After a week long farewell trip from Pennsylvania to Oklahoma I hopped on a plane with two suitcases and a backpack and moved to Venezuela. Getting here was a bit stressful but I learned a few things about traveling internationally.
- DFW airport has mice and large muscular grown men can squeal and hop out of their seats like a small girl when one of those mice runs under their chair.
- Flying two different airlines with no baggage agreement is a pain. I highly suggest avoiding this if possible.
- Planes that aren't loaded like a can of sardines seem to have a more lively atmosphere.
- People are willing to help others who don't know much of the local language.
- Venezuelan taxi drivers are normal people who slapped a taxi sticker on their car.
- No speed limits. Anything posted as such are just suggestions that everyone ignores. No pedestrian right of way. Lots of light flashing and honking.Rush hour looks like the India driving videos you see only with larger cars.
- Bicycle helmets can double as motorcycle helmets.
Those were a few things I could think of that I have learned in the last 24 hours. Overall my trip to Anaco was good. Once I got into the taxi I was on my own with speaking the language. My skills at Spanish are rudimentary so it was a unique experience testing them out because no one knew any English. It is a slightly frightening experience to live somewhere that you can't understand 95% of what is being said. I expect it will get better quickly and I am working hard to improve it as fast as I can.
Today I met with a relocation manager who showed me around town gave me some ins and outs of how things work around here. I even got help from our taxi driver when he found out I was looking for an apartment. The driver's sister was a relater so he gave her a call. Keep your fingers crossed that I get to move out of the hotel at the end of the month.
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| Upstairs Lobby of my hotel. Open at both ends and no air conditioner. Very nice. |
