A little peek.

Today I’m going to tell you in a little bit more detail about my life here in Venezuela.

When I wake up in the morning, I shower, brush my teeth with purified water that’s been boiled for at least 15 minutes, and wake up my roommate, Jenni if she’s still sleeping. Then I choose one of the four t-shirts that I brought with me to wear with my favorite jeans. I slip on my black flats, pack my backpack, and let my hair air dry while I eat breakfast. When Jenni and I walk into the kitchen, Benilde, our 29 year old host sister, will already be there with two pots and two pans on the stove, all boiling or steaming or simmering with something different inside. She’ll greet us with “¡buenos dias!” and we’ll greet her back and sit down on our stools on opposite sides of the kitchen island. Benilde will set down two mugs of café con leche in front of us (a rich blend of milk, coffee, and sugar), and then put down our plates on matching orange placemats. Breakfast usually consists of arepas (a traditional Venezuelan pancake made of ground corn dough) which are sliced open when they are still warm and stuffed with ham and cheese or eggs.



When we are finished eating, we grab our backpacks and head out the door by 7:40 to make it to our 8:30 class on time. We walk along this path…



next to this lake…



to get to on this red trolley-bus.



And this is what I see outside the trolley window on my 15 minute ride to school.



I see the same colorful fences and houses and powder blue mountains on the ride home. And then I know I’m at the right stop when I see the sign on the corner that says “Museo de Ciencia y Tecnología”.



This is the museum that I live by. And this is what it looks like from across the lake.



On my way home I walk up a big hill, and this dog follows me.



I pass by the house with the crazy plant (which I always stop to look at), and the little store where I buy yogurt and apples, and I have no idea how much anything costs.


And then I walk three more blocks along the windy road until I see this gate.



Behind the gate is my house…



and this beautiful garden…



and a very interesting tree with very interesting flowers.



When I walk through the front door I pass through the livingroom…



and then flop down onto my bed.

Graffiti.

Hello from Venezuela!

So I’m trying out this new thing called soundcloud, hoping that it will let me communicate better with family and friends at home. This was a first try, so here goes nothing!

Click here to listen:  Hello from Venezuela!

Maná

In an effort to cut English mostly out of my life for the next three  months, I’ve started listening to Spanish music on the way to school,  while I’m studying, and as I fall asleep. As a consequence, I’ve expanded my collection of songs by Maná, a well known pop-rock band from  Mexico.

This song is called Vivir Sin Aire, from their album Dónde Jugarán Los Niños, and is currently one of my favorite Spanish love songs.

Chocolate withdrawal.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE TARTS, HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE SAUCE


From: whatkatieate.blogspot.com - one of my new favorite food photography blogs and obviously a great spot to search for new recipes.

I don’t know why I torture myself like this…but I couldn’t help it. Off to the store in search of something chocolatey.

A map of Mérida

A map of Mérida

Heaven.

My view every morning of la Sebana (my neighborhood) when I step outside the front door to walk to the trolley bus on my way to school.

Andes Excursion

Yesterday my group took a trip through the Andes Mountains. Our goal was to find snow…and we did! When we woke up at 7:00 in the morning it was already almost 80 degrees outside and sunny. I hardly believed our group leader when she told me to bring my North Face, one of my warmest fleece jackets, but after riding on the bus for several hours I started to shiver.

We stopped on the way up the mountains at two places. First, to see this view…



and second, to take a closer look at this lonely mountainside stone church.



After that I didn’t think it could get any more beautiful…

until we got higher up in the mountains.

We finally reached a high enough elevation that we could see snow and sleet (thank you mom for the rain jacket!), and I could see my breath, so we stopped for lunch and a hot chocolate at this little mountain restaurant.


I was starving at this point and was definitely not disappointed with my meal: traditional Venezuelan soup with potatoes, mild white cheese, and cilantro


and chicken in mushroom sauce with seasoned potatoes and “arroz con vino tinto”


After eating, we continued on to our destination and finally reached the snowy peaks of the Andes!

There are really no words to describe what I saw, but what I will never forget the way I felt - thrilled, overwhelmed, a little dizzy from the elevation, and very very cold.

The Andes Mountains are now at the top of my list of most beautiful places in the world.


Snowballs.


Mountain climbers.


Monster flowers.


Winter lake.


Foggy.


Rainbow hat.


Rock sculpture.


All in all, it was an excessive amount of beauty to absorb in one day. I think I still feel the adrenaline.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”        - St. Augustine.

What I’m thinking right now: nothing tops traveling and seeing things you NEVER expected to witness with your own eyes.

Rooftops.

Montañas

Travelers

Check out other U of M student blogs and read about their unique experiences all over the world while studying abroad!

http://umabroad.wordpress.com/

¡Mérida, Venezuela!

This is me, blogging comfortably from my hammock at Venusa, the college where I am studying in Mérida. And this is one of my favorite study areas:


Beautiful, isn’t it? One of my favorite things about the school and about life in Venezuela in general is that people are so much a part of nature. The houses and schools all have areas that are open to the outdoors, like this one.

Some things that are interesting here:

They eat lots of jamón y queso (ham and cheese), the café con leche (coffee with steamed milk and sugar) is better than any Starbucks latte that I’ve ever had, and there are never hand towels in the bathrooms.

And apparently ham and corn pizza is popular at Dominoes? Who would’ve thought.


Some things that I already love, some things I still have to get used to =)

My group and I arrived in Mérida on Monday night, and yesterday we took a walking tour through the city. These are my fellow travelers and the 20 people that I will be going to school with and getting to know over the next 3 months!


The architecture in Mérida is beautiful. This is a school building where they teach fine arts to children and people in the community, and the style here is very similar to many of the houses and buildings throughout the city.


Before coming to Venezuela, we had a layover in Miami where I met some of my group members and my roommate, Jenni. We took a taxi to Miami’s South Beach, and here are some photos from our day out!



My roommate Jenni and I


A baby jellyfish on the beach! The jellyfish were everywhere, and when the tide rises, they wash up on the beach. One of them washed right up onto my foot, but thankfully didn’t sting me! This one is clear, but most of them are purple and pinkish.

That’s all for now…more photos to come!

¡Chao!