So, classes began yesterday here at VENUSA (my school, for those of you who don't know) and they've been going well so far. The schedule is a little weird porque we never have classes on Fridays, which is really nice, but I have night classes every day. Today and Thursday I have my earliest class, Folklore in Latin America, which begins at 8... but here's the kicker: it's taught by a man named Vincent MORLEY. That's right, folks - a Morley in Venezuela. I can't get away from them. This particular Morley hails from England originally but has lived in Latin America for over 40 years. Crazy, no? Actually, he does seem somewhat batty but a very interesting person.

Yesterday I had Venezuelan Literature and Children's Literature. Both seem like good classes but I think I will like Children's Lit. a lot because who wouldn't like reading kid's books and watching movies like Shrek and the Neverending Story and performing a puppet show for 3rd graders? We also have to write and illustrate a children's story, sort of as a final project. And as a nice bonus, the profesora for Children's Lit. told me I speak Spanish very well! I'm also taking History of Venezuela which is tonight and then tomorrow I have Latin American Film Criticism, which is only once a week.

Oh, to answer the burning question: all of Venezuela is only an hour ahead of Central Standard time - basically like the Eastern time zone of the U.S. However, it will be two hours after Daylight's Savings. So yeah, it's really not noteworthy.

Over the weekend I went with a bunch of people to a little mountain village called Jaji. It's about an hour's bus ride away and a very pretty drive. Mostly we just looked around at all the folk art type stuff and some people went horseback riding but I just sat in the plaza with Anna and chatted. I still can't get over how cheap some things are here. The bus ride to Jaji for instance - how much do you think an hour bus ride to some place in the States would be? Here it's around 75 cents. Taking the bus every day to and from school only costs about 30 cents. Seeing a movie on a regular day it's only a $1 and on Thursdays (Ladies' Night, woo hoo!) it's about 50 cents. Then again, there are some things that are definitely more pricey here than they would be at home, like books. Books are quite a rare commodity here which is hard for a bookworm like me.

Hey all you Duluthians headed back to school, good luck moving in and starting class next week! Hope it's fun!

Now that I've seen "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" on three continents, I would say my life is complete. Actually, in Spanish it's "¿Quien Quiere Ser Millionario?" and I don't remember what it is in Italian, but I think my favorite is the Venezuelan version, just because of the host. He's so much more relaxed than both the Italian host and especially that gleeful leprechaun, Regis Philbin.

This past week I've just been attending Intensive Spanish class, which was meant to be a review of Spanish before regular classes begin. It has really not been as helpful as one might think. The only thing I found useful were the Venezuelan expressions of which my favorite was "agua fiesta"... it basically means party pooper. I love it. I've used it probably eight times since we learned it, which was yesterday. Some of those times I just manufactured a reason to use it.

Today, instead of having one more day of INTENSE Spanish, our teachers took all of us to a pool nearby. (When I say all of us I'm referring to we 20 or so North Americans... and Anna, who, though actually Swedish, is now American by association.) We just lazed around in the sun and talked. I really like the other American students here; everyone gets along well and has fun together. I'm sure that a few weeks from now we'll be splitting off, getting a bit more clique-y, which will make traveling around easier... but right now it's fun hanging with everyone. Anyway, I think it's pretty awesome that we just up and went to a pool today instead of having class. You know what else is awesome? There are hammocks in the commons area here at school! Hammocks! Swinging beds with huge pillows! Ahh, what a life.

I think this weekend I will just be hiking around in some of the mountains that surround the city, possibly with Anna and Ryan (Anna, the Swedish girl and Ryan both live a couple blocks away from me). But now I must go pick up my class schedule because real classes start next week! Ahh! So much for pool and hammock fun.

So, I know this is the second time I've blogged in as many days but don't go getting too used to it 'cause I think this is a fluke. Eventually I will have, like, classes to go to and homework to do and probably some horrible virus that causes me to double over in cramps and spend all day in the bathroom so I won't even be able to make it out of the house, much less down the street to an internet cafe. (That actually might not happen but yeah, it probably will since about half of the American students usually get sick... and I am certainly excited about that prospect. Hoo-ray.) Today I went to the downtown area of the city with my roommate and two other people who live near us and we walked around and shopped a bit. It was raining pretty hard for part of the day (it's the rainy season here) but when it eventually stopped and the clouds lifted a bit, it was so beautiful. The mountains here are so green and the clouds were kind of creeping over them; we just walked around gaping at them and taking pictures like the tourists we basically are.

Anyway, oh, a little note for those of you who wish to email: send stuff to my school account because I can't seem to send email from my aol account for some reason. And I check my UMD account more than aol.

I know of some people who have gone out to bars with their professors before, or some who have at least seen their professors out drinking. How many of you have gone out drinking AND merengue AND salsa dancing with your professors before? And seen them get really drunk? And have them call you a loser for going home at 2:30 in the morning because they weren't going home and they had to teach at 9 in the morning? Well, that was my night last night. These venezolanos are quite the partiers. Thank goodness I'll have classes to go to next week otherwise I don't think I`d survive.

Two days and four planes later, I´m finally here in Merida, at an internet cafe just down the street from `my` apartment. (Some of the punctuation keys on this keyboard are a little switched around so you'll have to bear with me.) It's really beautiful here and it seems unreal that this is where I'll be for the next three months. I keep thinking that I can just take a bus over the mountains and there Minnesota will be, waiting for me. Not that I want to go home, at least not yet.

My host family is really just a host mom. Rosalba is a very sweet woman with two adult sons who both live in the U.S. So it´s just my ´mom`, my roommate Stephanie, and me in a nice little apartment. Stephanie is from Mound, of all places, and knows Tyler and Mike and the Mound boys! Craziness. We have our own rooms, which I wasn´t expecting, but it´s nice. Except for the damn turkey that lives in a courtyard beneath the apartment. And the cats that like to chase the turkey. And the roosters somewhere nearby. The roosters crow at dawn, as most good roosters do. Then the turkey begins his gobbling which doesn't really cease until the sun goes down. Then the frogs start singing until the sun comes up. Oh, and the car alarm... I'm pretty sure it´s the exact same car alarm that went off all the time in the Goldfine parking lot!! Except this one goes off even more than that one did, and for those of you who lived in Goldfine C, you know that's a lot.

Well, that's all I have for now. I have to be back to the apartment for lunch soon and I'm just hoping we don't end up wandering around La Parroquia forever.

If you thought I vanished for a few days because I went to New York with my parents, such is not the case. I seriously considered it but I'm glad I didn't go. I probably would've been stressing out a lot of the time which would have made me crabby and then a roadtrip with my parents would not have been any fun, for them or me. I tend to get ornery with them when I'm stressed which would have been amplified by hours upon hours spent in the car. Not a good situation. Besides, Chelsea came up for the weekend and Rachel and Chris came up on Sunday and stayed til yesterday. We had us some good times!

So,the real countdown begins, along with the hardcore preparation... haha. That is to say, the delayed preparation of me trying to get as much done in as little time as possible. Almost done with work, going to leave Duluth tomorrow night to spend what my last weekend at home and man oh man, beside the actual packing and everything I need to do to get ready, I have so much going on this weekend! Trying on a bridesmaid dress, seeing my stepfamily at the lake on Sunday, seeing friends, a barbeque the night before I leave, even a dentist appointment. That's a lot of stuff to do in four days. As busy as I'll be, I'm glad that I'll get to see so many people while I'm there... and being so busy will probably take my mind off of the actual leaving. Craziness.

Well, I should probably go do some stuff. I'm sure I'll get at least one more elaborately detailed and scintillating blog in before I leave... and after that, I'll try and post as much as I can in Venezuela but I can't make any promises as to the frequency. But... here's another picture of Merida!: 

Two weeks from today and I will be on my way to Miami, where I will spend a night in some airport hotel (but probably not sleep very much because I'll be lying there in nervous anticipation) and then be off to Venezuela the very next day. I'm very excited and have been very excited all summer but now I'm getting nervous too. Nervous about all the obvious things - going to a foreign country, where they speak another language that I am now doubting that I can even really speak/understand properly (I'm pretty sure it was a dream that I could ever speak Spanish). Starting school is a big one, I always get a little nervous about starting school every year but now I'm starting school in South America. Where I don't know anyone. Um, what else? I don't have my visa yet. My passport is still in the clutches of the Venezuelan Consulate in Chicago and who knows when they will release it to me. I... sort of need that. I can't leave the country without it. Give me my passport, evil Consulado General de Venezuela!

My parents decided to go to New York tomorrow, lord knows why, and they want me to go with and even offered to PAY ME to go because I would miss my last week of work. Should I go? I don't know. I won't say exactly how much it was but they offered to pay me more than I would make in a week of work but the anxiety is rising and I feel like I should stay here and do stuff but what do I have to do? I won't get anything done! PACK! I have to pack! I'm even stressed about packing and I never stress about packing and I haven't even started packing and oh my god, why haven't I started packing yet? Why am I such a procrastinator? I have to go start packing!

Haha, who gave the crazy girl the okay to go to Venezuela? Whew. Just kidding. I'll be okay. Just getting a little too anxious when I know that worrying will really not accomplish anything and that I will get everything done that needs to get done and that things are bound to go wrong and that's okay too. Right? Okay.

No Venezuela fact today, instead I have this picture of lovely Merida for you all to enjoy. And also to calm myself. Oooo, pretty Merida! That's where I'll be, two weeks from tomorrow! (Click on the picture to get the full splendor.)