Para conocer a Caracas...

9/16/09
This morning was our third day of orientation at the Embassy. We were able to see downtown Caracas. Most of my experience has involved Las Mercedes and Valle Arriba—two of the nicest and “safest” places in Caracas. Downtown is quite a different story. We drove by Miraflores, the president’s house, which was quite beautiful. The security did not seem too intense which is not what I would have imagined. We also went to CVA, one of the binational centers where people can take English and sat in on a class, where I learned that Venezuelan names are ridiculous. We met Frangeline, Nosair (translation in Portuguese- don't go outside) and a girl whose name the other spanish speakers did not even understand. This will definetly add a difficult to trying to learn students names in my classes.
The centro of Caracas was interesting and I am glad we could see it. Surprisingly enough (knock on wood), I have seen nothing sketchy go down in Caracas. A security officer in the Embassy gave us a briefing that made me fear for my life. He told us that Caracas was last year’s murder capital of the world and the per capita gun ownership in Venezuela is also one of the highest in the world (Check the state department website if you want more details). You cannot even feel safe in the nicest places. While I guess that is true everywhere, it was just a little unnerving for everyone and probably contributed to us not venturing more than a few blocks outside the hotel.
The ranchitos or slums of Caracas are astounding. Unlike most cities that are completely flat, Caracas is in a valle and surrounded by mountains. The slums climb up the sides of the mountains and thus are completely visible. They are a constant reminder of the stark disparities that exist in the city. The houses are stacked on top of one another and go on for miles and miles. Some of the most well known are Petare and 23 de enero. The city also has landslides and earthquakes and because of the location of their houses, the people living in the slums are extremely vulnerable in any sort of disaster.                                                                                                                                                      I head to Maturin tomorrow, the city where I will spend the majority of my ten months. After telling numerous people, including Venezuelans, that I was going to Maturin, I recived similar responses. Most had never been, did not know where it was or did not have much to say. I am excited to get there. Though I have not recived the best responses, I have a good feeling about it. Hasta pronto!