Bienvenidos a Caracas!

     Well, I don't know what they were thinking, but customs let me enter Venezuela with very few questions asked. I have now been in Caracas for an entire day and have had some time to unpack and settle in. So much has happened since I've arrived that my mind has been spinning, wondering which stories to tell. I apologize in advance for the length of this post. For those of you who don't enjoy reading, take breaks in-between paragraphs.

God has been incredibly faithful, showing me that He is taking care of me even when I am in a country that is completely new. Marc and Amy Shuflin, a young married couple that teach at the school, have been awesome! They thought of everything, from adding homey touches to our rooms to stocking the fridge with some basics for breakfast the next day. Both have taken so much time to prepare for our arrival, while in the midst of online grad school, and I am incredibly thankful for their time and effort spent on our behalf. When I say “our,” for those of you who don't know, I'm referring to the five new teachers who all arrived together, two of whom I live with.

My first night in Caracas was spent unpacking and exploring our beautiful home. The school recently purchased a very large house and is currently in the process of splitting it into four separate apartments. The director and his family of four live below us and currently we can see into their kitchen and living room from our stairs until a wall is built on each side to block our view. Marc and Amy live next to us and a door connects our kitchen to theirs. It kinda feels like living with three families and I am enjoying it immensely. I have three housemates, two of which are here with me. We each have our own rooms and are sharing three bathrooms. Really rough huh? Oh just wait though until you hear the rest.

My room after some unpacking. Love it!

Turns out there are some downsides to moving into a beautiful, large concrete house. Unfortunately, the school was unable to have the house completely ready by the time we moved in. So currently there are men in our apartment from 7 in the morning to 9 at night making steady progress. But this also means water is turned off frequently, especially when you've just walked up the biggest hill ever back home with 30 lbs of groceries in your arms. (Seriously, my clinical protection deodorant can't even handle the sweat I was pouring out today as I climbed that hill.) It also means that not everything is ready yet. My toilet doesn't work, there is no hot water, my shower has little to no water pressure and lacks a shower head, we have no screens on the windows, there is no washer or dryer yet for clothing, and we have no internet access at home. However, when I woke up this morning and saw the beautiful view out my window, it all seemed like no big deal at all. The Lord is teaching me flexibility and contentment despite my lack of “creature comforts.”

You're jealous now aren't you?

Today was spent touring the school and city. I got my first look at my classroom (so exciting!) and found out what classes I will be teaching this semester (Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Algebra). We spent all day going to different places around the city, getting things taken care of like purchasing cell phones, getting keys made for the house, buying some basic groceries and cleaning supplies, and trying to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the city.

I realized for the first time that living in a city of 4 million means that I actually do live in a big city, actually gigantic. And I also have zero sense of direction. Marc and Amy kept asking, “Which way is our house from here?” and I had no clue. It's going to take some time to get my bearings and all we've done so far is walk places. The afternoon felt like information overload as Marc and Amy shared their wealth of knowledge about the city, where to go, and how to behave so we don't stand out more than we already do. We had lunch at a Venezuelan restaurant and I ordered arepitas, which have the consistency of English muffins but taste like thick tortillas. It was served with Nata, a cream cheese, butter sort of dish that my dad would absolutely have hated.

Dinner was made by the director's wife who lives in apartment above us, prepared in the Shuflin's kitchen, who live in the apartment next to us, and eaten in our kitchen. Crazy but it worked and tasted excellent. Tonight I did a little more decorating in my room and finished unpacking. And tomorrow we explore even more.

Our kitchen (plus the door to Marc and Amy's apartment)!

Short Stories:

1) The bug killing count is up to 4 amongst the whole house: 2 large cockroaches, 1 beetle, and 1 spider that was as big as the palm of my hand. I am the proud bug killer of the group, although Amy was the one who smashed the first 3 mentioned while the director's wife screamed and ran out of the room. I'd bet money that my mom is freaking out already as she reads this. On the upside, I got one mosquito bite today and it didn't swell at all (I have a tendency to react strongly to insect bites).

2) The house is located at the top of a large hill, which requires a long walk uphill on the way back. I have the pleasure of walking up this road several times a day, especially with groceries in hand. However, I am looking forward to the guarantee of nice calves and some sweet biceps by Christmas.

3) In South America, you can't flush your toilet paper. It gets thrown in the trash. Also, most stores do not have bathrooms and restaurants that do rarely have toilet paper. Unfortunate on both accounts.

4) Because of the climate, houses in Venezuela are not at all weather proof and definitely do not have air conditioning. It is actually warmer inside than outside because of the lack of air flow. This makes sense in theory, but somehow still confuses me when I walk inside. While the weather is amazing, mid 80's and mild humidity, the number of hills and amount of walking still means that you sweat all the time, everywhere you go. Sick.

Spanish word of the day: panaderia which means 'bakery.' This is where we will get bread, meat, cheese, milk, and the other basics. It's quicker than shopping in the stores and prices are similar. It's kind of like the equivalent to a gas station in the U.S. combined with a small bakery.