here's an interesting clip of a question to Chavez about gerrymandering and his non-answer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh5qxnOzi0U&feature=player_embedded
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Elections
Yesterday was election day for Venezuela. It was not a presidential election, but a parliamentary one. The best way to sum it up is by putting this link here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/27/venezuela.elections/index.html
The culture around it has been interesting to see. Many more people than average were expected to come out to vote. After voting, voters had to dip their pinkies in indelible ink, so today we were seeing lots of visa applciants and coworkers with purple pinkies :) Chavez was on TV tonight, as he is just about every night, talking about his party and how they were winners.
Without saying too much, I can definitely say that I'm more thankful than even for the freedoms we have and take for granted in the USA. It will be interesting to see how things change over the next weeks. The fact that the opposition won enough seats to prevent the socialist party from having a 2/3 majority could at the very least have a psychological impact on society. But only time will tell.
One interesting cultural note with the elections is something called "ley seca," which means a ban on selling/serving alcohol anywhere in public starting at 6:00 pm on the Friday before the elections and lasting through 6:00 the Monday after. They do not enforce the rule in private homes/property, though, so of course this was a great excuse for a Friday night happy hour after work.
I expect things to mostly go on as usual at this point, but it has been interesting to be surrounded by and to see a little bit of the electoral process here in Venezuela.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/27/venezuela.elections/index.html
The culture around it has been interesting to see. Many more people than average were expected to come out to vote. After voting, voters had to dip their pinkies in indelible ink, so today we were seeing lots of visa applciants and coworkers with purple pinkies :) Chavez was on TV tonight, as he is just about every night, talking about his party and how they were winners.
Without saying too much, I can definitely say that I'm more thankful than even for the freedoms we have and take for granted in the USA. It will be interesting to see how things change over the next weeks. The fact that the opposition won enough seats to prevent the socialist party from having a 2/3 majority could at the very least have a psychological impact on society. But only time will tell.
One interesting cultural note with the elections is something called "ley seca," which means a ban on selling/serving alcohol anywhere in public starting at 6:00 pm on the Friday before the elections and lasting through 6:00 the Monday after. They do not enforce the rule in private homes/property, though, so of course this was a great excuse for a Friday night happy hour after work.
I expect things to mostly go on as usual at this point, but it has been interesting to be surrounded by and to see a little bit of the electoral process here in Venezuela.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
some things I like about living in Caracas
fresh pineapple every morning with fresh key lime juice squeezed on it
prescription meds available without prescriptions
beautiful mountains all around
yuca chips and plantain chips (tostones)
common courtesies of the culture (saying "buenos dias, tardes, noches," etc. to everyone)
mid-seventies EVERY DAY
cafe marron
good new friends
futsol
chocolate
very affordable mani/pedis
learning a new Spanish accent
fresh squeezed juices
great sushi and fresh fish
Zara
Blackberry service for cheap
VIP movie theater
Skype, Facebook, and internet in general :)
prescription meds available without prescriptions
beautiful mountains all around
yuca chips and plantain chips (tostones)
common courtesies of the culture (saying "buenos dias, tardes, noches," etc. to everyone)
mid-seventies EVERY DAY
cafe marron
good new friends
futsol
chocolate
very affordable mani/pedis
learning a new Spanish accent
fresh squeezed juices
great sushi and fresh fish
Zara
Blackberry service for cheap
VIP movie theater
Skype, Facebook, and internet in general :)
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Elections in the air
Hi All, it's been a pretty interesting week! I had a nice time joining the FM house church for their service and fellowship on Sunday. It'll be a little more accommodating to have a vehicle (hopefully in early November!), because when you get a ride with the pastor you arrive extremely early and stay until everyone else goes home. That said, it was so great to get out and meet some like-minded people and feel like I'm part of a church again.
I got to play soccer again last night, which is one of the highlights of my week. It's so fun to play and again, have a change of scenery/pace. Unfortunately, I pulled my hip flexor pretty badly, so I'm really hobbling around today.
The huge news around here are the parlaimentiary elections coming up on Saturday. It will be a really exciting process to see, as the opposition will most definitely be winning some seats in parlaiment. I'll try to write more about the elections in the next couple of days, but it's impossible to be in this city and not know they're going on.
Happy Thursday everyone!
I got to play soccer again last night, which is one of the highlights of my week. It's so fun to play and again, have a change of scenery/pace. Unfortunately, I pulled my hip flexor pretty badly, so I'm really hobbling around today.
The huge news around here are the parlaimentiary elections coming up on Saturday. It will be a really exciting process to see, as the opposition will most definitely be winning some seats in parlaiment. I'll try to write more about the elections in the next couple of days, but it's impossible to be in this city and not know they're going on.
Happy Thursday everyone!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
One Month in Caracas
Sorry I haven't stayed up with my blog this past week. I feel like I haven't had time to catch my breath! I really enjoyed the extra day off last week for Labor Day, though I'd been feeling a bit sick, so I mostly enjoyed the extra time to sleep and lounge by the pool. The pool is one of the best perks of being in the hotel for this long. Since it gets dark so early here, we can't really enjoy it on weekdays, so the weekends are always used for multiple visits to the pool.
Several good things have happened in the past week. One of the most notable is that I received my accrediation from the Venezuelan government yesterday! I'm not officially recognized as a diplomat here, and was able to initate the shipment of my things from the US. Since it's a notorioiusly slow process, shipping companies will not send anything until that accreditation is received. This being the case, we wait an additional 3 weeks (give or take) after receiving it for the belongings to arrive at the port in Venezuela. They sit there for another 3 weeks or so before they're then allowed to enter the country and arrive at our homes.
I've been notified that I should be tentatively moving out of the hotel by the first or second week of October, so the timing should work out pretty well. I'm getting more and more used to the daily work. We really see a variety of people at the window, and I'm not bored yet! There are generally 10 or 11 officers adjudicating non-immigrant visas on any given day, and we do an average of 1120 appointments per day. Today I adjudicated the most yet that I've done in one day: 110! Most people can average around 130-150 a day once they've been here for a couple months or so.
Yesterday I met some new friends from the Free Methodist church here in Caracas. Acutally, I met the pastor and his wife, who I've been corresponding with by phone and by email, but it was great to finally meet them. I joined them for a small group meeting and dinner, and had a really wonderful time. Almost immediately, I felt at home with them. I really look forward to joining them for church in the future.
Tonight was my first experience with a representational event sponsored by the embassy. There was a newcomers' reception at the ambassador's residence, to which many contacts of the embassy were invited. We had the opportunity to meet high-ranking officers from other nations' embassies here in Caracas as well as other local contacts, such as people from airlines, hotels, etc. that we have reason to interact with throughout the year. It was a nice setting; although we don't currently have an ambassador here, the residence is kept up and used for hosting different events periodically.
Some very happy news is that Wayne got a plane ticket to come down and visit next month, hopefully after I'm moved into my permanent housing and have room to host :) It'll be great to see him and have my first visitor!
Several good things have happened in the past week. One of the most notable is that I received my accrediation from the Venezuelan government yesterday! I'm not officially recognized as a diplomat here, and was able to initate the shipment of my things from the US. Since it's a notorioiusly slow process, shipping companies will not send anything until that accreditation is received. This being the case, we wait an additional 3 weeks (give or take) after receiving it for the belongings to arrive at the port in Venezuela. They sit there for another 3 weeks or so before they're then allowed to enter the country and arrive at our homes.
I've been notified that I should be tentatively moving out of the hotel by the first or second week of October, so the timing should work out pretty well. I'm getting more and more used to the daily work. We really see a variety of people at the window, and I'm not bored yet! There are generally 10 or 11 officers adjudicating non-immigrant visas on any given day, and we do an average of 1120 appointments per day. Today I adjudicated the most yet that I've done in one day: 110! Most people can average around 130-150 a day once they've been here for a couple months or so.
Yesterday I met some new friends from the Free Methodist church here in Caracas. Acutally, I met the pastor and his wife, who I've been corresponding with by phone and by email, but it was great to finally meet them. I joined them for a small group meeting and dinner, and had a really wonderful time. Almost immediately, I felt at home with them. I really look forward to joining them for church in the future.
Tonight was my first experience with a representational event sponsored by the embassy. There was a newcomers' reception at the ambassador's residence, to which many contacts of the embassy were invited. We had the opportunity to meet high-ranking officers from other nations' embassies here in Caracas as well as other local contacts, such as people from airlines, hotels, etc. that we have reason to interact with throughout the year. It was a nice setting; although we don't currently have an ambassador here, the residence is kept up and used for hosting different events periodically.
Some very happy news is that Wayne got a plane ticket to come down and visit next month, hopefully after I'm moved into my permanent housing and have room to host :) It'll be great to see him and have my first visitor!
Friday, September 10, 2010
link to one person's impressions of places I've visited in Caracas
This is a link to a random blog that one of my coworkers found while searching the internet for info about the restaurant we ate at that night: http://fredferg.blogs.com/travelog/2008/12/20081205-caracas.html
The restaurant is called Maute Grill and the hotel he references is my home sweet home for my first two months or so in Caracas :) (not much has changed since 2008)
The restaurant is called Maute Grill and the hotel he references is my home sweet home for my first two months or so in Caracas :) (not much has changed since 2008)
cat story
Fear not, Tuckers, my cat-sitting skills are being kept in practice here in Caracas! Since several of my coworkers and I are here at the hotel for long-term stays, I recently agreed to feed one of their cats while he went out of town for work. He gave me a key card to his room and showed me where the food was, etc. before leaving.
The first day I went to feed him, the key card did not work. Sheepishly, I went to the front desk and told my story to the lady working at the desk. After looking at me kind of funny (I mean, who goes to a hotel, leaves their cat, and goes out of town for a few days??), she called over one of the bellmen to assist me. We re-told me story to him so that he could escort me to the room. He let me in and stood guard as I fed the cat and emptied the litterbox. He said each time I wanted in I'd need to ask for an escort. Great.
The second day, I was chagrinned to see yet another new person I would have to tell my story to and request permission to get into the cat's room. He began to greet me in English (a lot of the staff here have varying levels of English ability). So as not to offend, I tried to tell my story, as simply as possible, in English. Several times I tried, and several times he did not quite understand what I was saying, so I clarified in Spanish, and this time was awarded my very own replacement key card to my coworker's room. I was able to feed the cat and spend some qt scratching his head and petting him.
Day Three: I attempted to gain access to the room with my new keycard, but was met with a red light that refused to turn green. A final time, I approached the desk to tell my sad story. All I had to do was mention a cat, and the man behind the desk, who I had not seen before, named my coworker's last name. I jokingly asked if he had already heard the story from his coworkers and he said "yes, more than once" as he chuckled. He explained that the card would probably reset itself if it got too close to a cell phone or anything, which is probably what was happening to me.
Now that I got my problem figured out, my coworker is coming back tomorrow from his trip. But I will be sure to let him know I'm available for cat-sitting for the next six weeks, or until I am allowed to move into my permanent housing :)
The first day I went to feed him, the key card did not work. Sheepishly, I went to the front desk and told my story to the lady working at the desk. After looking at me kind of funny (I mean, who goes to a hotel, leaves their cat, and goes out of town for a few days??), she called over one of the bellmen to assist me. We re-told me story to him so that he could escort me to the room. He let me in and stood guard as I fed the cat and emptied the litterbox. He said each time I wanted in I'd need to ask for an escort. Great.
The second day, I was chagrinned to see yet another new person I would have to tell my story to and request permission to get into the cat's room. He began to greet me in English (a lot of the staff here have varying levels of English ability). So as not to offend, I tried to tell my story, as simply as possible, in English. Several times I tried, and several times he did not quite understand what I was saying, so I clarified in Spanish, and this time was awarded my very own replacement key card to my coworker's room. I was able to feed the cat and spend some qt scratching his head and petting him.
Day Three: I attempted to gain access to the room with my new keycard, but was met with a red light that refused to turn green. A final time, I approached the desk to tell my sad story. All I had to do was mention a cat, and the man behind the desk, who I had not seen before, named my coworker's last name. I jokingly asked if he had already heard the story from his coworkers and he said "yes, more than once" as he chuckled. He explained that the card would probably reset itself if it got too close to a cell phone or anything, which is probably what was happening to me.
Now that I got my problem figured out, my coworker is coming back tomorrow from his trip. But I will be sure to let him know I'm available for cat-sitting for the next six weeks, or until I am allowed to move into my permanent housing :)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
3 weeks
Today marked my 3 week anniversary at the embassy here in Caracas! It's hard to believe things already seem so familiar after such a short time. I've been on the line full time on my own for several days now, and I'm getting a lot more comfortable with adjudicating, though I have a LOT more to learn! The denials are getting just a little easier, but overall the work is still enjoyable.
From the start, the embassy community as a whole has been incredibly welcoming and helpful. That fact has remained the same. I have a nice group of people to work with, and a nice little community that's living at the same hotel, so we get together sometimes for dinner or at the pool on weekends, plus we see each other every morning on our ride to work in the motor pool van from the embassy.
I've been glad for the ability to stay in touch with loved ones, especially my parents this past week or so, as I've been able to stay caught up on mom's condition and progress. I was able to call their house and talk to them at home this week, which was an answer to prayer!
I still don't have any word on when I'll be able to move in to my apartment. I also don't have my carnet (accreditation from the gov't of Venezuela) which will allow me to get started on shipping my things down from Washington. Little by little...those are some of the more frustrating things about post, but I guess it'll help me to appreciate my home and belongings that much more when the arrive :)
From the start, the embassy community as a whole has been incredibly welcoming and helpful. That fact has remained the same. I have a nice group of people to work with, and a nice little community that's living at the same hotel, so we get together sometimes for dinner or at the pool on weekends, plus we see each other every morning on our ride to work in the motor pool van from the embassy.
I've been glad for the ability to stay in touch with loved ones, especially my parents this past week or so, as I've been able to stay caught up on mom's condition and progress. I was able to call their house and talk to them at home this week, which was an answer to prayer!
I still don't have any word on when I'll be able to move in to my apartment. I also don't have my carnet (accreditation from the gov't of Venezuela) which will allow me to get started on shipping my things down from Washington. Little by little...those are some of the more frustrating things about post, but I guess it'll help me to appreciate my home and belongings that much more when the arrive :)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Impressions
Hi all, it's about time I wrote again, I know! It's been a great couple of weeks as I've been getting settled in and acclimated to things here. I'm still living in a hotel, which isn't ideal, but it could be a lot worse. I've found out that I am assigned permanent housing now, but once permission is granted from Washington to sign the lease, the landlord will have to do several upgrades, so I can expect to remain in hotel status for another 6 weeks or so.
I am a step closer to be accredited, which is good news. My application has been sent out, so I expect within a week or so I should receive my carnet (accreditation from the Venezuelan government). It'll be great to start the process of having my things sent from Washington! Maybe my housing will come out to have perfect timing with my things arriving from Washington :) I'm in a bit of a holding pattern right now. It's a bit difficult to be too independent with no car and not being within walking distance of many things, but I'm taking advantage of everyone's offers to do different kinds of things, so it's not getting old yet. I joined some other employees in a league of pick-up soccer this week, which was VERY fun. I look forward to doing that again.
I'm also taking good advantage of the hotel pool when I get the chance (on weekends since they close at 6:00 pm on weekdays), which is great. I love the fact that the weather is so nice here. It's generally in the low to mid 80s. It does rain in the afternoons quite often, but not for long. And once it rains and stops the weather goes back to being nice again.
I'm enjoying the work too so far. It's fun to finally feel like I'm contributing to the department a bit after being new and in training for so long (not that I've learned it all by any means, but I am able to help cover some of the load of the visa interviews). Hopefully I'll be up to speed within a month or so!
I am a step closer to be accredited, which is good news. My application has been sent out, so I expect within a week or so I should receive my carnet (accreditation from the Venezuelan government). It'll be great to start the process of having my things sent from Washington! Maybe my housing will come out to have perfect timing with my things arriving from Washington :) I'm in a bit of a holding pattern right now. It's a bit difficult to be too independent with no car and not being within walking distance of many things, but I'm taking advantage of everyone's offers to do different kinds of things, so it's not getting old yet. I joined some other employees in a league of pick-up soccer this week, which was VERY fun. I look forward to doing that again.
I'm also taking good advantage of the hotel pool when I get the chance (on weekends since they close at 6:00 pm on weekdays), which is great. I love the fact that the weather is so nice here. It's generally in the low to mid 80s. It does rain in the afternoons quite often, but not for long. And once it rains and stops the weather goes back to being nice again.
I'm enjoying the work too so far. It's fun to finally feel like I'm contributing to the department a bit after being new and in training for so long (not that I've learned it all by any means, but I am able to help cover some of the load of the visa interviews). Hopefully I'll be up to speed within a month or so!
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