Bethany has to write these notes as part of her Rotary requirements. I'm really grateful for this because I'm starting to think she wouldn't do it if she didn't have to. The amount of contact she makes with me has dropped significantly since she arrived there 4 months ago. And although I miss communicating with her, I know it's a very good thing.
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Fourth Month in Venezuela: Vacations! 1:46pm Monday, Jan 7
Hello everybody, let me wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, I hope everyone ate a lot of goodies and partied hard (I know I did). So this month was all vacation, I got out of school the 7th and I went back today.
It was nice to have a break from the routine of things for a little while, and I got to do some pretty cool stuff during the month. Right after school got out, we had a Rotary party for Christmas in my house. The young people from Rotaract came too, and it was the first time I had seen them since Halloween. I got to talking with a few of them and I told them that I wanted to join Rotaract, which resulted in my name being put on the emailing list and being invited to THEIR Christmas dinner (which was fun, by the way), and also to making a new, very good friend, Beto.
The next day he invited me to a baseball game with some more people from Rotaract, which was the funnest thing ever, because Venezuelans go absolutely insane with the tiniest excuse, so the baseball game was basically like a very long, loud party, complete with dancing and music. I also got beer in my hair when Caracas won.
I then had a very lonely week in the house, while my host mother and sister were finishing up moving their stuff from Anaco, and I finished up my college applications.
For Christmas, which they celebrate the 24th until midnight, we had about 15 people staying in our house for the big party. There was music, and drinking, and dancing until midnight when baby Jesus brought the presents. (I don´t know why baby Jesus brings presents here and not Santa, but that´s just the way it is!) Then we all sat down to a traditional Venezuelan Christmas dinner which includes: Hallaca-a boiled dish which is bascially meat, vegetables, olives, and raisins wrapped up in cornmeal, which is then wrapped in banana leaves and boiled (although this doesn´t sound too good, I swear to you that it´s delicious), Pan de Jamon- bread which is wrapped around ham, olives and raisins, kind of like a wrap sandwich, Ensalada de Gallina-which is basically chicken salad, and Pernil-a kind of porkchop like dish.
The next day my dad and Carter came to visit me! They stayed in my house and my host family was nice enough to plan stuff for them to do. We toured around Parque del Este in Caracas, we went to another baseball game (Caracas won again), Beto showed us around to the museums and historical places in the center of Caracas, we went to the beach, and the next day rode the famous cable car called the Avila up a mountain in Caracas.
The last day my family was here, the 31st, was the big New Year´s Eve party, which was basically like Christmas except for the fact that there were no presents and that the entire world lit off fireworks without stopping when the clock struck midnight. We ate at midnight again, with all the traditional Christmas foods, and then caught a few hours of sleep until we had to take my dad and Carter back to the airport.
My last week of freedom I spent sick in the house of a host aunt in Caracas while my host mother and father went to Anaco again to tie up some loose ends.
As I mentioned, I started school today and I have lots of things to look forward to in the six months I have left here. I´m excited about doing things with Rotaract and with Rotary, I have lots of fun at school, and I am really looking forward to spending the time I have left with my wonderful host family, and hopefully in June I´ll be able to go to the Gran Sabana (can you tell I´m looking forward to that? I think I´ve mentioned it in at least two of my four notes).
I hope all of you fulfill your New Year´s resolutions! Know that I miss you a lot and think about you only a little less than before. Kisses and hugs!
Bethany
A very tiny me...
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