“Birds flyin’ high, you know how I feel. Sun in the sky, you know how I feel. Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel. It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me… and I’m feelin’ goooooood.”
-Michael Buble

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So, I guess this is what happens when I don’t update for almost a week… I have so much to tell, I don’t even know where to start!

I guess I’ll start with the fact that I am still lovin’ it here!  I really enjoy the time that I am spending with my roommates and Venezuelan friends, because we try desperately to only speak spanish, all the time.  It’s hard and it can be frustrating, especially when you actually DO understand, but they still think you don’t. Sometimes, I totally understand what is being said, I just don’t know what to say in response, so, in turn, they think I don’t understand! Es muy confudido. Haha.

Last week, I went to my first field trip to an organic farm (finca organica) for my botany class.  It was so surreal to see how different some ways of life are from my own.  We had to take a bus to the edge of town and then take two vans up the mountains to get to the farm.  While we were there, the primary farmer took us around and showed us all the crops, and he even let us taste some of them – right off the plant! Pictures…

  

If you look up the hill behind me, you can see their house.

 

Mi profesora, Shantiluz, is the one in white.  She’s adorable. haha.

 

 

After he took us around the farm, he brought us up to the house, where we learned how to make sugar cane-juice.

The pile of stick-looking things on the floor is sugar cane…

 

Making sugar cane-juice using his self-manufactured machine! LEGIT.

Me and my fresh sugar-juice with a piece of sugar-fudge-like-stuff! haha. Que rico!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beauty here is indescribable, which is why we decided to walk back down the mountain to the little town, rather than taking the crazy vans.

After we walked down the mountain, we stopped at a cute little restaurant for some food and wine. Fue perfecto. 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, I have more to update, but I think this is probably enough for one post. 

I’ll end with some reflection: One thing that has been hard to get accustomed to is not having many obligations (and those of you who know me pretty well can probably understand why I am having such a hard time with this). At home, I am constantly on the move, but, here, I am desperately trying to relax… to be “chevere,” which means “cool” or “chill” in Venezuelan.  So far, I think I’m doing really well.  I’m definitely not so uptight anymore with the many things that happen here that would be illegal in the US.  I hate saying “illegal,” because it has such a bad connotation… but, that’s the reality of it. This is not the United States, and as soon as you allow yourself to accept that fact, you can begin to appreciate life like a Venezuelan. One of my favorite phrases is “asi es la vida,” which means “So is the life!”  I’m trying hard to not force my rigid philosophy of life into the fluidly moving vibe of the Venezuelan lifestyle , because I really think their way of living is quite beautiful;  my hope is that I will be able to retain a small piece of it to take home with me in 3 months.

Okay, that’s going to have to be all for now!  I think my roomates and I are planning to go to “los Aguas Turnales” this weekend! Which means, “the Hot Springs” in english! Que chevere, no?! So, I should definitely have many more stories to share next week!

paz y amor,

Mandy 

Location: Merida, Venezuela