More Mèrida

The apartment I´m staying in is very small, and very overdecorated, with Jesus and Popes and nativity scenes EVERYWHERE. There´s a 3D picture of the last pope over my bed that waves at you if you move back and forth. It´s a busride away from my language school, only ten minutes, but sometimes the bus takes over an hour, so we have to get up early and look at the traffic everyday in case we have to walk all the way. I tried to buy a bike, but aparently only small children ride bikes here (how silly they thought i was asking for one my size). Our school looks like everything else from the outside, it´s downtown and just has big high walls, with big wooden doors. But inside there´s a small plaza with tables and plants, and classrooms aroudn the outside. The school teaches english (to little kids) and spanish (to gringos form all over the world). Classes are no more than 6 people.

There´s a vegetarian cafe across form the school, with awesome cafe con leche and empañadas. All the wierd foreign kids from europe hang out there and talk about philosphy.... it´s an interesting place. They have meditation, painting, yoga, poerty, fiction writing, music, singing, and like ten other kinds of lessons offered in the back of the cafe on different days of the week.

We have been to see a speaker everyday in Merida. The first day we met with MUSEC, a socialist group of science students from Las Andes University. They sopke with us about all the free educaiton programs available, and how students are required to do community service, and answered many questions we had about the school, socialism here, and the city of Mèrida. Those same student set up a concert for us with the Mèrida Symphony which plays traditional music of the Andes (mandolins, violins, cellos, and the cuatro, a small four stringed guitar), it was a really great treat.

Another group we spoke with was ECOS, a student group from the same university, which focuses on environment issues in their area. they recently got a law passed to save a type of moss which had become comercericalized as a main component in nativity scenes....? They also are trying very hard to create a recyling system, but it´s worse than failing. No one hear understands that concept at all, yet.

We had a really wonderful opportunity to meet with two reporters from the online paper venezuelanalysis.com who talked to us about some current polotics, and answered many questions. I am going to be doing an indepentdant project with them for a week, very soon. Possibly on propaganda, and the similarities between US and Venezuelan media. They were both very helpful, and when I apporoached them about working with them, they were like well of course, and gave me their contact info. Everyone here is just really nice.

My Spanish classes are going really well. We are doing a lot of review of basic grammar, which is good becasue it ment nothing the first time i learned it, as grammar isn´t nessacary if you can´t put together sentances anyway. But it does get a little boring. My spanish has however improved dramatically, and I am able to have conversations with people I meet, and buys things without embarassing myself too badly.

Last night one of our instructors took us out dancing, at a bar near our school, it was a really great time. The bars all play half traditional or salsa and half reggaton or rock, depending on the bar, but it is always half and half. We danced for hours, and talked to a lot of locals.

Mérida

hola todos! I am now in Mérida, with my host mama, Zulana. She is very wonderful and taking good care of me. Tomorrow I will start attending language school in the mornings, and visiting cooperatives and missions (social programs) in the afternoons.
Two days ago we all got to see Chávez. I was 10 feet away from him, which was very exciting to me, as I´ve never seen my own president. He spoke for an hour about workers rights, it was really interesting to see how people react to him - they adore him.
Some of my friends and I made friends with two guys we worked with one day at a farm, Barulio y Cesar, and they showed us around Caracas, and Barulio took us to meet his whole family! Everyone in Venezuela is so nice and welcoming!

(it appears my camera is having some language barrier with these computers...picures eventually)

Venezuela!

it´s so great! yesterday we saw land being claimed by a poor group of farmers, who took over a large land estate owned by an elite, now 45 families will live and work the land. I have great pictures - but i can not figure how to upload them onto this 98 gateway... it´s been in the 80s and 90s contstantly! Ít´s very very beuatiful here, everything is green.
We are staying in a barrio, or ghetto. they let gaurd dogs into our courtyard at night and there is barbedwire everywhere. But it seems very safe to me.
The people are wonderful, they all ask where we are from and try to be friendly. We are having a great time so far!

Ready, Set GO

I'm very ready to go!!! I leave tomorrow morning at 9:30. And i'm just a little antsy.