9 Predictions For My Time In VZ (Part 1)

9 Predictions For My Time in Venezuela

I don't know why, but there's just something about looking back to where you were a year ago and comparing it to now. I'd like to think that when I'm finished with my STINT, I can think back to a year ago and have a good laugh about many of the things that are happening to me now and over the next ten months. There are many things that I imagine will be a part of my future here in Venezuela - some good, some not so good. So I've compiled a list of 9 things I believe will be in store for me while I'm here. I will try to mix some lighter material with some heavier things, so that you may have a good picture of the ministry and culture here (from my perspective, of course).

9. American Food - I'm going to miss it

Before I begin, I just want to say that I've enjoyed quite a lot of Venezuelan food. A lot of it includes plantains, beans, rice, ensalada, and has some form of breading, meat and cheese. Usually, there's no hidden secret sauces that cause me to projectile vomit over the face of the person sitting across from me. Most everything is fried. I can't say that I've really disliked anything I've eaten yet.

But, this doesn't help me overcome the longing I have for wing nights with friends, or a quick trip to Arby's for a sandwich, or.. Mexican food.

Many of the people I talked to about Venezuela food had the idea that I would be eating tacos and burritos, listening to La Cucaracha. That is most definitely not the case. The only similarity between Mexican and Venezuelan foods are their use of beans and rice for many dishes.

But, I know I titled this about American food, so I digress.

The hardest part of dealing with this is when I grocery shop. You know those times when you don't make a grocery list before shopping and you arrive at the store just staring down all the isles like you're waiting for the Holy Spirit to give you the discernment on what to buy. Similar to when you're hungry, you go to your fridge and open it, look in, decide you don't want anything, and close it. Then you repeat this several times afterwards with the expectation that something will magically change.

Hmmm... Maybe I missed something... Nope just water, cream cheese, and butter

Well in Venezuela, it's the same situation, only worse. Most everything is in Spanish (obviously), which even Melissa, who speaks fluently, may sometimes not even know. I don't know whether what I'm buying is chicken, turkey, or dinosaur meat. Also there's a shortage or just lack of anything and everything that you may desire. You want butter? Too bad! Flour? Good luck! You want milk? Hope you like it unpasteurized

You may have a grocery list that you've prepared over the past week only to leave the store with 15% of the items on your list and a steady stream of tears coming down your eyes..

8. Battle Within My Stomach - My stomach will have problems the entire time I'm here (on and off)

I hate to start on two negatives, but they just happened to be the first two things on my list. I promise it won't all be like this. 

Apparently, traveling to countries like Venezuela will truly determine what type of stomach you have. I have, as I had already known, a fairly weak stomach. Not necessarily in the throwing-up way though... In the other, more exciting way. About 2/3 of my days here I've had stomach aches and much needed trips to the bathroom. Thankfully, the Lord has been gracious enough to allow my conversations with students at the Universities to go uninterrupted. 

The question has come up several times as to what the source of my stomach problems is. My answer: probably most everything. But I believe it's more of a problem of my stomach than the food I'm eating... Almost as if my stomach just isn't having it

Not having it, bro

7. The People - I will love them

There are so many things that make Maracuchans so much different than Americans - things that I enjoy, things I don't, and things I'm indifferent to. I want to avoid direct comparison though, so I'll just talk about the Maracuchans... And only the things I enjoy (which definitely are more numerous than the things I don't)

The atmosphere has just a generally welcoming and friendly vibe. When you see somebody you know or meet someone new, there is always a great deal of contact. Cheek kissing, cool hand shakes, or awkward exchanges of the aforementioned. 

First cheek-kiss interaction thought process with Maracuchan girls

Do I give you a cheek kiss? I'm the first person in line for you to meet at this party, so I haven't seen whether people are cheek kissing you yet. What if I'm not aware of some cultural norm of no cheek kissing at a certain time or place? What if that time is now? No that's stupid, just do it... No, I'm not going to unless you initiate it... Wait. I don't want to be rude... Okay, I'm going in for a cheek kiss, I hope that's acceptable.... Ok, ya, I guess that wasn't so bad. 

First cool hand shake interaction thought process with Maracuchan guys

Well that could have gone better, my bad...

Last Sunday (22nd) we attended a church called La Fe. It's a fairly decent sized church that models many of the medium-sized churches in America. Each week, they have any new guests stand up to be welcomed by whomever wants to while they sing you a welcome song. I can't say I've ever felt so welcomed in my life. I also got the cheek kissing and cool hand shakes down pretty well.

Of all the things that I've heard and noticed about the Maracuchans, the one thing I am definitely most impressed with is their willingness to have a conversation with you. 1 of the girls that we initiated a spiritual conversation with on campus was so friendly that it was almost as if she had been expecting our company. As Lissy, my teammate, walked up to her and introduced us, she happily told Lissy to have a seat next to her and said that it was okay, she could relax. It rocked my world. Not everyone has been THAT eager to talk with us here, but even two girls who seemed hesitant at first ended up talking with us for 2 hours! (They ended up being 2 of the 16 students who came to know the Lord that week). 

To sum things up, I have loved getting to know the Maracuchans and I don't even speak their language yet. I can't tell you how excited I am for these next coming months as I begin to learn more Spanish, and deepen my friendships.

First Days in Maracaibo

I spent some time trying to decide how I should start my first blog post in Venezuela. There are so many things that I'd love to share with everyone, but that would make my blog post go very long... And they're usually already long enough. So I'm just going to write. I don't know if there will be any flow or structure, but there will be thoughts. Thoughts written out from the bottom of my heart: because I love Maracaibo.

Week 1

Arrival

Upon arriving we had some problems getting through immigration and customs. Our Visas were changed from 90 to 30 days by the immigration officer checking our documents. By law, he's not allowed to do that, but we weren't going to argue with him. What were we going to say anyways? "No bueno! No bueno, senor!" We would've been sent home immediately. And there would be no chichas or pabellon or arepas or anything!

I've had to make few decisions for myself since coming here, usually those being choice of food... And actually, that's only happened once... So pretty much there have been no decisions made for myself by myself yet, which is good.

... Let me just stop this blog post for a second to tell a quick story that happened while working on this post. Andrea, our roommate, speaks as much English, as I speak Spanish (So, basically, not enough). Our conversations consist of some form of "What's up" and "Como Estas" followed by one word answers or longer answers with many hand gestures. We're both sitting at this table working on our laptops when I walk over to give my speakers to my teammates, so they can play the movie on louder speakers. They turned the volume up as loud as they could, which apparently wasn't very loud for Maracuchan standards.

As I'm about to sit down, Andrea starts speaking to me in Spanish. I understand one word: "movie".. And that's about all I got. After 3 minutes of back and forth, she types it into Google Translate which did a terrible job of translating, but I got an idea of what she was talking about through context clues and gesturing. I tell you, I'm going to be good at all games that require no talking after this trip. We finally, after 10 minutes and Lissy's help, communicated that she wanted us to know she didn't mind how loud we had the movie volume. At least I think that was the conclusion.

This was actually better than most conversations Andrea and I have had which usually end in me quietly whispering bueno after not understanding a word she says, or her just looking at me very confused. We ended our talk today explaining to each other in our non-native languages, that we were going to slowly learn each other's language. To that we high-fived in success!

Welcome Party

Last night (Sept. 14) we were welcomed with a party and worship, Maracuchan style. It was Hippie themed...

They don't normally dress like this, in case you were culturally unaware of all things Non-American

At first, it was hard to talk with anyone who didn't know at least some English. Every conversation is pretty much the same. 

Me: "Hola, como se llama?"... 

Me: "Que estudias?"...  

Me: "Ahh Bueno..."
-Time to move on, because I can't ask you anything else-

I got to lead worship by playing guitar and singing some more well known Christian worship songs. It was awesome to connect over this, as the songs I played were known by them - just in Spanish. A dance party broke out, and soon I was swept onto the dance floor... Now, I don't know if it's like a required class that they must take or what, but pretty much every Maracuchan knows how to dance (and dance well). As I danced with the Maracuchans that night, I realized one thing: I may not be able to communicate with them via words, but I can through music and dancing. And I guess that's good enough for now.

Just as an update, since I'm finishing this blog a few days later from when I started: Andrea and I had another quick conversation. Neither of us could communicate with the other in either Spanish or English, but enough words were spoken. Words like 'Day', 'Good', 'Classes', and 'Eat'.

That's all we really needed. At least 3 complete thoughts were shared and understood to some extent. Honestly, there's probably some thick-accented Americans that I would probably get less out of. But I look forward to the day where many complete thoughts will be shared with many Maracuchans. Preferably over some delicious chicha:

This is what the chicha looks like.. Except instead of a nice fancy cup, it's a cheap plastic one