No Bank, No Problem. The Mustache Will Overcome

Recap:

Since we last spoke things have been a bit of a hustle.  I coached in my second VANAS tournament, where Frank and I lost our first game together as a coaching staff… and it came in the finals.  We lost to a team we beat twice in pool play.  Bummer for our girls, but we played a good tournament and I was pleased with their effort.  I do have a greater appreciation for coaches that coach high school girls.  They are definitely a challenging bunch.

On Saturday a group of friends had some of us over this weekend for a traditional Thanksgiving Day feast.  It was awesome, the food definitely made me feel like I was back in the States.  They did a great job of cooking, preparing, and hosting.  It gets tough around the holidays (or maybe just for some of us) and these types of get-to-together’s help keep the holidays more normal.  Thursday the foreign hires will get together again to celebrate Turkey Day and drown out some homesickness. 

On Sunday we caught word that the bank most of us here at CIC use was down.  Apparently there was a fire at the headquarters in Caracas and equipment that contains the ability to transfer money, withdraw money from ATMs, and be able to use your card at stores was lost.  At press time we can finally our cards at stores, but only our bank ATMs work.  And those ATMs are especially awesome because when you use them you have to switch your pin number (as if you didn’t have enough numbers and passwords going on).  I want you to imagine this: you have no cash, your card doesn’t work, and you basically have rice, tuna, a limited amount of water, and pasta at your house.  That was me Sunday.  If it wasn’t for a bunch of us getting together to have breakfast (arepas and pancakes- jackpot) I would have been a carb loading unit.  Luckily, I was gifted some eggs and ham to hold me over.

Monday when we got to school I had to stop in the office and was told by one of our secretaries that there was a shooting across the street from my house at the Farmatodo. Apparently, some people followed another person and when that person got to the store and walked in the pursued them.  After some protesting the victim was shot.  This happened in the middle of the day, like 11/12pm.  The secretary was there with her elementary-aged daughter.  Seriously crazy stuff.  Yesterday, Morris and I went there to pick up a few things and they had TWO guards manning the door.  Safe right? Hardly.  The “guards” around here don’t have weapons and the basically just write a symbol on your receipt as you walk out the door.  The police did set up a checkpoint near the store last night, but I doubt that much came of it. 

With elections looming, it’s bound to get more interesting sooner than later here.

Today we had the semifinals and finals of our teacher, parent, alumni soccer league.  My team (Frank, Jose, Morris, David, myself, and three others) ended up taking the title.  It was a great time and I'll miss playing once a week.  It was a great workout and reminded me how much I enjoyed playing the game.  

Food for Thought:

A friend recently asked me what the major difference between students here and my past students in the states.  At that time I answered as accurately as I could, but I don’t think I analyzed the question as deeply as I should have.  There are actually many differences.

These students are some of the most well-traveled people I have ever met.  Want tips on where to eat in Buenos Ares? They have them.  Curious to know what their favorite city is the world is?  They’ll compare Paris to London to NYC to Barcelona. They’ve been to all of them. However, their worldly scope is limited. 

The students here don’t go to the mall, the movies, or date like students in the states.  If they would go to the mall or the movies they would be susceptible to being robbed or kidnapped and held for ransom.  This does actually happen.  With very little investigation, I discovered that out of one small cohort of students several of them had been kidnapped at one point prior to their current standing at school.  Several more knew of a family member or friend that had been taken as well. 

Think about that.  You can’t go out in public because people know you have money and they will take you and hold you until they get it. 

Many of these students have drivers, maids, and other people that work for their family.  Their family structure is very different than those of most in the states.  Think back to your upbringing and the time you were granted on your own.  I remember going to friends’ houses, playing outside, and especially having my license as aspects of freedom, but they also provide a sense of individuality and development.  Think of all the fights, problems, and issues that come up when you play with a group of friends, need to pay for gas, want to go to Wendy’s, or any of the things that require you to work for money or opportunity.  These students don’t have those experiences. 

Not only are the limited by the number of friends, but also by the number of people to date.  They have a small pool of members of the opposite sex and the opportunities to hang out with them come only with school or time when they can meet in a safe place outside of school. Again, without having time outside of school or opportunities to interact they have a much different development.  Think back at your time in high school or college, and how few people you are drawn to in a romantic setting.  Now slice that number even smaller.  If you have interests or hobbies outside of the mainstream, you may be fairly lonely here. 

So to correctly answer your question, yes the kids here are very different in some ways.  (But in many they are just your typical high school kid slacking off and trying to find themselves.)

Random Musings

1) The weather around here has been tipping to what we in Iowa would almost call the end of summer.  Not quiet fall, but getting there.  The funny thing is after thinking this I checked the weather and realized that it was 90 something and felt like 100ish.  I'm in big trouble once I get home, my body is going to freak.  

2)  It's weird how nostalgic you can be with different things.  We all have songs or events that make us remember a person or a place, but I've noticed smells, temperature, and the wind reminding me of various things like cookouts and the weather after school but before the Friday night football game.  I think I'm ready to spend some time at home.

3) Shopping here is getting crazy.  I did some Christmas shopping and found myself surrounded by people and evading long lines.  Sounds normal right? Not so fast my friend.  With governmental "encouragement" many stores have 20-30% off of all of their goods.  Couple that with holiday bonuses coming out and people nervous about supply the stores are crazy.  The Adidas store in the mall had four items in it, FOUR.  

4) It's almost Thanksgiving and that is awesome.  I hope you spend it with people you care about and are thankful for.  Also, be sure to think of how well you have it.  I think there were many years where I was thankful for my family, the meal, and all my opportunities, but it won't be the same now.  After living here and seeing some of the hard aspects that many have to fight here, even if you have just enough for you and your family it's exactly that- enough.

5) To piggyback off that, take a page out of the Venezuela lifestyle and make the most out of the time you spend with those people.  Many here do not have much at all, but they will celebrate there life and their company.  All you young bucks going out on Blackout Wednesday, don't get too loose that you are couch ridden when your family is together.  It's not worth it. 

6) I think my level of patience is getting really good here.  Learning to focus on what you can control has been really hard for me, but I think it's starting come along.

7) Almost 4.5 months without a TV, video game console, or DVD/Blue ray player and I don't miss it.

8)  Been reading and applying aspects of the Four Hour Work Week at my job and really liking the results.  I have also really increased my reading pace.  If you are looking for a book to supplement your work skill set check it out.  I hate the stigma that a self help book carries, but this is cool. 

9) Stay tuned for a cool project I'm going to start in December.  I'll have a special section for it in the blog and I think (hope) you like it.  I'm excited.

10) I have my resume pretty much fined tuned, but if anyone has super resume powers let me know and I'll shoot it your way for criticism.  Christmas Break will be distribution time for cover letters and resumes for me.  Gotta bring my A game.

Further Reading:

Interested in what is up here financially?  This will help you better understand the troubles http://finance.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-chavez-economy-verge-130000150.html

Rule by decree.  What is it and what does it mean for Venezuela?  Well it’s easier if you just read this: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/19/3765462/venezuelas-maduro-wins-vote-to.html

Elections approach and there is sure to be some tension.  Here’s a little backstory: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/23/3773923/venezuelas-opposition-stages-nationwide.html

A grimmer outlook on things: http://caracaschronicles.com/

Movember

I grew a beard for nearly 1.5/2 months and recently cut a mustache.  It looks like this:

Viking

Tom Selleck

 It has been fun, but I think it may be time to cut it off.  Or should I leave it until December 1?  Any comments?

Well take care out there and safe travels during the Turkey Day commute.

Until next time,

KRS