An unexpected visit and working for free!

I was on the phone to Mum one Sunday and we were moaning about the fact that it wasn't going to be possible for us to meet in Aruba (which is only half an hour from me) because the deals from the UK were ridiculously expensive. Half joking I asked if she had looked at flights to Caracas...exactly a week later there I was in Caracas airport waiting for my Mum to arrive! I don't think either of us could believe it, especially as we thought we wouldn't be seeing each other until June or July. She managed to find some cheap flights, got all her jabs and there she was in Venezuela. Although we hadn't seen each other for six months it was as though we had never been apart. I went to meet her in Caracas as it isn't really the sort of place you want your white, non-Spanish speaking mother turning up in on her own!

We had an incredible ten days together. I was so lucky to see her and it was lovely to show her around Coro and for her to meet my family here. I had to act as interpreter but they all seemed to get on really well. We walked around the old colonial quarter in Coro, took some fun pictures in Los Médanos (see below), had a few cocktails and relaxed by the pool at the hotel. We even spent a long weekend in Mérida so Mum could see the Andes. On the overnight bus there we were stopped a few times by the National Guard who came on to the bus, machine guns and all, to check IDs. Quite a nerve-wracking experience as here in Venezuela there is always a 50-50 chance they will try to blackmail tourists. Luckily my Spanish and our good looks got us by!

Mérida was beautiful as always. We stayed in a cosy little posada with a terrace that had a view of the mountains. There was a gorgeous little restaurant next door which served fantastic food and red wine (which I have had only once since I've been out here so Mum and I had to make up for lost time!)

It was difficult to say goodbye but Mum had a wonderful time, even though it was a bit of a culture shock and now I know that whenever I talk about Venezuela in the future she will really understand what it is like here. Most important of all she brought me out Cadbury's chocolate and magazines!

More grumbles now I'm afraid...I still haven't been paid since January, hence I haven been practically working for the last two months for free! I definitely remember applying for a job with the British Council and not a volunteering post. Having been to the Department of Inter-institutional Relations every day for the past two weeks and receiving only laughable excuses such as "the roof fell in on to the box your cheque was in" or "they wrote you a cheque for January then realised we've already paid you for January so then they had to rewrite it" (which apparently takes two months!) So I decided that I was tired of hearing "come back tomorrow" especially as I have to pay my rent next week and won't be able to afford it. So I wrote a formal letter saying that if I am not paid for at least February by the end of the week then I will have to return to England as I won't be able to pay rent and then I would be a homeless volunteer! I also informed the British Council who put a call in to the university here. On hearing from them I suddenly mattered to them and a meeting was arranged. I dared myself to hope but alas, in the meeting I was informed that the department had done everything humanly possible but that it is out of their hands. I managed to get them to lend me enough to cover my rent for the next month. However, still no cheque.

On the plus side I am off to Colombia next week for just under two weeks with two other English assistants here in Venezuela. Thankfully I will be able to withdraw money from my UK accounts over there. If they still haven't paid me for February and March by the time I return in mid-April then it looks as though I'll be seeing you all a lot sooner than I thought!

Politics update - Chávez is centralising government and has sent troops into food companies and taken over ports and airports. The opposition are accusing him of Communism. Rice, sugar and coffee were being rationed in supermarkets last week.

I'll blog again when I'm back from Colombia and everyone keep your fingers crossed that I get paid soon!