls, soaked in a mountain spring, and found really cool walking sticks (the insects). Overall a great way to spend a day off.
Anyways thats it for now, but I will post again really soon.