Whether it’s at Walt Disney World or in Venezuela during the holidays, I love watching fireworks. This picture of the Caracas skyline – taken in sequence on New Year’s Eve – was shared with me by a friend on Facebook and it took my breath away. It almost made me wish that I had been in Caracas instead of Merida…almost

Enjoy your weekend!

1) Almost everything that I need is within walking distance. Although this was exhausting in the beginning, I have come to appreciate the ability to get to my favorite places with a hop, skip and a jump.

2) The abundance of activities for the kids. From beautiful parks to malls with carnival-type rides, I feel that I can take the kids almost everywhere AND they will enjoy themselves. All these options have gotten me very excited about our first summer here.

3)The weather. Hands down this place has got one of the best climates. Even with daily rain, I’m never too hot or too cold. Coming from humid South Florida weather, I’m still getting used to the idea of not needing air conditioning in the house (this has also done wonders for my son’s allergies).

There you have it folks – what more can a girl ask for?

Somehow this third month just came and went. To make sure that I didn’t forget this month, I took stock of my my latest realizations.

• You can never estimate how long it will take to get something done. What you may think is a simple errand can turn out to taking the whole day to accomplish (more on this in another post)
• Even when conducting business, Venezuelans enjoy personal chit chat
• Finding an apartment to my liking that is affordable is not easy – in other words, housing is limited
• Spanish is not impossible to learn, but I will probably never speak it as well as I speak English
• Venezuelans take their vacations seriously (which seems to be whenever kids are on vacation, too), so booking a vacation in advance is absolutely necessary
• Similar to South Florida, there is always something to do – theatre, concerts, museums. Caracas is culturally rich

These beautiful pictures are of Caracas. I thought they displayed what I sometimes feel about living here – it can be tumultuous, but there’s a lot of beauty.

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Since we got here in mid-December, every night I would hear the sound of fireworks, loud ones, popping. It reminded me of the weeks leading up to July 4th in the states and I caught on that this was a Venezuelan tradition. However, nothing could have prepared me for this at 12:00 AM on January 1st-

Although very loud (are you sensing a theme here), it was a spectacular show. The most impressive part is that it was not a coordinated effort, but a bunch of individuals putting on their own little demonstrations to create this splendid exhibition.

As soon as I snapped out of my fireworks-induced daze, I began thinking about making pumpkin soup the next morning. Eating pumpkin soup on January 1st, which is also Haiti’s Independence Day, is a strong tradition in Haitian households. It began with the first Independence celebration because during slavery, pumpkin soup was considered too elegant a food for slaves. In my family, it is practically considered blasphemy if you do not participate in this tradition; hence, if you stop by most Haitian homes on January 1st, pumpkin soup is being served.

What are some of your traditions for bringing in the New Year? Are they cultural, or have you created some special ones for you and/or your family?

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It’s official! We are now an immigrant/expat family living in Caracas, Venezuela.

As expected, it’s been exhausting trying to get settled. What has given me the motivation to get up and continue the never-ending unpacking is this…

This is the view I get to wake up (and go to sleep) to from now on. I am a self-proclaimed small town gal, so this big city living is going to be interesting. I am starting to get used to the sounds of the cars honking (who knew noise could rise so high) and the smells – yes, cities smell differently to me.

I’m going to let you in on top secret information – my mission in Caracas (which I chose to accept) is to eat at as many restaurants as humanly possible. As I progress with this arduous task, I will share my findings with you from time to time – only because I completely trust you

In the next few days, I will post about my first impressions of Caracas.

Saludos,

Deborah

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