The story so far...flooding and powercuts but beer is 30p!

Hello everyone!

So this is my blog, coming to you direct from Venezuela…I’ve been here for 3 weeks now so I thought it was probably about time I filled you all in on the adventure so far. I left England on September 30th, my 21st birthday and flew via Frankfurt to Caracas. On the journey across the Atlantic I sat next to a lovely Venezuelan lady from Maracay called Karmen who had given me her number and invited me to stay before we had even taken off, kindly adding that she has two sons in their twenties who “really like European girls!” Her main advice to me was “Trust no one!”

The taxi ride into Caracas from the airport was incredible and the heat immense. A coastal road and then through lush rainforest hills before entering a tunnel. When you come out the other side you can see the city sprawling before you. The favelas (slums) in the barrios are made of corrugated iron painted in bright colours and they cling precariously to the sides of the hills underneath enormous advertisements for Pepsi…the irony was unmistakeable. As we drew closer to the centre there were boys standing in the middle of the 3 lane highway trying to sell water and snacks, literally dodging cars, which is quite a feat if you could see the insane way Venezuelans drive (there is no speed limit.) There was also a man juggling at the zebra crossing.

We arrived at our hotel the Cumberland (sausage!) The hotel itself was really quite posh, minus hot water. I haven’t had a hot shower since I arrived! British Council offices were next door so we went along for some dinner – Dominos pizza of course! The following few days consisted of various teacher training classes, briefings and organising travel arrangements to our various cities. I also went to buy a Venezuelan sim card…the process took about an hour and I even had to give my fingerprints! They are very keen on ID control here – every time you buy something, even just some chewing gum, you are required to give your name and passport number! Took a cable car up to El Avila, a mountain that towers over the city. We were literally in the clouds – I saw a hummingbird and a moth as big as my head. A few cheeky beers were had in a bar called OVNI which means UFO (!) and we made friends with a very drunk man who had learnt all his English from “rock and roll man!” A representative from the British Embassy came and gave us a lovely information pack including precautions to take in order to avoid getting shot! ie. Do exactly what the man with the gun tells you. Useful.

My bus to Coro, the city where I am living, was an overnighter that took about 6 hours. The bus itself was surprisingly comfy and the seats went right back into beds. The bus station in Caracas was a pretty hairy experience to say the least and I was quite nervous as I had all my belongings and a lot of money strapped around my waist under my clothes. The one thing about these secret money belts is that they’re all well and good but as soon as you actually need to get your passport/cards/money out you have to perform an interesting but subtle striptease which inevitably involves baring midriff at unsuspecting Venezuelans. Subtle and not very secret.

Arrived in Coro in at about 4 am, earlier than expected. Not wanting to wait around with the rabid dogs I rang the only number I had been given as I didn’t even know if I had a place to stay. I woke the poor bloke up and he asked why I couldn’t have got a bus during the day! He picked me up and took me to the house where I would be staying. I live with the Benitez family. They’re actually Cuban and moved here about 9 years ago as the father works in television and the industry was being repressed by Castro’s regime. Unfortunately the first thing he told me was that Venezuela is a “country in crisis” and heading the same way. Alina his wife is a feisty, rather emotional latina lady who shouts at everyone but is never actually cross and has a breakdown every time it rains. However she cooks like a goddess. The two children Lorena, 12 and Pipo, 6 treat me like a big sister and I have spent a lot of time sharing my knowledge on Britney Spears with Lorena (Did she really shave her head?) and playing Spider Man with Pipo. The house is in a great location – city centre. I have my own room and bathroom (with friendly cockroach who is now dead) and a key to come and go when I please. They all seem to believe that every English person drinks tea at 5 in the afternoon every day. I have not dispelled the myth and this has now become a family ritual. (Photo is Coro by night taken from friends apartment balcony. In the distance you can see Los Médanos, the sandy desert just before the sea.)

Coro itself is beautiful from what I have seen so far. Unfortunately the weather has impeded my explorations-apparently it hasn’t rained like this here for 50 years. Hurricane Omar paid a brief visit last week and the whole town flooded, trees fell and the Peninsula an hour North was completely cut off from the mainland. Upstairs where the family live also flooded due to leaky roof and there was a power cut (a frequent occurrence whenever it rains) so we all crowded round the kitchen table with candles, cookies and a very long game of Monopoly, which I won! The main street here is full of bustling stalls selling rip off pirate dvds, plastic shoes and interesting “fashion” accessries. They love their fried food, including specialties such as arepas, empanadas and tequenos, all terribly awful for you, but surprisingly delicious. The old colonial quarter is about 5 mins walk away and they have preserved it very well. Now a UNESCO world heritage site it contains the oldest church in South America, next to the plaza where the first mass on the continent took place in 1528. The architecture is beautiful and Simon Bolivar, the Liberator and national hero here also stayed in some of the buildings.

With regard to teaching…I still haven’t actually started! Due to lack or organisation, too many students wanting to enrol, teachers striking over lack of government funding and hurricane warnings classes keep being suspended, which has been quite frustrating. However, in true South American style I’m not letting it bother me! Apparently I start on this afternoon, but I’m not holding my breath. On the plus side it has meant that I’ve been able to settle down and get to know the town. I even managed to get in the local paper - I went to watch the theatre groups prize giving ceremony and there's a photo of me watching. We then went to a bar which was outside with wicker furniture and palm trees and many a young man wanting to “teach me how to dance salsa!” Yesterday I went out to another bar and discovered that bottled beer here costs 30p! It's cheaper than water.

Funny story – I went to open a bank account. This process from start to finish took about 3 hours. The end result was hilarious. They misunderstood my passport, so on my debit card and on their database my nationality is Bewers and my name is Kelly Citizen British! Apparently this doesn’t matter, which I find even more amusing. Supermarkets are also a blast – never any bread but shelf loads of washing powder and queues that last forever. Taxis are insane – old beat up 1950’s Chevrolets with the doors hanging off and no rear-view mirrors – great fun.

Sometimes it is difficult because I am the only white person in the town so having blonde hair and blue eyes attracts a lot of attention, not always positive. Some people (usually old men) call me beautiful catira, an affectionate term for a blonde, others call me ugly gringo! However, as some friends have explained it's because I'm different, they don't know how to react and mostly they think I'm American. So I make it my utmost priority to introduce myself as a nice British girl!

I hope all is well back in Blightly and I'll update you all again soon. This is a photo of me at the Art Museum, another colonial building from the 16th century...we drank chanpagne on the balcony!