My new lyrics to the tune: “I´m dreaming of a white Christmas”
I´m dreaming of a warm Christmas
Unlike the Christmases I know
Where the sun is shining, and waves are rolling
A walk on the beach is where I’ll go…
It has been a very busy 24 hours…After I wrote yesterday about my first week in Venezuela, we headed off to Yanitza (Manny´s sister)´s house by the beach. The house is in La Guairra and is nestled up in a mountain above the coast. Apparently, it is usually a pretty fast drive to the house, but we hit some traffic on the way there, so it took us a lot longer than it would have without the traffic. Driving here seems like I´m in the middle of a Bond movie… There are almost no rules on the road. They have traffic lanes painted on the road…but they seem to serve more as a guideline than a restriction for traffic. They use the shoulder as an extra traffic lane, and if you can fit between two lanes of traffic on your motorcycle or in your car, you can just go in between the cars, even if there isn´t a specific lane there. In fact, they have “Moto-Taxi´s” (where the “taxi” is a motorcycle rather than a car) because the motorcycles will just weave in and out of lanes, and will drive between the lanes of traffic. If there is an inch to spare, they will drive on through. And in heavy traffic, drivers won´t wait for someone to allow space for you to merge into the lane (like we do in the U.S.). Instead, the driver will just start moving into traffic, even if they are only inches away from the other cars, and will just force their way into traffic. I do NOT want to drive in Venezuela!
For dinner, once we got to the house, Manny´s family cooked “Pernil” (Pork) in a “Fogon” (over a fire). We also had Hallacas, the traditional Christmas meal. The best way that I can describe Hallacas is that it is similar to a tamale. There is meat, tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, and olives all contained in a corn-meal mixture, that is then wrapped in a type of leaf (although I don´t know what type) to cook it in boiling water. There´s probably cheese in it too…but I can´t remember exactly. We spent the evening hanging out on the terrace of the porch overlooking the ocean, listened to music, talked, and Manny and I danced a bit (and Manny´s family is very impressed with my salsa dancing ). Also we enjoyed a fireworks show from a couple of neighboring houses. They do fireworks here during Christmas/New Year´s. In fact, right now, I am hearing fireworks going on in the parking lot… (And actually, when I first got to Venezuela, I didn´t know that the sounds were fireworks…they sounded like shots being fired! You can bet I was glad to learn that it was just fireworks! ) The fireworks that their neighbors were doing were the big fireworks that they use in the 4th of July fireworks shows in Utah. It was pretty surreal watching a fireworks show over the ocean on Christmas Eve.
The kids were all still awake around midnight, so they were gathered into a room (away from the Christmas tree) and were told that they couldn´t come out or else el niño Jesus/Santa Claus wouldn´t stop at the house. Oh, and I was a bit wrong in my last posting…el niño Jesus and Santa Claus are kind of used interchangably here. Of course they don´t think that Santa Claus is the baby Jesus, or viceversa, but both are referred to when talking about who leaves the presents. Also, before midnight, the baby Jesus in their nativity scene is covered. At midnight (and while the kids were all gathered in a bedroom), they uncovered the baby Jesus in the nativity.
So, while the kids were all gathered, waiting for el niño Jesus/Santa Claus to bring the presents, one of Manny´s cousins and his family was up at the house with us, and he walked by the room saying “Ho, Ho, Ho.” When Shofia (Manny´s neice) heard this, she desperately wanted to come out so she could say thank you to el niño Jesus/Santa for all the presents!!! How cute! Unfortunately, I was tired and fell asleep before the presents were put into place under the tree, so I didn´t get to see the kids all open their presents after their anxious anticipation in the bedroom, but I hear that they were very excited about what they got. Shofia wanted una bicicleta (a bike)…and she got a Barbie bike! Shofia actually reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger…and not just because she´s super-cute ;) For example, when we are walking somewhere, like around the house, or at the mall, or the beach, she doesn´t just walk, she dances. My mom will tell you that when she took me to the grocery store, I would dance as we went through the aisles…
That night, we slept in an outdoor bedroom! It was covered by a terrace, and had three walls. Where the fourth wall would be, it was just open with a view of the ocean. It was warm enough that we just slept with a sheet…no blankets needed. It rained during the night, but since the room is covered, we didn´t get wet. The mountains here are covered in a green blanket of trees and plants. I´ve never seem so much green—even in the rainiest areas of Oregon and Washington. We awoke to the sound of birds chirping. I couldn´t see the birds in the trees, but I enjoyed the sound of the birds singing “good morning and Feliz Navidad” to us :) In the morning, I had found that el niño Jesus had left me a colorful weaved cloth bag with “Venezuela” and a couple of birds on it. I also received a really nice beaded bracelet from Shofia and Shiloh. We have also received several other gifts since we got here.
It was cloudy and rainy in the morning and we were worried that the day on the beach that was planned wouldn´t be sunny…but it cleared up just in time for us to head down from the house to the beach. The beach is called Playa Tarma (playa is the word for “beach”). In this area the waves were too strong to swim in the ocean, but we enjoyed sitting on a pile of large rocks where we were splashed by the waves. I have some fun pictures of this to share once we get home and I can put the pictures online…so stay tuned… Manny and I also walked along the beach (…ahh…how romantical…) and our feet sunk a few inches into the sand as the waves came up on the sand. I think Manny may have missed a couple of places when he sprayed the sunscreen on me…because when we got home, I noticed that I had a pink spot on my upper arm (tricep area) and a stripe of pink down each of my forearms. But the pink has already faded away, so it´s all good :)
On our drive home to Caricuou (not sure if I´m spelling that right), where Manny´s mom´s apartment is located (in the Caracas area), we drove by mango, coconut, avocado, plaintain, and banana trees. Plantains are similar to bananas, but aren´t exactly the same. You wouldn´t believe how big the avocados are here! I didn´t when I first saw them. In the U.S., a big avocado is probably 4” around. The avocados here about the size of a football! The mangos in this area will probably be fully ripe and will fall from the trees in about a month, but Manny thinks that the mangos on Margarita Island will probably be ripe when we get there. I am looking forward to eating a mango fresh from the tree in Margarita! Also on the drive home, not far from the beach, I noticed an iguana at least 1 1/2’-2’ long just hanging out on a wall by the sidewalk. Apparently iguanas are pretty common around the area. I don´t think I´ve ever seen an iguana that wasn´t in a cage in PetSmart…so that was pretty cool for me.
Tonight and tomorrow we will just be hanging out here in the Caracas area, and probably visiting some of Manny´s friends here. Then early Saturday morning, we will be heading to Puerto La Cruz (again, not sure about the spelling), from which we will take a ferry to Margarita Island, which is a couple of hours north, into the Carribean, by ferry. From what I hear, Margarita Island is even better than any of the beaches or ocean views we´ve had already…and I´m afraid I might refuse to leave once I get there. ;)
To conclude, here are just a few things I´ve learned since being in Venezuela:
*The cure for a bruise is butter and salt
*There are stray dogs everywhere :( We see them everywhere we go looking for food on sidewalks and in the garbage bags that have been left out…it makes me very sad!
*There aren´t any Wal-Marts here, but there are McDonalds, and they always seem to be very busy…YUCK!
*Fruit juice here is actually FRUIT JUICE! No concentrates, nothing added, just the pure, natural fruits blended in a blender…SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!
*The drink that I talked about that we had at breakfast on our first morning here is called Papelon con limon. I was wrong about the drink having honey in it. It is just made from the solid sugar cane and lemon.
*Sometimes you can be in a whole different continent and still feel at home. Explanation: on our drive to Valencia last weekend, I saw a road sign that said “Indiana” with an arrow to the left and “San Diego” and “Valencia” with an arrow to the right.
*Here, they put knives outside in a cross (or an X) to keep the rain away. (They said we should do this when we get back to Utah to keep the snow away…hehehe)
Thursday, December 25, 2008
quick note...
I´ve received 2 requests already to post photos... I didn´t bring the cords with me that I would need to transfer the pictures from my camera to my blog, so I´ll have to add pictures when I get home. But, I will make sure to post pictures as SOON as I get home. I will also be adding more later today about my Christmas morning/afternoon at the beach... Life is so hard! ;)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
My first week in Venezuela
Venezuela (so far)...
We arrived at the Caracas airport early Wednesday morning (17th). This was my first time flying internationally, and over an ocean! I slept through most of the flight, but it was pretty cool to see the coast line and the waves of the ocean as we decended into Caracas. Most of Manny´s family was at the airport to greet us and we went from the airport to eat breakfast at an outdoor restaurant near the ocean. My favorite part of breakfast was the drink. I can´t remember what it was called, and Manny´s not around for me to ask him. From what I understand, it is made from sugar cane, honey, and lemon. It was delicious! After breakfast, we went to Manny´s sister´s apartment in Caracas. Her apartment is close to the baseball field where Manny´s favorite team, the Caracas Leones, play. (Just this past Monday, his favorite player´s number was retired on that field...Andres Gallarraga) After spending a little bit of time at Manny´s sister (Yanitza)´s house, we headed to Manny´s mom´s apartment. Her apartment is still in Caracas, but isn´t really considered Caracas because it´s not in downtown. We spent Wednesday night and Thursday at Manny´s mom´s house, and I had a good time catching up on sleep that I´ve missed during the last semester, and getting spoiled by Manny´s mom.
On Friday, we headed to Valencia, which is about 2 hours away from Caracas. This is where most of Manny´s dad´s side of the family lives. On Friday night we had hot dogs (perros calientes) for dinner. But these were not any ordinary hot dogs! We ate the hot dogs on really delicious rolls, and on top, we had shredded cabbage, crushed potato chips, salsa with bell peppers, and a sauce that I think was a mixture of Mayo, Ketchup, and Mustard (kind of like the Fry Sauce you´d find in Utah, but with a twist). Then on Saturday, we drove a little bit farther to go to the beach. When we got to the beach, we actually took a small boat out to an island with an even better beach. The sand was so soft, and the water was so clear! We could see the fishes as they swam by! I got a little bit of a tan there, but didn´t burn...luckily! When we got back from the beach, dinner was a big barbeque. They cooked steak, chicken, pork, sausage, and topped it all off with Guasacaca sauce which is SOOOOOOO good! I got the recipe so I can make it at home. It´s basically a cilantro sauce. On Sunday, we drove about 45 minutes to one of Manny´s cousin´s house and we hung out there with all of Manny´s family for the afternoon, and it was SO hot! I was sweating in the shade! I definitely wouldn´t survive in that area. For dinner on Sunday night, we had hamburgers, "Venezuela style." (That´s what I called it anyway...) The hamburgers had lettuce, tomato, "pappas" (crushed potato chips, basically), bacon, egg, some kind of BBQ type sauce, and then we added Guasacaca sauce to it as well. Oh my goodness...I don´t think I´ve ever tasted a hamburger so good! While we were eating, I asked Manny why we don´t have this recipe in the U.S.!
Monday we just relaxed in Valencia, I watched "Nights In Rodanthe" which was adapted from a book by Nicholas Sparks, which I had just finished reading. This movie was not as good as the others that have been adapted from Nicholas Sparks books, and they changed the story a lot for the movie. I didn´t like the changes they made...the story was better in the book (as it usually is).
Yesterday, Tuesday, we drove back to Manny´s mom´s house in Caracas. Last night, we went to a mall here in Caracas which was really busy with people doing last minute Christmas shopping! We were going to go to the biggest mall in Caracas, Sambil, but decided to go to a different mall instead. This mall is smaller than Sambil, but it was still HUGE! I have never seen a mall so big. It was at least 4 floors (from what I could tell...we didn´t walk through the whole mall). Then we ate dinner at a nice restaurant in Caracas.
Today we are probably going to be heading to Manny´s sister (Yanita)´s house that is by the beach, and is about 45 minutes from Caracas in a different direction than Valencia. Manny isn´t too excited to pack up our things and drive somewhere else...but I am hoping that we do decide to go to the house by the beach. I could be swimming in the ocean on Christmas :)
So in this first week in Venezuela (which has felt more like 2 weeks), I have met Manny´s mom and dad, Manny´s sisters, Yanitza and Yenny, and their husbands, Yanitza´s two daughters, Shofia and Shiloh (who are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!), Manny´s grandma, his brother, Edwin, some of his aunts and uncles, and several of his cousins. One of his cousins has a little boy about 2 years old named Angel Leonardo (pronounced An-hel) who was a ball of energy and so much fun. We taught him "Gimme 5" and he´d give us 5 and say "Fie" (that was as close as he could come to five), and "Let´s go!" Each morning he would come into the room where we were staying (at Manny´s cousin´s house) and be say "Bonnie, Bonnie" and he´d give me a hug and a kiss. If possible, Yanitza´s daughters are even cuter though. We´ve already told Yanitza that she is going to have to watch Shofia very closely when they take us to the airport to go home, because I might try to take her with us! She is very excited about Christmas, and she asked for una bicicleta (a bicycle) from el niño de Jesus. (I guess they don´t ask Santa for gifts here, they ask el niño de Jesus-the baby Jesus.)
It has been hard for me to wrap my mind around it being Christmas time when I´m going to the beach and wearing shorts and flip-flops, and I do miss hearing all the traditional Christmas songs from the U.S., but I am having a great time. I miss my doggies a ton...if it weren´t for them, I don´t know if I would go home because I´m having such a great time here. I will write more about the trip and my experiences here later. Hope you´re all enjoying the snow back in the U.S.! :)
We arrived at the Caracas airport early Wednesday morning (17th). This was my first time flying internationally, and over an ocean! I slept through most of the flight, but it was pretty cool to see the coast line and the waves of the ocean as we decended into Caracas. Most of Manny´s family was at the airport to greet us and we went from the airport to eat breakfast at an outdoor restaurant near the ocean. My favorite part of breakfast was the drink. I can´t remember what it was called, and Manny´s not around for me to ask him. From what I understand, it is made from sugar cane, honey, and lemon. It was delicious! After breakfast, we went to Manny´s sister´s apartment in Caracas. Her apartment is close to the baseball field where Manny´s favorite team, the Caracas Leones, play. (Just this past Monday, his favorite player´s number was retired on that field...Andres Gallarraga) After spending a little bit of time at Manny´s sister (Yanitza)´s house, we headed to Manny´s mom´s apartment. Her apartment is still in Caracas, but isn´t really considered Caracas because it´s not in downtown. We spent Wednesday night and Thursday at Manny´s mom´s house, and I had a good time catching up on sleep that I´ve missed during the last semester, and getting spoiled by Manny´s mom.
On Friday, we headed to Valencia, which is about 2 hours away from Caracas. This is where most of Manny´s dad´s side of the family lives. On Friday night we had hot dogs (perros calientes) for dinner. But these were not any ordinary hot dogs! We ate the hot dogs on really delicious rolls, and on top, we had shredded cabbage, crushed potato chips, salsa with bell peppers, and a sauce that I think was a mixture of Mayo, Ketchup, and Mustard (kind of like the Fry Sauce you´d find in Utah, but with a twist). Then on Saturday, we drove a little bit farther to go to the beach. When we got to the beach, we actually took a small boat out to an island with an even better beach. The sand was so soft, and the water was so clear! We could see the fishes as they swam by! I got a little bit of a tan there, but didn´t burn...luckily! When we got back from the beach, dinner was a big barbeque. They cooked steak, chicken, pork, sausage, and topped it all off with Guasacaca sauce which is SOOOOOOO good! I got the recipe so I can make it at home. It´s basically a cilantro sauce. On Sunday, we drove about 45 minutes to one of Manny´s cousin´s house and we hung out there with all of Manny´s family for the afternoon, and it was SO hot! I was sweating in the shade! I definitely wouldn´t survive in that area. For dinner on Sunday night, we had hamburgers, "Venezuela style." (That´s what I called it anyway...) The hamburgers had lettuce, tomato, "pappas" (crushed potato chips, basically), bacon, egg, some kind of BBQ type sauce, and then we added Guasacaca sauce to it as well. Oh my goodness...I don´t think I´ve ever tasted a hamburger so good! While we were eating, I asked Manny why we don´t have this recipe in the U.S.!
Monday we just relaxed in Valencia, I watched "Nights In Rodanthe" which was adapted from a book by Nicholas Sparks, which I had just finished reading. This movie was not as good as the others that have been adapted from Nicholas Sparks books, and they changed the story a lot for the movie. I didn´t like the changes they made...the story was better in the book (as it usually is).
Yesterday, Tuesday, we drove back to Manny´s mom´s house in Caracas. Last night, we went to a mall here in Caracas which was really busy with people doing last minute Christmas shopping! We were going to go to the biggest mall in Caracas, Sambil, but decided to go to a different mall instead. This mall is smaller than Sambil, but it was still HUGE! I have never seen a mall so big. It was at least 4 floors (from what I could tell...we didn´t walk through the whole mall). Then we ate dinner at a nice restaurant in Caracas.
Today we are probably going to be heading to Manny´s sister (Yanita)´s house that is by the beach, and is about 45 minutes from Caracas in a different direction than Valencia. Manny isn´t too excited to pack up our things and drive somewhere else...but I am hoping that we do decide to go to the house by the beach. I could be swimming in the ocean on Christmas :)
So in this first week in Venezuela (which has felt more like 2 weeks), I have met Manny´s mom and dad, Manny´s sisters, Yanitza and Yenny, and their husbands, Yanitza´s two daughters, Shofia and Shiloh (who are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!), Manny´s grandma, his brother, Edwin, some of his aunts and uncles, and several of his cousins. One of his cousins has a little boy about 2 years old named Angel Leonardo (pronounced An-hel) who was a ball of energy and so much fun. We taught him "Gimme 5" and he´d give us 5 and say "Fie" (that was as close as he could come to five), and "Let´s go!" Each morning he would come into the room where we were staying (at Manny´s cousin´s house) and be say "Bonnie, Bonnie" and he´d give me a hug and a kiss. If possible, Yanitza´s daughters are even cuter though. We´ve already told Yanitza that she is going to have to watch Shofia very closely when they take us to the airport to go home, because I might try to take her with us! She is very excited about Christmas, and she asked for una bicicleta (a bicycle) from el niño de Jesus. (I guess they don´t ask Santa for gifts here, they ask el niño de Jesus-the baby Jesus.)
It has been hard for me to wrap my mind around it being Christmas time when I´m going to the beach and wearing shorts and flip-flops, and I do miss hearing all the traditional Christmas songs from the U.S., but I am having a great time. I miss my doggies a ton...if it weren´t for them, I don´t know if I would go home because I´m having such a great time here. I will write more about the trip and my experiences here later. Hope you´re all enjoying the snow back in the U.S.! :)
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