Well we have almost caught up to the current time here at TraceyinCaracas. We left off at my visit to the wonderful Colonia Tovar, so let's pick up there.
Colonia Tovar is a German village in the jungle in the middle of no where half way between Caracas and Valencia. The village was founded in 1843 by a sect of Bavarian immigrants who remained largely cut off from the rest of the population until the 1930's, when the village became a thriving tourist destination thanks to its proximity to Caracas and strict infrastructure regulations that left the architecture, customs and food largely intact even today.
The village literally looks like German village in the alps, or, since I have never actually been to Germany, I can definitely say it reminds me of the Festhaus at Busch Gardens. Traditional German houses dot the hills, and in the center of town, there is a beautiful church and a smattering of stores and restaurants selling sausages, strawberries and cream and special (and delicious) Tovar beer.
Ivan, myself and Pablo and Yis, two friends of Ivan's, took to the mountains for a little weekend getaway. When Ivan arrived to pick me up, he reminded me that it would get cold at nights in Tovar, and around that time I realized that I sincerely did not pack the clothes to move here that I would need to deal with chilly weather. I was very grateful, therefore, when we arrived at our cottage and saw that they had provided us with a plethora of blankets, which I immediately transplanted to my bed because it was indeed quite chilly. Saturday morning we got up, grabbed some coffee and hot chocolate and cruised through the jungle towards the beach. Puerto Cruz beach was an hour and a half drive from Colonia Tovar, and the road, while positively terrifying, was also breathtaking with some beautiful views of the mountains. The beach itself was just awesome. No crowds, beer tents a short walk away and people would serve you fresh fish for lunch at your umbrella on the beach for roughly the equivalent of $6. I felt pretty snazzy. Of additional coolness was the fishermen who would bring their catches right to the beach. About half way through the day a boat came in with the biggest swordfish I have ever seen. It was a solid foot longer than I was, not including the sword part. They cut it up right there in the water, which was obviously gross, but super cool at the same time. I just made sure not to swim in that area after that to avoid being covered in fish blood.
On the way home, we stopped by a deli to get some delicious German sausages. While it was a good idea at the time, our charcoal grill cooking capabilities were more limited than we thought, and it ended up taking us like three hours to cook them. But they were extra delicious at 10pm, for sure. The next morning we took a walk around the town, and then took a tour of the Colonia. We visited a winery, a sausage house and a chocolate factory, so I was basically beside myself with glee even before lunchtime. For lunch, Ivan introduced me to pig's knee, which is apparently a German specialty and something I would be happy never to see again. After lunch, our afternoon plan for shopping got completely washed away by a pretty persistent rainstorm, but Ivan and I were troopers as we ran from storefront to storefront, dodging sheets of rain and the rivers coming down the streets, all just so I could get little German knickknacks for my family. You're welcome, family!
The following week at school was a relatively stressful one, as issues with governance of our overseeing board of parents are beginning to seep into the school day. As this is my first experience in a private school setting, I am curious to see how these issues play out. As you can imagine, working in an international school is quite different than an American public school, and I am still sorting out my views on a lot of the similarities and differences. But, as with working in any new environment, I am just trying to keep my head down and do my job. First year at a new job is always an exercise in survival, because that is about all you can do- keep your head above water. I'll leave ideological warfare for next year.
Yesterday was a delightful break from the school week as a bunch of us girls got makeup-ed and dressed up and headed out to celebrate the Marine Corps 238th birthday. This was my first Marine Corps Birthday Ball, and I have to say, we certainly went in style. Tendai helped me find an absolutely stunning black bedazzled dress a few weeks ago, and it was so perfect, it didn't need a single alteration. I got some baubles to match and I was ready to go. Tendai, Jackie, Holly and I went to a very gay salon in the Centro next door to our apartments to get made up and boy did those boys go to town on us. I brought mimosas to share and we ended up getting to toast to another Miss Venezuela winning Miss Universe. Tell me a better place to be than in a gay-owned beauty salon in Venezuela when Miss Venezuela wins Miss Universe. It was kind of awesome.
Ivan was my very handsome date to the ball, and we all enjoyed a great dinner and dancing at the fancy Hotel Tamanaco. Good times were had by all indeed. As I prepare for another week, I am feeling completely satisfied. I had another weekend with wonderful people, I am still loving where I live, my job while stressful at times is still mostly positive, and despite the absolute chaos, violence, rampant inflation and general deficient nature of the country I live in, I still get along in my day to day affairs pretty much unscathed. Though if anyone could Amazon Two Day ship me toilet paper, milk, Woolite or Drano, I would be most appreciative:).
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