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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