Soccer

On Sunday, I went to a soccer game.  It was Merida's team, Los Estudiantes de Merida, against somebody I don't remember.  I got some good photos and videos from it.  Unfortunately there were no vuvuzelas or large crowds of people, but there were police there to escort the referees off the field so people didn't throw things at them.  The game ended at a tie of 0-0, so it wasn't too exciting, but there were some close calls at scores.

In the morning I awoke to the usual sounds of birds. In the US, this would be fine, except these birds have a sound like a mix of crow, seagull, and parrot.  It sounds like someone is dying.

Then I walked over to where I could take the trolley.  I live across a viaduct, which is essentially a bridge.  I love the viaduct, even though no one is supposed to walk across it a night or people will try to rob you or gang up on you.  It's such a pretty view, and the bridge itself is fascinating to me.

This is my favorite thing about the bridge.  It says: GOBIERNO SOCIALISTA DE MERIDA. Or in English, SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT OF MERIDA.  It is so interesting to me.  I cross it every day, and I always make sure to look at it until I pass it.  It is a very blunt reminder of where you are, and what kind of life you must live.  Everything is painted colorful here. It is a stark contrast. Poverty in pretty colors.  I once heard that Chavez, the president, once gave an excuse as to why no one had air conditioning, and it was that Americans all had it so that they would not have to open their windows and enjoy the view outside.

This is a view from over the viaduct.

But anyway, once I boarded the trolley, I was on my way to the soccer stadium.  The trolley is the nicest, most technologically advanced bus in the whole city.  It runs on a cable in the middle of the road, on its own path.  But the best part about it is that it's completely free.

I like things that are clean.

But we finally reached our stop, and got off. I would not have known where to go.  Luckily I ran into a friend on the bus who was also going to the game.  Even if I had known the right stop, I would have not known where to go after that.  You had to double back a little, cross the street, and slip in between this little fence and a concrete wall.  That took you up a dirt path, which then got you to the stadium.  We bought cheap tickets, and then went inside and took our seats.

People organized their own pep bands to cheer for the team.

Their mascot is a bear.

 These guys thought it would be a good idea to climb on the fence.  It was the most reckless behavior of the game.  That little boy was so content with himself for climbing the fence even though the guy told him to stay down.

Hey guys!!! I have videos!!  Yay for cheering fans.  They were shouting or singing something for the entire game.

Hot Springs

On Saturday, we took a trip to the hot springs close to Musui. My Venezuelan friend Jose told me that this one was totally better than the one I couldn't go to the previous weekend because I was sick.  So I was like cool!  He also said that there would be a little walk, maybe a half hour up hill, a half hour flat.  And I was like ok, I can probably do that.

So I get up at 6 am cause Jose likes early mornings.  I met up with people in our group at the bus station and then proceeded to take a bus for an hour up to the mountains.  I remembered a little of it from our first excursion to the mountains.  Then we stopped at this tiny little village, got a pastel for breakfast, and then all crammed into the back of an off-road truck to get to the road. There were 12 of us in the back of this van. Luckily it was only like 15 minutes or so.  When we got to the place, it was all mountain scenery.  We started walking down the path we thought we were supposed to take.  This is my before picture.

As it turns out, altitude is not my friend.  While I was not having the headaches or nausea that others were having, I was not able to really catch my breath, and any kind of effort I put out took immense amounts of energy.  Luckily it was not a very long climb, so I made it up there eventually. But I was exhausted and mildly light-headed.  We had to walk a tiny path along the side of the mountain for like another 20 minutes, but we finally reached the hot spring.  It was amazing.  It looks like cold lake water, but what it actually is is a natural hot tub.  So we just hung out here for most of the day, while the steam blew off the water from time and again. Here are some pictures of it, of us, and of the view.

(This photo is actually courtesy of one of my friends, whose parents got her an indestructible camera.)

I did mention that the first photo was the before photo, and with every before, there must be an after.  After we were done with the springs, the trip back was still challenging, as we had forgotten how exhausted our bodies were because of the altitude and of the climb.  I did not manage to take an after picture, but if I had, I imagine it would look something like this.

(converse shoes and all.)

But I was very proud of myself for doing it. Afterward I was like yeah, exercise!! Maybe if I ever get courage and a group with a ton of patience, I'll do it again before I leave.  But here's a picture of the group that went.

Due to increasingly frequent electricity and internet outages, I don't think I'll be able to post as often as I have in the past.  I've been working on this one all week.  Don't freak out.

A Nature Story

Did you know that when Amerigo Vespucci first came to Venezuela, he saw one of the native tribes' village?  They were little huts built right on top of the water, held out of the water by large wooden posts as foundation.  This reminded him of Venice, Italy, another city built on the water.  And from the Italian word for Venice, Venezia, came the name Venezuela.  Little did he know that hundreds of years later, the similarities of these two cities would still be apparent, even though the huts of the natives have long since disappeared.  When it rains here, it's like the roads turn into rivers.  The water pools even though there are no holes to pool into.  Ankle deep, the current is unmistakable. You can see leaves and trash floating down the road.  But this only seems to happen really when it gets dark.  It rarely rains during the day, and when it does, it's never as hard as when it rains at night.  I was on my way home when it started pouring out.  I broke out the poncho for the first time.  I don't think I looked as ridiculous as I thought I would.

Today I went to the botanical gardens.  They are entirely outdoors.  They have the usual parts, like a garden full of flowers and ponds, but they also have a challenge course like at Butler and an untouched area of rain forest, save for a tiny path you can walk on.  Naturally we went straight for the rain forest. However, I was not too happy because had I known we were going on a nature hike, I would have at least worn tennis shoes instead of sneakers and would have brought bug repellent.

But I still managed to appreciate the coolness of everything.

Outside of the rain forest, there were actual exhibits and displays.

(This is bamboo. I had no idea it was so dense.)

It was a shame I had to leave before I could see the whole thing.  Hopefully we'll go back.  This is so interesting to visit because I'm taking an Ecology class here, and so I think of all these plants in the adaptations they had to make over time to survive.  The days are getting busier.

I'm Trying to Take More Pictures

It is with great regret to inform you that I did indeed have a parasite.  I took medicine for it for three days: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  My weekend was ruined.  But now I'm better.

I keep forgetting that this city is actually at a pretty decent altitude.  Which is why I keep thinking it's really cool when the clouds are really close when it rains. You can see them covering the mountaintops, which also seem not that tall from far away.

I also like the city at night.

Venezuela has the best desserts I have ever tasted.  Everything is delicious and rich.  Even plain cake with no icing is good.  Some bakeries even grind the sugar straight from the cane to make it, which is why I think it's so delicious.

Nobody uses credit cards here.  So whenever you need money, you have to go to the bank to get however much you need out.  There are no ATM's except at the bank. I think it's some kind of ordeal also, lots of paperwork and such.  But you have to get up early and go to the bank, because you'll be waiting there forever.

(There's a line inside the bank also)

You know how when you're a little kid, and you're told not to take rides from strangers? This is an example of one of the buses I take to school sometimes.

(I'm not lying. This is an actual bus.)

But probably the saddest part of Merida is that there are stray dogs everywhere. Sweet looking, cuddly dogs that obviously only want to be loved, and you can't pet them because they'll bite you and you'll get rabies.  They just wander the streets and if you ignore them, they won't bug you.  But if they catch you paying attention to them, like I did in the second picture below, they'll start barking and growling.  Good thing there was a fence.

Must. Not. Pet.

(There were like three or four of these dogs that just live in this little foresty fenced off area.)