Hope the polar vortex lets go of you soon (if you're cold) and that spring meets you soon. Things are copecetic, but boring. It's all good though because it's now 100 during the day, and the days left are under 80. So that's cool.
School is back to near normal, but the situational mental strain is still looming like the smoke lingering from the mountain's fires. Lot's of teachers are looking for mini-trips to stay sane, so a bunch of us took one to the only place in Venezuela where I blended it in (meaning lots of other white people).
He still looms.
Political Landscape
Highway demonstration.
Things have quieted down significantly in the past week, with the exception of one incident where the government arrested two mayors and a police chief. The police chief part is significant in the sense that a family member of his attends this school. The arresting of these opposition public officials has definitely drawn the ire of protesters and supporters across the country.
The roadblocks are almost entirely gone from the city. Only a few remnants remain in certain neighborhoods and businesses are starting to return to normal working hours. The problem is those normal working hours are fluid as a march or uprising can take place almost any time and then the businesses close down.
The government just instituted a new economic policy, SICAD 2, which is to combat the parallel (black market rate). It drove the parallel rate from 87 a few weeks a go to 58 today. Some see it as a way to combat inflation and allowing more access to dollars, while others view it as a devaluation of the currency that will fail. To quote Jon, "They are holding up a shit sandwich with shit scaffolds." Only time will tell what will happen.
School
We fired back up the CIC education machine last Thursday after a bout with the Online Learning Model. After awful attendance Thursday, slightly better Friday, and a little better today, we're nearing full strength. Our school's official data says 81% of our secondary kids are here, and I think it's fairly accurate. I also think that 85% of our kids forgot what school was about and 75% are missing some work. These stats are OK because 60% of the time statistics are correct 100% of the time. With the quarter done next week, I feel this will end badly for them. But hey, they earned it. Our superintendent, thinks we've been too lenient on the grading and don't have enough F's. Well, they could be coming in droves this quarter.
To make up for lost contact time we've added a revolving period at the end of the day. Our contract now runs from 7:30 am to 4:10 pm, so we got that going for us. Many activities and events have been cancelled or shortened, and sports practices are condensed. The days have been exhausting for me, so who knows how the kids are doing. Oh well though, there's no other way without adding days at the end, and they can't do that because we all fly out within days of the original end of school. My schedule now has school until 4:10, then PT until 5:15, then working out, dinner, and then an hour and a half or so until bed. Full day.
Colonial Tovar
In our attempt to maintain sanity and experience a more "normal" sense of reality, a group of us went up the mountain to the city of Colonial Tovar. This city was established in 1843 by German immigrants who landed in Venezuela and walked up the mountain to live in a cooler climate. The town is a time warp back into German traditional housing and agriculture. The workers in the restaurants wear traditional garb and serve the standards of sausages and sauerkraut- which was awesome.
The hotel.
The roads were narrow (cars creep by inches from you), hilly and the feel was vintage, but it was a good escape from the status quo of Valencia. The sounds of the blended cultures are evident. You hear traditional German elements (accordion, singing) with Venezuelan rhythms from cars and restaurant speakers.
Typical vendor.
The streets are not only filled with cars, but all motorcycles, four-wheelers, and cyclists. While there, we checked out the street markets that were full of fresh produce, jams, treats, and small trinkets. I scored some coffee, various jams, a hackysack, and a cool bota bag/wine skin. We also checked out and took pictures of the city center and the church.
A street with Randi and Rexin talking to a passerby.
A look up the hill from the church.
We were all excited to have some different food and be able to purchase clean, organic produce. The cool mountain evenings were awesome, we actually all got to wear hoodies. The beer, Tovar, is in my mind the best in Venezuela. It's a little more expensive (comparatively, not complaining) and a little harder to find, but totally worth it.
Yours truly with a statue of the liberator, Simon Bolivar (and a weird photo bomber).
Me (with four hands and three beers) with Rexin and his accordion.
A strip mall and a friendly guy with a stroller.
A taxi (translation: not overfill).
Not a boy band. Morris, Jon, and some bearded local.
Jon in front of a creepy Jesus in a casket. I don't get it either.
They are knickers not capris...oh and the church form the outside.
The only trouble we had was some car temperature issues on the way up and once on the way back. One car had a leak in a line or the engine coolant container. It was a little stressful at times, but we made our stops "safety meetings" and keep the vibe positive. The minor hiccup was worth the weekend of relief.
Car seats...get it? No? Aw...
Also, on the way back our friend Brittany decided to do one of those parachute/glider deals (in Venezuela of all places). We all sat, had a few drinks, and watched the stream of people flying up and down the mountainside. A few (like hers) didn't make it back to the launch point due to a lull in the wind so they got picked up in a truck.
This kid was a falconer, no really he was.
Cheesy, cliche, instagram-esq mountain pic.
Cooler (cliche) picture with the parachute people in the background.
My first selfie.
We stopped at town on the way back to let the car cool and grab some food. We went to a mall food court (scary food) and ended up seeing huge groups of people watching TV screens in a variety of restaurants. The big soccer match of Real Madrid vs Barcelona was on and heated. The "El Clasico" ended up going to Barcelona due to a hat trick by Lionel Messi drawing an emotional reaction to both sides.
TGI Fridays crowd. No drink specials just futbol- El Clasico.
Ryan Robinson's Links of Knowledge
A woman recording events would not give up here phone when the GNB tried to take it from her. The scuffle lead to a National Guardswoman getting her fingernail broken and beating the woman with the cellphone with her helmet.
Panama provides its seat at the OAS (Organization of American States) to opposition congresswoman Maria Corina Machado and the press weren't allow to hear what she had to say.
No mom, I didn't drink all of that...there's room left. I kid, I kid.
Well that's all I got. A Long week of work and a 1.5 day trip to Colonal Tovar. It was a good escape from the hubbub of Valencia. Next week Caracas for the Brazil visa (failed once already) and the week after Cuba. Hopefully, I'll have more to share of interest in the coming weeks and share it with you.
This week, I decided to do something a little different with the blog. While things here are a weird mix of nothing (changing) and something (the curveballs of living here), I thought what better way to help shape your perspective of this country/experience/situation than having someone guest write part of it. I've asked several friends throughout my time here if they would like to write a bit for one blog, but most concede to my "ownership" or are reluctant to share...except one, Jon Moreno Ramirez. I both commend Jon for taking the leap (sharing your written words is tough, just ask my students) and am stoked for you to see his view on the environment here.
Without further ado:
Let me introduce you to my good friend Jon. He's a musical genius. He comes from a family of mariachi players and has the ability to play anything he hears...for multiple instruments. He got his teaching degree from THE College of Idaho and married his high school sweetheart, Randi (pretty cool story to ask them over a beer- they started dated in 10th grade). They have one child, Rexin, who plays the role of two year old boy, but also as a coping mechanism/de-stressor for many of us missing the little people in our families. Jon's got a heart of gold. Family/friend orientated, enjoys everything from sports to astrophysics, loves teaching, and is always looking to make sure people are having a good time. He's a great dude and we are all lucky of have met him and his family through this teaching experience.
Here's Jon's take on things down here:
Jon (L) and Frank approve this blog.
This is what Venezuela is like for
me, a 27 year old, married, father of a 2 year old, math and science high
school teacher.
To fully understand, I need to start
with the reason my family and I are here in the first place. A couple of years
ago, I found myself in an Idaho education environment where the job was getting
harder, and the pay and benefits were shrinking year after year. With a newborn
baby, I decided to change something about my life otherwise we would go broke,
and I would go crazy. Since my wife and I both love traveling, we decided to
give international teaching a try. Long story short, after about a month I
found myself in an interview with an international, private school, with great
pay and benefits...in Venezuela.
At first we thought Venezuela would
be great. We had experience with various cities in Mexico, so "how much
different could it be," we thought. After a year and a half, we realized
that the answer is "completely different." One could react to this
situation in two ways. One, would be to be in complete despair and hate
everything while counting down the days to the end of the contract (which we
sometimes do). And two, would be to take the Kellen 2.0* approach and learn to
be better humans from this experience. More often than not, it is BOTH at the
same exact time. For my family and me, this has given us a deep appreciation
for things we did not know we loved (until we lost them). I'll go through a few
of them:
Jon, Rexin, and Randi at Halloween.
Family
Being here, you realize how alone you
are sometimes. Being here with my family...and only my family makes it both
bearable and, well not bearable. Back in the 'States we could drop off Rexin to
a family member for some alone time. Back in the 'States I could go to my
parents' place while Randi could go to her dad's, or sister's for some alone
time...from each other. Here we have to be with each other, ALL THE TIME. This,
again, is both good and bad.
Food and drink
Availability is the key word here.
You never know what is going to be available here at any given time, on any
given store. This is even more significant because I haven't mentioned the fact
that both my wife and son are allergic or intolerant to some of the most
available things here: gluten, dairy, eggs. Even when we can find food that
they can eat, it is a MASSIVE hassle to go to the store. Hour long wait time in
lines, utter disregard to customer service, and rampant lack of
store-going-etiquette. How can this have a good side, something of which Kellen
2.0 can be proud? Zombie apocalypse. Or any apocalypse, for that matter. We
have learned to "roll with the punches" so well, that my family alone
was able to host the entire extended family (Kellen, Maya, Brit) for almost a
week during "Blockade Parade." This makes me think that the famous
phrase about "making it" in New York, and anywhere thereafter must be
revised to include a Venezuela clause.
Health
We have really good health insurance
down here. Most everything is covered 100%, after you pay for it upfront, which
is mostly okay. Last year my son had to get an ultra sound because due to his
allergies he ended up passing kidney stones. I was thinking US prices when I
went up to pay, very afraid that I did not have enough money to pay for it. The
whole thing ended up to being the equivalent to 50 USDs. The bad side to this
is that, although a socialist healthcare system is extremely cheap, so is the
service. Doctors make no appointments. You take the entire day off from work to
wait to be seen. It honestly makes us want to wait until the summer to get checked
up in the 'States. We could get all of our teeth fixed, but I'm not sure it is
worth the hassle!
Education
I am honestly teaching the best, most
fun subjects I have ever taught, and I am having a blast. I cannot rave enough
about the class sizes, the prep time, the resources, the facilities, etc. that
being said, it is heart breaking seeing the complete opposite experience from
my wife. Unfortunately when we showed up down here the counseling department
was basically non-existent. She literally had to build the manual for this
school, and mostly without recognition, or compensation since she is a
"volunteer" at the school. With regards to my two year old, he is
definitely learning a whole lot more Spanish than he would have learned by this
time in the 'States. Unfortunately, he goes to a daycare that would be closed
upon its first inspection. But hey, no choice means no choice.
I guess it could always be worse,
just as it could always be better. It depends on how you decide to take it. It
is probably best to always look on the bright side of life a la Monty Python,
but it just feels damn right sometimes to spray hate where hate is due. I
revert to a paraphrased Kellen 2.0 quote from this week:
"This had to happen in order for
me to learn the infinite bounds of patience."
I just keep reminding myself why I'm
here: money, traveling, growing.
- Jon Moreno Ramirez
* Kellen 2.0 was a half joking comment I made in regards to how I won't let the many difficult things (cultural differences or otherwise) of this country drag me down in day to day living here. It's been tough lately, but somehow I've kept it going and now it's been a tongue in cheek joke. I dig it.
A Brief Rundown
March by day.
Things have settled down physically here in the areas where most of us live. The blockades are up, but the spirit remains. While traffic and the routines are regaining their formal statute, the marches and protests remain. For instance, this evening several of us went to get some food after work and there were three protests in different areas of Valencia- all peaceful, but still present.
Gather by night (look close and see the candles)
School is going to get fired back up on Thursday and Friday with half days. We did the online model for about seven days and you should have seen some of the excuses we got from kids. Ryan, Jon, and I are thinking about compiling a list of them (they would definitely make the blog- so lame!), but some of them are so frustrating. We share several students and it's not uncommon for us to not hear from a few students while the other two teachers do. It seems many students just didn't take it seriously and did not do the work, so we'll how things shake out. We have several students out of the country still, so the next few days will be a filtering in process I assume.
We were supposed to go get our Brazil visas this week due to our flex schedule and online model, but with the switch back to regular in class teaching we cannot. It's really throwing us for a loop due to the fact that you can only apply for a Brazil visa no later than 90 days before you enter the country and with no personal days or vacation days- we are really pressed. Hopefully, we can work something out with the admin or it could get really hair near the end of school.
President Maduro urges President Obama to join the "peace commission."
President Maduro:"I am going to give these 'Chuckies' who are taking over..." (yep, a president called some protestors Chucky.
Does this look like the face of someone who wants to protest?
That concludes this week's blog. I hope you enjoyed Jon's take. I didn't give him much direction on what to write, but I'm happy that he showed his experience and provide you with a different lens in which to see this experience.
I lost part of myself. I'm down to 76.6 kilos according to the physical therapy office scale (fully clothed too so probably closer to 166- hey, I'm a wrestler, I know these things). For those of you keeping track at home that's roughly 168#. I figured I'd lose some of holiday weight I gained (was up to about 180# give or take if I was eating with my friends or not the evening prior), but there's no telling how much I lost from diet and activity. Or from the little microscopic demons lurking in some Venezuelan food that declared jihad on my stomach. I wonder if I could bottle up that little 24hr gastrointestinal armageddon and sell it to quick-fix diet seekers? I won't wish that on anyone, but some people may be into that type of masochism, but that ain't me.
Bottom line, the affliction has been cured. Knock on wood that I can go the rest of my travels without that happening again.
Physical Therapy
I started physical therapy today for my shoulder. This is payback for all of the times I neglected stretching or a good warm up (irony- I am a coach and yell at kids for this very act) and decided to push through pain. Apparently, 32 is when you need to start listening to the aches and pains, as well as get warmed up. Lesson learned. I haven't been able to do anything with my arm in nearly six weeks, but hopefully this fixes it.
The whole experience today was interesting. My friend/translator and I left school fifteen minutes prior to get to the appointment in time. We figured calculating time for traffic and roadblocks that we'd arrive five minutes early, but we were about twelve minutes before. Shortest drive in this country ever- no traffic.
The building was surrounded by white metal bars and used a motorized gate to let us in (think sideways, iron garage door). The waiting room was outside in kind of a front porch style situation and we didn't have to check in. The secretary came out and said my therapist was in traffic but is close. After about 10-15 minutes a group of three therapists appeared from a sun-dyed, grey car. Finally, I thought (I was hungry- no lunch and I wanted to eat). However, the horizontal drawbridge that separated my therapist from the practice was jammed. The ladies tried their "drawbridge openers" to no avail. The secretary came out and tried adjusting the motor. The ladies hit the button and could not open it. They were then grabbing the bars and Bruce Lee-jump kicking the wall and then pushing off to open it... nothing. I would have helped, but they told me to not use my arm at all. I could envision the calcification on my bicep popping, tendons rupturing, and all feeling/pain in my arm/shoulder escaping with it as it stayed holding the gate while my body flopped to the ground sans an appendage (Tarantino dream sequence). Luckily, the motor kicked in before I went in to assist.
The rest of experience was great. They did a lot of tests to see the extent of the damage and how many muscles were involved in this mess. Long story short, I was prescribed 20 sessions- one every day of the work week to get it better. I was thankful, the therapist understood my athletic tendencies and the desire to workout, so she thought working every day would help me heal faster. Here's to that!
On the way I found out two things of importance. One, the price was 320 BsF ($50 at the official/$3 at the parallel rate) for the eval and 240BsF for each session (do your own math). Two, that tomorrow is supposed to be a rebuild the roadblock day so my first session (which was supposed to be a month ago) may be delayed yet again. So it goes.
Political Situation
Things continue to be in this odd stalemate. The usual (sad to word it this way) skirmishes still hit their flash point daily all over the country. Yesterday on our walk home, you could hear the echo of tear gas canisters being shot and the gunfire that disperses rubber pellets (they still do tremendous damage) reverberate off the mountain side from a northern neighborhood clash (see the Valencia link below for photos). We make tongue-in-cheek statements about the fact that it is just "fireworks," but we all know the truth. It's just kind of commonplace now to hear those noises and about the incidences the precede them.
The end of the standoff doesn't look to be anytime soon. Some wonder if Semana Santa will be the cresting of this wave (roadblocks and online school), others think we'll go the rest of the year like this. Regardless, I've pulled the plug on following the twitter pictures and posts showing the gruesome events that coincide with the climate here. Not good for the soul I suppose, maybe it's my subconscious protecting me, maybe I just want it (unneeded force) to be over. By no means am I wanting the opposition to wane, rather I think it's better if I distance myself and not interject on the actions, but to support my friends. I'll continue to ask why, but it seems that exact question is now eroding the opposition's foundation (check out the "analysis" piece to see what I mean) and the answer may be critical for success (see "student-turned-protest-leader).
In summary, the whole thing is frustrating as hell...for everyone. Travel is restricted, businesses remain closed or on shortened schedules, limited food to buy, there's nothing to do, you can't drive without insane jams and crazy routes, and there's no end in sight.
The school has done somethings to try to make things more conducive to our professional and social lives, but it's just a bandaid on the larger issue. We're not quite rats in a cage, but more like an old Nintendo game where map is closed off because you haven't completed certain levels or actions to expand it. My life is basically six blocks north (school), four blocks west (farmers market), and back. That's smaller then the Legend of Zelda's map. We can't get together and hangout or go places because it's not safe after nightfall. The repetitiveness is kind of like novocaine.
I think many of us have become numb to the environment and situation where instead of feeling, we just kind of compartmentalize it and move forward. You just stay focused on the elements of your day that offer normalcy and keep your mind from wandering into the darker places where anxiety and stress lie. It's hard to really verbalize it, this whole scenario, and I bet none of us could explain it in a manner in which many of you could truly relate to. It's such a unique situation. It's not dangerous, and then it is. It's not scary, but you want a release. It's not condemning, but you wonder why. Close your eyes and listen- you could be anywhere. But open your eyes and you know you're not. You're here in Venezuela and you don't know what it really is right now. It just is.
Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda's map. It's probably my favorite game.
Today, on the way back two friends were robbed at gunpoint at the bakery half-a-block diagonally (hypotenuse for you math people) from my place and 1.5 blocks from theirs. The thieves wanted their iPhone and took it/them (don't know specifics). Now I know this type of event can happen in any major city anywhere in the world (I'm not nervous about it), but you just hope this doesn't become more frequent with all thats going on. They weren't physically hurt, but I can only imagine their mental strife. Send them positive vibes if you get a chance. Side note: Morris and I went there maybe 15-20 minutes after them to get saldo (minutes) for our phones and some food. It was as peaceful as could be.
Crazy thing was that two hours later after running with Ryan, Morris and I walked back through our neighborhood and people were everywhere. Families in the open lots, the bakery and Farmatodo were packed, runners and walkers in the streets/sidewalks. It's as if nothing happened, or rather, it's just another example of the great juxtaposition that is Venezuela.
I just haven't figured out which.
Teaching
Not much to report. We had three days at the end of last week to prep for our launch of the "Online Learning Model." So far, things are seemingly alright. Lots of kids have communicated with me regarding class in someway, but the real test will come from who does the first assignment. There are still lots of kids that we haven't heard from, so who knows.
Putting all of the things you're used to verbalizing or presenting into a document/website/email/application takes FOREVER. I'm still trying to figure out how to get students to interact and collaborate, but with limited program knowledge and lack of a true online system, we'll just make it work. I think this is teaching me that regardless how many people think you can outsource teaching, that you can't. You'll lose the human element and the individualized support that you can't find besides a classroom (don't mean to get political, but take an engineer from a factory and replace it with youtube videos, instruction manuals, and a DIY brochure and see how your industrial project turns out). We'll do the best we can for the kids, but the little intricacies that making learning ignitable will be gone.
My colleagues and I are doing our best to take small sips of the big glass, but it's tough to not be overwhelmed. The admin has been really supportive, but this thing right now is about as fragile as playing "Don't Break the Ice." Strong and sturdy at the moment, but what will happen when the hammer passes to your kid brother and things go wrong. Kids not doing the work, the internet goes out, testing- the big stuff. I guess we'll see.
I kind of feel like this, but without the buzz cut and awesome chest hair:
"Empty Pot" protest prevented by the Venezuelan government.
That's all that's on the plate for this serving. I'm sure there will be more to write about next week with the online work in full swing and the ever present chance that things could erupt again.
Until then enjoy the looming Spring, you guys have earned it.
Back from the dead and not a moment too soon. I received Montezuma's Revenge on my birthday and the next 36 hours were a battle against the GI (gastro) demons. I'm on the mend, but co-workers say I look super thin (no doubt) and I have little energy from not being able to eat for a few days. It's all good though, could be worse.
Anyway...
Where to begin...
Political Situation
Not much has changed in terms of the situation here. Things are still tense and the evenings are filled with gunshots and tear gas being shot like crickets in the basement. Both sides have apparently dug into and talks have stalled. The roadblocks remain, but seem to let some travel go in the am and then close up in the late morning. Things are "safe" (I haven't a reason to call it unsafe), but they get dicey in the evening as depicted above.
The stores are getting more bare and the selections remain random. After warnings about our gas (for the stove) being out it finally happened this evening. It's done. A co-worker told me today that it won't be getting refilled and to look for an electric stove. Apparently, this is one way the government can put the squeeze on the middle class pro-opposition neighborhood I live in. I guess I really won't be cooking much now. What can you do?
School
We "started" back up school on Wednesday. We are switching to a distance learning model a lot like those online classes you can take for post-secondary education. I thought it would be easy, but the set up is taking forever. Sixteen hours in the last two days and I'm still not even prepped for next week. Basically we are using our class websites, email, google drive, dropbox, and our iPad training to construct, facilitate, and guide our students. Our admin team as already addressed the strictness our school will have with students not doing the work and the high likelihood of cheating. We'll just do the best we can and see what happens. It's actually kind of exciting to have a schedule again and immerse yourself into some positive work. It's been tough to figure out with technology works best, how to work it, and what you can cover with limited contact. Another thing to add to my resume.
Basically, we are doing three days of on campus work, have set office hours where students can contact us or come see us (if able...or in the country), and continually interactions via our web-based programs and email. It'll kind of be like an on campus college prof and kind of like an online prof.
Carnival
While a some of colleagues did get tickets out of country for Carnival, not all of them worked. A group of my friends couldn't go to Los Rosques due to the plane not available. While a group of us planned to stick around and hangout, after nearly four weeks of little to no work/social activity we tried to head out. Jon and Randi contacted several posadas about going up into the mountains and staying for a few days. We were in to go to Colonial Tovar (German colony), but our driver bailed. We scheduled another place in Behuma at a spa and posada. We set up a taxi after a few failed attempts by Jon. We were set to go early in the am so I crashed on Jon and Randi's couch only to find out late that night the driver bailed. Mentally broke, we parted ways in the am and I walked back home. Only to then find out about 15mins after arriving we were back on. I hustled to the school and we took off.
It was a relaxing place where we just basically hung out, read books, played Hearts, and had some beers. The food was excellent, every meal was filling. We took a small hike up the side of the mountain. We all ended up paying for a massage (sans Ryan- he's not so much into fun things). Crazy thing about the massage was that masseuse basically did a palm reading on your foot. My spanish sucks so Jon had to translate. Talk about a weird deal. It was alright, as was the massage. The highlight for me was the ART and stretching she did on my shoulder. It loosened up a lot and felt better (with so many businesses closed I haven't been able to start PT).
Posada's view into the cabin.
That was our humble abode to the left with the village in the background.
The daytime view.
Birthday
Jon, Randi, and Ryan offered to grab a burger and have some beers with me. But I was tired from the posada stay (weird- we didn't do much) and just felt like lounging by myself and doing some reflection. I ended up going and getting a pizza and TWO Cokes as my big birthday treat to myself. I devoured the meal, did some reading, watched True Detective and called it good. About 7 hours later my 14 hour bathroom residency began. I thought I was releasing a demon or dying. Neither happened, but I can imagine now how awful it would be die from those symptoms. Happy 32 right?
My watch was so nice to wish me happy birthday when I got up.
My birthday was was to get taller not to be Mr. Fantastic.
Giving a shoutout to one of the most well-read guys I know and the links he provides us weekly:
This is what happens when a parking lot becomes "the way" due to roadblocks.
Not much going on, so not much to report. I really appreciate all the positive messages, vibes, prayers, and gestures of support, it can be a little mentally straining at times here. The birthday shout outs were nice too.
Hard to believe that I've only got 99 days left in Venezuela before I hit the travel circuit and then back to Iowa.
Hope it's warming up for you and Spring is starting to thaw your neighborhood out.
