Leche y queso de chivo...

I am in Valera! It was definitely an interesting trip— I guess I am somewhat of a spectacle here, and Venezuelan people are so warm and friendly that people take care of you wherever you go. It’s funny, in the US it feels like it will take forever to make new friends. Here, it’s nearly impossible to avoid becoming friends with someone. In line to board the plane, the woman behind me said, “Minn-ee-so-tah. You are from Minn-ee-so-tah?!?” Surprised, I turned around and responded in Spanish, “How did you know that?!” “Yo lo vi en el equipaje…” She had read in tiny writing on my luggage tag that I was from Minnesota, and it just so happened that her daughter is living in Minnesota right now. Needless to say, I met lots of wonderful people in a few short hours, and left the airport with at least five new phone numbers that I was told I should call any time I ever needed anything.

There is an airport in Valera, but for some unidentifiable reason, there are no planes that fly in and out of it. It appears that this is a temporary situation, but it is unclear. This means that the nearest airport to Valera is about 4 hours away by car. The embassy organized a driver to pick me up at the airport, so I left the airport and waited no more than 3 minutes before seeing the, “Anna Santos” sign (always Santos, always). John (the driver) was really sweet, explaining to me that the white bottles sold along the side of the road were filled with leche y queso de chivo, goat’s milk and cheese, somewhat self-explanatory given the goat carcasses hanging right next to them. Another thing he told me is that Venezuela has the cheapest gas in the entire world. I also knew this, but it continues to amaze me. For example, our supervisor at the embassy told us that he has a big, gas-guzzling, American SUV, and that it costs him about 85 cents to fill his tank completely. My taxi driver told me that he spends about $10 a month on gas, ridiculous when you consider that his job is to DRIVE! I really enjoyed the ride between the two cities. In those four hours we traveled from a very hot, arid land covered in cacti, to a not-as-hot-but-still-scorching, fertile, mountainous area, where fields of sugar cane and fruit trees stretch endlessly through mountain valleys.

For days, people have been telling me that Valera is a small city, very tranquil with not much going on. I believed them, especially since the city doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page (haha). So you can imagine my surprise when we arrived in a bustling metropolis. It’s definitely no Chicago or Caracas (thank god), but definitely more of a Duluth. It’s really nice, with beautiful mountains (the Andes) in every direction. And everything is colorful here— the buildings, the cars and buses, the food, the people, the sunsets, and every woman carries a brightly colored pleather handbag with matching heels, belt, nails, and hairpieces.

Once we arrived in the city, we went straight to the University where I am working. I met one person after another, and honestly I didn’t really know who anyone was. Names came after copious expressions of love and welcoming, lots of kisses, and a good deal of very fast Spanish and English. I met Yervio, who teaches at the university, and who I will be living with for the next 10 months. He lives with his mother and uncle, whom I already love. He also speaks excellent English, so it is nice to have someone to mitigate my failed attempts at communication with his mother and uncle. Yervio’s family is Columbian, and I have a hard time understanding their accents.

Their house is lovely. The inside is like a greenhouse, there are so many enormous, tropical plants. Susana, Yervio’s mother grows them. I still haven’t decided whether I think they are inside or out, because there is no ceiling in center of the house where they grow. All of the bedrooms, the kitchen and the dining room (which isn’t really used) have ceilings, but the center of the house is open. It hasn’t rained yet, but I am excited to sit in my room and watch and smell the rain from my bedroom window. There is wireless internet in the house, but my computer cannot log in-- anyone have any ideas why? I have a mac and the network is set up through Network Magic. If you are computer savvy and have a guess, let me know! I want to Skype everyone! Help me!

On a worse note, I guess it should come as no surprise to anyone that I have already been robbed… Nothing expensive, nothing important, but it is still somewhat disheartening. At the airport, someone took a pouch of jewelry, some little hair things, and some clothes from my luggage. It was stupid to have the jewelry in there, but I didn’t really think about it… The sad part is that while nothing that disappeared was expensive, it was all gifts from friends and family, my Grandma’s jewelry, jewelry that I made, and mementos from traveling. Oh well, live and learn. But if you ever wonder why it is that I never wore those earrings or that necklace that you gave me, just know that someone in South America is probably wearing it… and that they probably look really good because of it.