Mi Primer jueves y viernes en Venezuela

Spanish conversation class, horseback riding, dancing the Lambada, and pool-scrubbing – some highlights from my first week at Aldeas de Paz.

Jugo fresco de lechosa (fresh papaya juice) at Café Goldrausch, Santa Elena de Uairén, 1 June 2012

            Last Thursday (31 May), after a short yoga class, I attended my first (3-hour) Spanish class here at the Foundation, taught by Manfred’s friend Rubén.  Although some parts of the lessons (basic grammatical structures, for instance) are sort of a review for me, conversing in Spanish– not to mention merely trying to comprehend everything Rubén says during class – is invaluable; I’m truly grateful to be able to use the classes to improve my ability to communicate with the kids I’m here to teach.

           

Susana (I told you she’s incredibly beautiful!) on the dining table, Foundation Grounds, 31 May 2012

After Betania, Moritz, and I cooked lunch for everyone, Christina, my lovely Swiss roommate, arrived, and Kelvis drove some kids from the community up to the Foundation, where every Thursday is Recreation Day (although the schedule is probably changing soon…). 

First, the kids took turns riding the Foundation’s horse, Medallon, while others jumped rope, colored, and played with play-doh.  Next, some of the children and volunteers played football (soccer) together, but I stayed at the pool with a few swimmers – Vivian, Jesus, and Ángel (three very cute kids from the neighborhood (: ).

            Later that evening, Antje taught some of us the Lambada, a very hip-shaky dance wherein two or more partners stand very close to one another, swaying their hips from side to side smoothly, quickly, and almost incessantly – quite a workout!

            And for dinner that night, I tried some casabe, which basically tastes and looks like thin, crunchy flatbread, but is actually made from yuca (yucca), (so you gluten-free folks can eat it!)  To prepare a dry piece of casabe (rather like a large cracker-fied piece of pita bread), you have to first soak it in water, and then place it on a pan to toast it.  Once it’s darkened to your liking, you can spread whatever condiments/toppings you like on it.  I used margarine (I’ve yet to find fresh butter here) and mermelada de fruta (fruit jam – guayaba (guava) is my favorite!), but it’s also good with Manfred’s black bean hummus. 

            The next day (Friday, 1 June), I woke up bright and early at 5:30 and was out the door by 6 to drive down to the indigenous market with most of the other volunteers.  After buying tons of produce for the upcoming week (our refrigerators have to be replenished every Friday), we picked up some packaged/canned goods at a few other supermarkets, then headed home.

Christina at the indigenous market, Santa Elena de Uairén, 1 June 2012

Kelvis at the indigenous market, Santa Elena de Uairén, 1 June 2012

Kelvis at the indigenous market, Santa Elena de Uairén, 1 June 2012

One of the various supermarkets, Santa Elena de Uairén, 1 June 2012

A typical Venezuelan snack – galletas de chocolate (chocolate cookies), Santa Elena de Uairén, 1 June 2012

Our bounteous meal, Foundation Grounds, 1 June 2012

Betania and Nomi serving almuerzo (lunch) (Laura and Kelvis in the background), Foundation Grounds, 1 June 2012

¡Almuerzo! Foundation Grounds, 1 June 2012

            Every Friday, after shopping and lunch, we have a volunteer meeting, wherein we discuss the goings-on of the past week as well as our plans for the upcoming week.  Afterward, everyone works together (on their respective assigned tasks) to clean the Foundation Grounds. 

Laura, Nomi, and me on the road to the Foundation Grounds, 1 June 201

The road to the Foundation Grounds, 1 June 2012

That week, I had to clean the pool with Nomi and Christina.  But before we were able to actually do that, we had to drain the pool on Friday night (if we drain it during the day, the sun bakes the grime onto the floor and walls of the pool), and then scrub it the next morning.  However, on Saturday (2 June), we discovered that the pool had not drained completely, since the drain was so clogged with sand. 

So my first Saturday morning at Aldeas de Paz was quite a strength-building one!  The three of us had to use buckets to scoop the remaining 200 or so gallons of water out of the pool for twenty minutes or so.  Once all the water slid either down the drain (with the help of a toilet plunger) or onto the surrounding pavement, we scrubbed the floor and walls of the pool with a hose, some hand brushes, a broom, and plenty of soapy water.

I have to say – I’m so glad my friends, Nomi and Christina, helped me with that rather tedious, tiring task!  In fact, the pool was dirtier than usual that week (according to some of the volunteers who arrived before me) because the kids didn’t rinse the sand (from the horse pen/soccer field) off their bodies before swimming on Thursday.  So I was very thankful to work with two other volunteers to clean our pool!

I think that about sums up my first several weekdays at Aldeas de Paz.  I’ll tell you about my first weekend here – including the beautiful natural pool where we swam on Sunday – in my next post!  ¡Ciao!