Throughout the story, Alice is being told about the person she is today, as well as some occasional flashbacks. Her last memory is of her being pregnant for the first time and being happily married while 10 years later she has 3 three children and is getting divorced. You also get a glimpse of how her relationship have changed with family and friends; all to her surprise. So, even though it’s completely understandable why her life isn’t as it was 10 years before, I eventually started to sympathize when Alice says things like ‘how could we be getting a divorce? We are so committed to making this work!’ (not an exact quote). I was also touched with how she struggled to figure why she and her sister, as well as some friends were not as close as they used to be. There are certain times in your life when you feel so sure about everything and everyone in it that you can’t imagine anything being different. But then of course, life happens.

Expat life is synonymous with change. If I hit my head and temporarily lost the last 10 years of my life, I would wake up thinking I had just graduated from college, had started my dream job in Haiti and was planning my upcoming wedding. As much as I had my future planned out then, it ended up something quite different. Some of the actors have exited the stage and the stage set up is definitely not how I imagined. Others have gone from a starring to a supporting role. But, like Alice (without the head injury), I have to pause and appreciate all the scenes that have played out and learn to embrace last minute changes in the script. I have to trust that in the end, it will be a masterpiece. My masterpiece.

For anyone who has ever wondered how and why your life has become what it has, What Alice Forgot will get you on the path to those answers

First, there was the story of this young man who killed his adoptive mother. After he killed her, he called his aunt and said he didn’t know where his mom was and could she help him locate her. This is a woman who stood up for him recently in court because he was facing charges for theft. What is THAT?!

Then, there was the story of a a kid in high school who killed both his parents and then he kept their bodies in a room while he threw a party. Yes, a party. He made the mistake of confiding what he did to his best friend and thank goodness the best friend felt obliged to contact the authorities. Twisted!

What’s strange is that I don’t recall ever seeing similar stories here in Venezuela. I watch the local news in the morning and then CNN International the rest of the day, so it isn’t like I’m avoiding the news. Now, I don’t think that Venezuela doesn’t have its share of violence – it probably even has mentally unstable people like those two gentleman who woke up one day and decide to kill their loved ones. But, they choose not to show it on the news.

I think we have very little control over the information that we are given through mainstream media in general. For instance, I don’t think we see half the gang-related violence that goes on in American urban neighborhoods. So, why must we hear about every little piece of disturbing news out there. How will knowing a little girl who went missing 30 states away was found murdered enhance my knowledge? Or, why do I need to hear about a woman who cut off her husband’s penis and then put it through the garbage disposal? I guess it all depends on the reasons you watch the news, but my goal is to be more informed. These types of news stories only leave me feeling…well, disturbed.

I actually prefer the format of the news here in Venezuela. Yes, it can be biased and highly politicized. But, I don’t have to worry about coverage on the famine in the Horn of Africa being interrupted to announce that a celebrity couple is divorcing.

Am I making sense?

In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. – Paul Harvey

It feels like since my last post, the world has turned upside down – literally. With the Japan earthquake causing another shift in the earth’s axis, it’s no wonder mayhem has erupted. I was disappointed to see that international military intervention (a fancier way of saying war) was necessary in Libya and who knows how many more casualties this will cause. And Libya is one of many countries facing unrest in the region…

Every once in a while, I get this feeling of doom and gloom. It seems like humans have made so many technological advances, but we still haven’t figured out how to settle disagreements without fighting. I always remember the irony of hearing how World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars only to say 21 years later – just kidding. Even after World War II (they were supposed to mean it that time), we still are trying to solve with problems with the same methods that we’ve seen fail over and over again.

It’s no secret that Venezuelans are very polarized when it comes to politics. I don’t know if it’s all the other disasters/unrest that’s been going on, but lately I’m getting the sense that Caraquenos are feeling the doom and gloom, as well. This may be limited to the places I frequent the most, however it’s there. I usually blame the media for over-reporting on certain issues, but this time I don’t think there’s any way around it…big stuff is going down all over the world.

As Mr. Harvey states, there’s nothing new happening here – simply history repeating itself. I only hope that these times hurry up and go away because I could sure use some good news for a change

P.S. If you’d like to help with the Japanese relief efforts, Google has set up this page to get you started.

I’ve decided to test this theory by looking back (as well as my memory serves) at the problems that I had last year to see if they have any relevance now.

Haiti’s earthquake: I can’t say that this is completely irrelevant now, but a lot of the things I was worried about last year have sorted themselves out. We were very fortunate to have not lost any friends or family and no belongings sustained any damage. It was a question of waiting to hear about people every time we heard about an aftershock. By April, we started to hear less about the earth shaking and people started getting back to their routines.

Housing: Last March we were really looking into moving from our first apartment. We were having a difficult time because housing prices had doubled since my husband arrived 6 months prior. To top it off, there weren’t a lot of options in the area. I recall finding one we really liked even though it was a little far from stores, the kids school, etc. and the landlord pulled out at the last minute. At that point, we decided whatever will be, will be. Within a month, we found the apartment that we currently live in which is much more conveniently located and cheaper. So, this one gets a check…

Employment: One of my biggest concerns before moving here was whether or not I’d be able to find work in my field. I was assured by many that I would, but my gut was telling me otherwise. Well, by this time last year I started to realize that my gut was right and it would be a long road to full-time work. Well, I’m still unemployed, but the difference is I’ve completely accepted that it’s not going to happen here and have since come up with a plan (which will be revealed at a later date ). I’d give this one a check, as well.

Learning Spanish: I wasn’t stressing myself a whole bunch about this last year, but I knew I wanted to feel a lot more comfortable going out on my own. I didn’t see much improvement by simply immersing myself and was always getting tripped up on grammar. I eventually found this course at the French Alliance and May will make it one year. As I mentioned, we’ve shifted into intensive format and I’m amazed at how much progress I’ve made (yes, I’m patting myself on the back). Even though this is a work in progress, it definitely gets a check!

So what, that’s 3 out of 4 – not bad. What do you think about this theory? Have you found it to be true for your stressful phases?

Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.  Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~Carl Sandburg

Believe it or not, today marks one year since we moved to Caracas. I knew the date was coming…I’ve been telling friends and family how pretty soon one year will have passed. Nonetheless, it feels like the day sort of snuck up on me.

I’ve tried to keep track of what it was like to get settled and I can’t help but laugh at some of the things I was feeling this past year. One thing’s for sure in terms of my assimilation, I no longer sweat the small stuff. Even if I wanted to get upset about last minute cancellations or service people running 3 hours late, it would be pointless. People like me are in the minority here, so it’s been a much better strategy to go simply with the flow.

What was great about arriving here in December last yeat was how quiet Caracas is, which translates to very little traffic. Since this was my initiation into city life, I’m glad I wasn’t bombarded with the normal noise-level and hustle immediately. The normal chaos didn’t start up again until January 15th (apparently this is customary in Caracas) and my baptism by fire – communicating in Spanish without my husband as a back-up – began. It wasn’t until April when I finally caved in and started taking a course.

While there won’t be any big celebration (my husband gave me a congratulatory handshake ), I’m nevertheless grateful for all that I’ve been able to experience in this past year. Regardless of the hurdles that lie ahead, I am extremely satisfied with the way I’ve been spending my coin