Oy, what a fun, yet frustrating weekend. Or maybe it's the other way around, I'm not really sure.

Have I ever mentioned how I love my "new" host family? They're really great. Have I ever mentioned how I hate the cash machines here? They're really not great. I know I said on Friday that I was going to go paragliding and bungee jumping and all that, and I really wish I had some great things to say about how much fun that was, but I couldn't go because the cash machines have not been working here... so I couldn't take out the money I needed to pay to go paragliding, and the agency didn't take credit cards or anything.

Not only are the cash machines not working, they are essentially ripping people off. I tried taking money out and then got an error message, saying it couldn't complete the transaction because it couldn't communicate with my institution. This happened to two other American students I know, Sara and Ryan, and they both had money deducted from their accounts, even though they didn't actually receive that money. Sara had over USD 600 taken out!!! Sure enough, I just checked my bank statement online and I had USD 78 withdrawn, but I never actually got that money. Arg, how frustrating. Gah, now I don't want to use the ATM here ever again, and yet going into the bank to take out money is a ridiculously complicated process. Oh well. :(

Well, despite all that, and not getting to go paragliding, it was a pretty good weekend. On Friday night, the power went out at my house (this happens a lot, actually) and my family was out, so Steph and I lit candles and talked in our kitchen. Then our family came home from Bible study (have I mentioned how they're Jehovah's Witnesses? In a country where 97% of the population is Catholic?) and we all talked and ate hot dogs til the power came back on. Then on Saturday night, Steph and I ended up babysitting our two "nieces" and one "nephew" for an hour and a half, and that was really fun. Mariana is our niece who lives with us, she's 8; then there's Genesis, she's 12 and Jose Alejandro, who is 2 and really, really cute. He makes me miss my nephews. We made them grilled cheese and taught them words in English. I also went out on Saturday night to an Clover's, which pretends to be an Irish pub, but really isn't, because this is Venezuela. It's not even owned by an Irish person. Who are they trying to fool?

This weekend I'm going on a trip to Lake Maracaibo, which is the largest lake in South America... there I will sleep in a hammock in a house on stilts... and see (hopefully) monkeys and freshwater dolphins and maybe some crocodiles... and the Catatumbo Lightning Phenomenon!