After 22 years of Christmas at home, I guess it was about time for me to experience the holidays in a different setting. The Christmas season began with a gift collection and fundraiser for the local childrens hospital. With the funds gathered, I joined some friends from work in purchasing enough toys, pajamas, toiletries, and other goodies to hand out to over 100 children in the oncology ward. Later that week we wrapped and delivered the toys to the children and their families at the hospital, an experience that showed me a very different side of Venezuela - it's too easy to forget how lucky we are. Christmas certainly wasn't the same this year, but Cesar's family was very nice in welcoming me to join in their celebrations. Cesar and I took an overnight bus to meet the rest of his family in Caracas for their Christmas Eve celebration. We had a nice dinner (vegetarian friendly thanks to Cesar's uncle!) and then gifts were exchanged. The trick this year was that you had to dance before you could get your gift each time your name was called. Very fun to see this side of Cesar's family. Christmas Day was calm - in Venezuela the emphasis is more on Christmas Eve than Christmas Day. And we just spent the next day having lunch at a family friend's house and walking around a very crowded mall. Upon returning to Maturin on Sunday, we spent the next few days getting ready for New Year's Eve and managed to go on a daytrip to Puerto Ordaz to have lunch with Cesar's grandma. New Year's Eve meant a nice dinner with Cesar's family, ringing in 2010 with the traditional 12 grapes at 12:00, lentils, eaten for prosperity in the coming year, and of course champagne. After that, we spent time at a friend's house. Nothing too wild this year. As I look to the next year, I have made the typical New Years resolutions, and I am looking forward to the many changes to come. Let's see what happens - maybe Christmas in Cincy next year!
The big excitement two weekends ago was that one of Cesar's pigs (yes, Cesar raises pigs) gave birth to a bunch of piglets so we went to the ranch (about 30 minutes away by car) to see how they were doing. While we were there, we took advantage of the opportunity to ride horses, something that I had not done in at least ten years. It was awkward at first but I seemed to get the hang of it quickly. I think I look like a natural on the horse (hint of sarcasm.... I know you like the hat). Cesar and I just rode the horses around the ranch which is mostly pasture where cows graze but also has wooded areas scattered about where all sorts of animals live. At one of the ponds there lives a baba, which is a smaller version of a crocodile - I didn't try getting too close to take a picture of it (almost in the very center of the picture you can see her little head sticking out of the water). And then the highlight of my day was that I saw a monkey family, which was my first time ever seeing monkeys in the wild! (hidden in the tops of the trees, found here in the very center of the picture, note the tail... it was hard to get a nice shot while on a horse) It was a nice to be in a different environment and enjoy being in the outdoors, something I should do more often.
After not seeing Cesar for about two months (due to travel and work), and as a celebration of Cesar's birthday, we decided to get away for the weekend with some friends. In many ways it was quite a contrast to our trip to Pui Puy this time last year where we camped out on the beach. This year we decided to see what the "VIP" version of the Caribbean coast would be like. Situated in the mountains/ rain forest/ beachy area in the state of Sucre, this is a unique way to appreciate Playa de Uva. The remote location was beautiful, but the attention we received (i.e. breakfast delivered to the cabin Sunday a.m.) completed the experience. We enjoyed the view of the beach and valley area from the cabins along the ridge of the mountains above. Despite the overcast, rainy weather due to some neighboring tropical storms, we still had a great time. We just missed seeing the sea turtles that nest all along the beaches by about a month and a half. Next time we will stay longer, make time to see the turtles, and of course check the weather first!
Since my arrival to Venezuela, I have been introduced to a variety of new foods. From arepas (sort of a corn bread patty commonly eaten with cheese) to empanadas (cheese wrapped in corn bread and then fried), tequenos (breaded cheese) and cachapas (corn bread pancakes), I have found some delicious options (and yes, corn and cheese are a common theme). Other everyday eats include various cheeses (especially fresh natural cheeses), tomatoes, plantains, beans, yuca, potatoes, eggplant, squash, eggs, etc. I have been "reintroduced" to something called quesillo, which when I ate it in Nicaragua was a tortilla filled with cheese, onions and sauce, and eaten out of a plastic bag, but here quesillo is what we recognize in the US as flan.... they share the same name but are very different foods. Going to the grocery store, I am able to find new things I've never heard of before, as well as some items that I am familiar with from home. Unlike the US, where you can go to the store at any given time and find exactly what you're looking for, it's taken some getting used to walking in and never knowing whether you will find what you are looking - I've seen shortages on basics like sugar, coffee and milk (thanks to a certain socialist president) and other changes in the kind of stock they have. As far as a sort of "hometown favorite" like Skyline, I have yet to find anything that would equate. The national dish, a favorite across the country, includes shredded beef, black beans, rice and fried plantains. I have been served this dish with shredded plantain skins to substitute the beef..... mmmmmm, interesting. Meat is a dominant item in Venezuelan dishes, so it has been a challenge to adapt to, especially when people here have such a hard time understanding the concept of vegetarianism (I have come across only one native Venezuelan vegetarian in the past year). The topic of my vegetarianism comes up frequently at social gatherings (barbecues, etc) and restaurants, and it was especially awkward going to the hamburger stand across the street for the first time. You may ask why I would be going to such a place, but it turns out that Venezuelans eat much more than beef, lettuce, ketchup, cheese and pickles on their burgers. Ingredients range from fried eggs, bacon, shredded carrots, crushed potato chips, various sauces, etc. I of course ordered everything but the meat items. Well, it was a memorable experience.... And just this past weekend we made our own version of hamburgers at the house - this time Cesar invented a sort of veggie burger made with beans. Needless to say, it has taken some creativity and patience to come up with options and I am still trying to figure out how to feel normal as a vegetarian in a country full of meat-eaters.
I don't know how much news about Venezuela you all may get, but this is a big topic of discussion here these days. I came across this article that does a good job of summing up the situation: International groups worry over Venezuela's stance on free press ...I'll let you form your own opinions. I would have posted yesterday, but with the power going on and off all day yesterday, there wasn't much I could do.... more stories about that later. I'm still open to topic suggestions and will be posting about them soon.
So I realize its been a while since I made my last post.... recently it has been relatively quiet for me, and it looks like this weekend will be more of the same. Things are wrapping up for the school year and I will be heading home to Cincinnati in about a month, which I am very much looking forward to. Before my return, however, I would like to do a few more posts. Maybe regarding everyday sights, the new foods I have been introduced to (a.k.a. how a vegetarian has survived in a country where anything meat is the main part of the meal), reflections on my year in Venezuela, etc. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to hear about/ if you have any topic suggestions.
