Friday, November 30, 2007
BTW
Sorry there are no pictures. My computer is down right now and it is the only one that has the software for my camera...
Brides and Bouquetes
One of the biggest events that can happen in a place like this is a wedding. When you live on a campus, you don’t have to be family or even friends of the soon-to-be happy couple in order to get excited. For weeks everyone is excited thinking about it, mostly about the cake but other things as well…like the food…Everyone eats in the cafe here, students and staff alike. So when we hear the word ‘wedding’ it is immediately translated into ‘good food’ before the sound waves reach the inner ear. Of course I wasn’t on of those sort…
Actually, I was rather one of the friends of the bride. Not one of the sort that gets to march down the isle in a beautiful gown. One of the kind that gets to do the brute work, you know that sort, and arrive at the wedding looking haggardly. I had less time to get myself ready when the big day arrived then I do on an average work day at the lifestyle center. In fact I didn’t even take a shower until two hours after the wedding was scheduled to begin. Of course, as I might have mentioned before, things are different in Venezuela.
When a wedding is near Christmas, the traditional food to eat is ajacas (don’t know the spelling for that one). These are made by wrapping a layer of cornmeal, gluten, red and green bell peppers, onions, potatoes, carrots, green olives and raisins in a banana leaf and steaming them for one hour. In America we would recognize them by the name Tamales. Even though it sounds easy, these little guys are immensely laborious. It took four of us, two entire days to make a sufficient quantity for the wedding. I peeled carrots, onions, and potatoes until my hands turned various shades of yellow, brown and black. Now a week later, I can still smell carrot peels on my hands.
That was Wednesday and Thursday’s work. Then on Friday I accompanied two ladies into town to help with decoration ideas and also to buy the bride a gift, though in the end they really didn’t consult me in the slightest on décor ideas. I would have gone with a theme, say red and white. Red roses and baby’s breath for the brides bouquet, white gladioluses for the bridesmaids tied with a red ribbon, some sheer white fabric draped on the armrests of the chairs down the isles accentuated with red flowers with a little greenery thrown in…
In the end we came out with red, white, pink, purple, blue and yellow. That’s a theme I guess…a circus theme if nothing else…
I was also lined up to play the marches with another violinist and a pianist, and they do a lot of marching here in Venezuela. First the family, then the enormous crowd of bridesmaids and groomsmen, then the bride. So we had four classical pieces to practice for all the separate marches. I certainly would have thought that a little practice ahead of time would be reasonable…did I mention that things are different here?..
The wedding was scheduled to start at 10:30 and all us musicians were there right on the button, 10:30 sharp; dressed in jean skirts and T-shirts, with greasy mops for a hairdo, and flip-flops on our feet…practicing the music for the first time. Lucky for us, the bride had no intention of getting there at 10:30.
Since I happen to have the nicest camera on campus, I also got the role of photographer. So I ran home, took the world’s quickest shower, grabbed the camera and headed to the brides quarters to take dozens of photos. Pictures of the bride getting her hair done, pictures of the bride fixing her veil, pictures of the bride leaving the house, pictures of the bride on the lawn looking all beautiful in white against the green grass, pictures of the bride getting into the car, (Melissa gets into the car with the bride) Pictures of the bride in the car…
We arrive at the auditorium. I quick bag the camera and grab the violin. In waltzes the family, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and alas…the bride.
And the rest…is history…
Actually, I was rather one of the friends of the bride. Not one of the sort that gets to march down the isle in a beautiful gown. One of the kind that gets to do the brute work, you know that sort, and arrive at the wedding looking haggardly. I had less time to get myself ready when the big day arrived then I do on an average work day at the lifestyle center. In fact I didn’t even take a shower until two hours after the wedding was scheduled to begin. Of course, as I might have mentioned before, things are different in Venezuela.
When a wedding is near Christmas, the traditional food to eat is ajacas (don’t know the spelling for that one). These are made by wrapping a layer of cornmeal, gluten, red and green bell peppers, onions, potatoes, carrots, green olives and raisins in a banana leaf and steaming them for one hour. In America we would recognize them by the name Tamales. Even though it sounds easy, these little guys are immensely laborious. It took four of us, two entire days to make a sufficient quantity for the wedding. I peeled carrots, onions, and potatoes until my hands turned various shades of yellow, brown and black. Now a week later, I can still smell carrot peels on my hands.
That was Wednesday and Thursday’s work. Then on Friday I accompanied two ladies into town to help with decoration ideas and also to buy the bride a gift, though in the end they really didn’t consult me in the slightest on décor ideas. I would have gone with a theme, say red and white. Red roses and baby’s breath for the brides bouquet, white gladioluses for the bridesmaids tied with a red ribbon, some sheer white fabric draped on the armrests of the chairs down the isles accentuated with red flowers with a little greenery thrown in…
In the end we came out with red, white, pink, purple, blue and yellow. That’s a theme I guess…a circus theme if nothing else…
I was also lined up to play the marches with another violinist and a pianist, and they do a lot of marching here in Venezuela. First the family, then the enormous crowd of bridesmaids and groomsmen, then the bride. So we had four classical pieces to practice for all the separate marches. I certainly would have thought that a little practice ahead of time would be reasonable…did I mention that things are different here?..
The wedding was scheduled to start at 10:30 and all us musicians were there right on the button, 10:30 sharp; dressed in jean skirts and T-shirts, with greasy mops for a hairdo, and flip-flops on our feet…practicing the music for the first time. Lucky for us, the bride had no intention of getting there at 10:30.
Since I happen to have the nicest camera on campus, I also got the role of photographer. So I ran home, took the world’s quickest shower, grabbed the camera and headed to the brides quarters to take dozens of photos. Pictures of the bride getting her hair done, pictures of the bride fixing her veil, pictures of the bride leaving the house, pictures of the bride on the lawn looking all beautiful in white against the green grass, pictures of the bride getting into the car, (Melissa gets into the car with the bride) Pictures of the bride in the car…
We arrive at the auditorium. I quick bag the camera and grab the violin. In waltzes the family, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and alas…the bride.
And the rest…is history…
Friday, November 9, 2007
Rubber Ducky
The end of a very long, very hot day... I think I'll take a shower. What a blissful thought. It will be cold, infact it will probably be very cold, but no problem. Unfortunately I share a bathroom with seven others and it is often all tied up on Friday afrernoons as it is this particular day. Fortunately for me I have other options as Elizabeth temporarely has her own private bathroom. So I gleefully tote my things to her bathroom to take a shower. First thing I notice is that the bathroom has no light. It has a light bulb and a switch but unfortunately nothing significant happens when I move the switch to the 'on' position. Well no worries, it will be a cold, dark shower; but algo es algo, peor es nada (to be translated, ¨something is something, worse would be nothing¨).
Ahh yes, nice...cold... shower. Despite the cold I am thoroughly enjoying myself. The first half of the shower is rather uneventful. Then right about the time I get all bubbly from the top of my head to the tip of my toes my little stream of water turns to a trickle and disappears entirely, and I am left peering out from beneath the bubbles at the dry pipe sticking out of the wall I had just so recently called my shower. The longer I stared at the pipe the less I liked it.
What to do when the neither the shower nor the sink will produce so much as a drop of water...? By now I am really disliking the stupid, good for nothing, worthless, delinquent pipe. Slowely the bubbles all pop one by one and I am left standing there all sticky-like. So I resignedly step out of the shower and start wiping off the rest of the soap, when lo and behold the shower starts up again.
YES!!!
I make a flying leap back into the shower and step under the trickle of water just in time to catch the last three drops before it goes off again.
This time I share with the worthless pipe what exactly I think of it.
Again I resignedly step out and continue to dry off the bubbles. The little spit of water seemed to have rejuvinated the soap back into bubbles. I'm still giving the shower some strongly-worded counsel when the water starts coming again.
This time I think rationally about the situation, reach in and turn it off.
Ahh yes, nice...cold... shower. Despite the cold I am thoroughly enjoying myself. The first half of the shower is rather uneventful. Then right about the time I get all bubbly from the top of my head to the tip of my toes my little stream of water turns to a trickle and disappears entirely, and I am left peering out from beneath the bubbles at the dry pipe sticking out of the wall I had just so recently called my shower. The longer I stared at the pipe the less I liked it.
What to do when the neither the shower nor the sink will produce so much as a drop of water...? By now I am really disliking the stupid, good for nothing, worthless, delinquent pipe. Slowely the bubbles all pop one by one and I am left standing there all sticky-like. So I resignedly step out of the shower and start wiping off the rest of the soap, when lo and behold the shower starts up again.
YES!!!
I make a flying leap back into the shower and step under the trickle of water just in time to catch the last three drops before it goes off again.
This time I share with the worthless pipe what exactly I think of it.
Again I resignedly step out and continue to dry off the bubbles. The little spit of water seemed to have rejuvinated the soap back into bubbles. I'm still giving the shower some strongly-worded counsel when the water starts coming again.
This time I think rationally about the situation, reach in and turn it off.
SWAK
David Restrepo/Melissa Thrash
Apartado Postal 489
Barquisimeto, Venezuela
telephono: 251-2525635
This is my whole and complete address, a very difficult thing for me to believe since my address in India was seven lines long. But they assure me it is true.
BTW I love mail...
Apartado Postal 489
Barquisimeto, Venezuela
telephono: 251-2525635
This is my whole and complete address, a very difficult thing for me to believe since my address in India was seven lines long. But they assure me it is true.
BTW I love mail...
Friday, November 2, 2007
Rain and Shine
Again a country with rainy and dry seasons, I had almost forgotten what it was like. The smell of fresh, soured clothes, wet off the line; mud as a permanent fixture on your feet, and worse your clothes. You wash the mud off the clothes and hang them on the line to sour…I mean dry, and again wear them to get mud all over them…vicious cycle. But it is the end of the rainy season. We will soon enter the dry season when all the beautiful green all around us will change to golden brown, and they tell me the mud is great compared to not having any water to take showers with. Do I ever know that’s true! In India I resorted to taking a bath with water that was green with algae at times because there was none else to be had. We are blessed in America with so many things. My home has a well of its very own …a luxury this campus cannot afford, not even for the lifestyle center. They are dependant on the mountain spring to give them water. When the mountain is brown you can imagine what happens to their tiny little spring.
The other night one of the girls had a birthday. Birthdays are great fun. Desserts come on rare occasions here, namely birthdays and Christmas. Since I was lucky enough to be invited, I received a very large piece of cake which I thoroughly enjoyed.
My Spanish is coming right along. My room mate had a very lengthy chat with me the other night, reprimanding me for spending too much time with the English speakers and speaking too much English in general. The fact that I caught approximately 47.5% of what she was saying all in itself is a great improvement over the ten of so word I knew when I arrived. I carry my Spanish/English dictionary with me to work every day now. Working at the lifestyle center can be very interesting at times. There isn’t a single person down there who speaks English. You would be shocked at exactly how much communicating goes on between two people that don’t speak the same language though.
Despite the obstacles, I truly love Venezuela. Please pray for me that I will learn the language quickly, and that I will leave a lasting influence for good on these young people.
melissa
The other night one of the girls had a birthday. Birthdays are great fun. Desserts come on rare occasions here, namely birthdays and Christmas. Since I was lucky enough to be invited, I received a very large piece of cake which I thoroughly enjoyed.
My Spanish is coming right along. My room mate had a very lengthy chat with me the other night, reprimanding me for spending too much time with the English speakers and speaking too much English in general. The fact that I caught approximately 47.5% of what she was saying all in itself is a great improvement over the ten of so word I knew when I arrived. I carry my Spanish/English dictionary with me to work every day now. Working at the lifestyle center can be very interesting at times. There isn’t a single person down there who speaks English. You would be shocked at exactly how much communicating goes on between two people that don’t speak the same language though.
Despite the obstacles, I truly love Venezuela. Please pray for me that I will learn the language quickly, and that I will leave a lasting influence for good on these young people.
melissa
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