White Christmas?!

Being snowed in at my house was last on my list of expectations for the holidays this year, seeing how I was planning to spend it in sunny Venezuela! 

Yes, I'm in Auburn for the time being! I hurt my wrist a couple months ago and I'm home to get some treatment, with the added bonus of being able to spend Christmas with my family. It has been quite the whirlwind. The decision to come home happened on Sunday evening, as of Monday evening I had a plane ticket, and by Wednesday morning I was on an airplane!

So here I am, looking out the window at the snow, still a little in shock. God willing I will be back in Venezuela by mid-January to start of the new semester. Your prayers are appreciated for the doctors' wisdom and the healing of my wrist, and the timing to get back to my job and passion in Venezuela.

Perro Caliente

Venezuelan hot dogs (perros calientes) are quite an experience...They start with a bun and an incredibly tiny hot dog. Then you add onion, french fries, sometimes things like tomato, cheese, ham, corn... there are so many possibilities! What really makes the hot dog though is the approximate gallon of mayonnaise and ketchup required!

Mmmmm..... QUE RICO!!!!!

Cultural blunders 101: (from last year in Mérida)

One of the funniest moments of our Stint year in Mérida, Venezuela happened shortly after our arrival in country. The adventure came about when we decided to change things up a bit and throw some fish into our diet, which mostly consisted of chicken and ground beef. So two of our team members who didn’t speak all that much Spanish headed to the supermarket to buy some fish filets.

When the fish began putting off an odd smell from the oven we started questioning what type of fish we were about to experience. The arrival of a student supposedly schooled in cooking fish calmed our worries and we once again happily awaited our fishy supper. Upon approval by the student we sat down for what we hoped would be a tasty and different meal. It was different all right. The student and our team leader were the first to bravely try the fish. They seemed to like it and kept eating. After a moment however the student piped up that his tongue was numb, and our team leader that his throat was feeling funny as well.

Finally, after examining his serving of fish more thoroughly the student came to a brilliant conclusion. We weren’t eating fish, we were eating Sting Ray! Not only were we attempting to eat Sting Ray, we were attempting to eat undercooked Sting Ray (which by the way, is not a recommended recipe). Thankfully we had enough other parts of the meal and leftovers to leave the whole team more or less satisfied. However, the horribly odd smell did not leave our apartment for several weeks!

For the Malagueños

This is just a little note for the malagueños... (For those who don´t know, those would be the folks who live in Málaga, Spain where I studied and lived for a year and a half).

I live in Caracas.

Ok. Right. Got it.

I live in Málaga! Say what?

I´m serious.

But how could I possibly live in two places at once?

Well, in a building called Málaga of course, as it should be.

You can imagine my surprise of course when I stepped out of the taxi on the first day and realized where I will be living...

UCV: Central University of Venezuela

My team! From left to right: Claudia, Me, Dan and Ninive. There are lots of cool tile walls and weird sculptures around campus.

Exhibit A: cool sculpture... Also, there are a lot of trees all over campus. Parts of it feel like you're in a park! It helps me to not feel so much that I am stuck in a big city.

Our Caracas team and our National Director walking around campus.

For the time being our team has decided to focus on one university, and more specifically on one campus. We already have a few contacts at UCV, the Central University of Venezuela and it is the most "central" university. We have two student contacts in the school of Architecture, who are already getting their friends interested, and we've done a few activities there in the past, so we decided to make that our Target Area. Later on, once we have a group established we will be able to branch out into other schools at UCV, and eventually to other universities!

Rosemary French Bread

For those who haven't read my previous note, I made homemade bread for the first time a few weeks ago. It was a basic French Bread recipe, but I sprinkled in fresh rosemary before I formed the loaf. 

Final product... AMAZING

Plane Ticket

Today is the day! After several months of waiting and wondering what my actually departure date to return to Venezuela would be, I finally have a plane ticket (and therefore, a departure date)!

I will be leaving on Friday Septmber 12th, bright and early in the morning. Yay!

So, please pray with me that the last 15% of my support will come in before I leave!