Semana Santa

After my last post (which you may notice was published a few days after it was written), there was even more excitement on our long journey home. We discovered in Barinas that bus prices were now three times what they were due to Holy Thursday. We did not have enough money for everyone so I made a deal with the bus driver that we would pay him some up front and then have him drive to our apartment so we could pay the rest. We ended up paying a little more but it all worked out. I can’t even begin to describe how good it felt to be back in Mérida with enough money in my pocket for food and water. Friday I slept in and then we went to the Centro where artisans were displaying their wares. We ran into our Botany teacher, who was selling pre-Colonial artifacts in one stand. A couple weeks back, my friend who lived in the apartment below ours left the door open for a ten minute period around 1AM and the host mom woke up and noticed. She then had him and his roommate moved to a new host family, which has turned out for the best. Friday evening, their host family invited us to a soup party at their friends’ house. My friends’ host parents are professors at la Universidad de los Andes, Mariangela in political science and Francisco in economics, mathematical modeling, and programming. Their friends who we met are also professors; Francisco is an anthropologist and his wife is a biologist who specializes in reptiles. They are planning to move the entire family to an indigenous village in the Amazon rainforest once they have enough money and the kids know how to swim. We found out that they are best friends with our Botany teacher since she teaches at la ULA and they all have kids the same age. Another interesting factor is that they are all Chavistas, so we got to hear a totally new perspective on the positive elements of Chavez’s presidency. While we chatted, we sipped on flor de Jamaica tea with vodka and munched on some awesome corn and onion dip that Mariangela made (I now have the recipe). They all have great taste in music and we added a bunch of new bands to our “artists to check out” list. Before I leave, I am going to gather up as much music as I can and then share it with everyone who had asked me about Venezuelan music. The popular music (mostly Reggaeton) is not really my thing, but Venezuela and Latin America in general has an amazing alternative rock and jazz scene that we have slowly been discovering. The soup was cooked in a pot over a fire and after two bowls of it, we were all satisfied. It was a pretty standard stew of chicken, beef, carrots, and potatoes and did not have any salt or seasoning aside from a few herbs. Very tasty! Afterwards we headed back to la Parrochia and caught the end of la Pasión Viviente, a massive reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus. At one end of the plaza some authentic-looking Romans were tying live men onto crosses to an intense soundtrack that sounded a bit like the Lord of the Rings. The most theatrical part was definitely Judas; they had a guy in a harness throw himself off a tree and perform a pretty graphic and probably accurate portrayal of a suicide by hanging. Saturday morning we got up early and Hiro took us on a hike to las letras, a hill overlooking the city that is named after the words written on the hill in white plastic. On the way there we ran into a guy selling puppies on the street; it was hard to resist the temptation. I might have mentioned this already, but if Venezuela has one thing, it’s dogs (and oil I suppose). Wherever you go, there is always an awesome dog ready to greet you and play with you. We also ran into a farmer selling fruits and I picked up four clementines for about $.50, not a bad deal. A lot of the hike ended up being nearly vertical climbing that required all four limbs. The view was fantastic; we could see the entire plateau of Mérida laid out in front of us and mountains on all sides: la Culata, Pico Bolívar, and Páramo los Conejos. Later in the afternoon, we sat at an outdoor pizzeria near our place. I have gotten kind of used to having bacon and corn on all of my pizza; that’s a tradition I might have to take home with me. Last night, we were invited back to my friends’ host family for Francisco’s birthday. This time we were prepared and made some tuna pasta salad and brought a bottle of wine. Francisco cooked eggplant, yuca (a root like a potato but twice as dense), steak, chorizo, and salchicha on the wood fire grill while his wife made salads and a mango chutney that was absolutely fantastic (I have the recipe). Their friends are pretty much all intellectual Chavista professors from la ULA and I ended up having a lengthy conversation with the director of Political Science. I think I learned more in that conversation about the reasons for Chavez’s rise to power than I have in Venusa or anywhere else. We spent a long time talking about education in Venezuela and how the misiones of the Chavez presidency addressed the situation. I had also just finished a presentation on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund two weeks ago, so we had plenty to talk about there. Finally, we spoke at length about the globalization movement and how it has negatively affected Latin America. He goes so far as to say that globalization only really pertains to capital since the movement of land and labor is restricted. And of course, our Botany teacher made yet another appearance. Today, we decided to go back to Montezerpa, the Cloud Forest that we visited on a field trip a couple weeks back. On our way, we ran into the Parque Zoológico Chorros de Milla, where we saw an Andes Bear, a lion, tapers, an Andes condor, a baboon, leopards, a tiger, and countless other awesome creatures. All for just 15 bols! On our hike, we revisited the vine swinging spot and then headed back to the river, where we built a dam, had some lunch, and then played a game of O’Hell. We had gotten tired of playing P’s and A’s and Rummy all the time, so I introduced O’Hell and it has been quite the hit so far. We finished by exploring upriver a ways and then trekked back. The past two days have been filled with some very satisfying hikes; I have gotten into a rhythm of getting up early, going on a pretty strenuous hike, eating lunch, and then lounging around or napping in the late afternoon. I will somewhat begrudgingly admit that my days are much more fulfilling and enjoyable when I get up early and take advantage of the day. I just hope I can keep up this habit when I come home…Anyway, back to school tomorrow. This has been the best spring break I have ever had, full of adventures and activities, much more interesting than my usual spring breaks which tend to consist of reading a couple books, exercising, and doing my taxes.