I have had a busy few months and finally am able to continue with this blog. I have many new exciting things to discuss as well as some more tragic ones. I will rapid fire some new blogs the following weeks to catch up with my experiences here in Venezuela and I would like to start my new year of blogging by giving a short memorial to two people who recently departed this world. They taught me one of the tough things about living abroad. The fact that you can't always return home at the drop of a hat and might miss important things back home.
My past several months here in Venezuela has taught me to live with the fact that some things are difficult to get or find. Things such as butter, toilet paper, sugar flower, milk and water can at times be nearly impossible to find. Last minute international plane flights are another item on that list. However it doesn't really sink in how important it might be until you search for that last minute flight.
I have never before missed the seemingly ridiculous amount of convince that we take for granted back home than the day I got the news that my Aunt Eileen passed away. Had I been in Pennsylvanian I would have had no problem grabbing a bag from home and catching the next flight to Nevada and be there in time for the funeral. However the next flight I could get out of Venezuela would be a month away and more than a two day trip to arrive. I knew moving to a new country would be difficult and I might encounter something like this when I made the decision to move but it sometimes takes the actual event happening before you feel the full effect of your decision to move abroad.
This is on the top of my list of difficult things to deal with. In two months I have had to say bye to an Aunt and Uncle and grieve for them in a foreign country. However, I have been blessed with living in a country with some of the warmest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. This warmness goes beyond the communication barrier and has given me the opportunity to make wonderful friends here. It
is an amazing feeling knowing that even though I can't accurately express my sadness in words to those around me they will not hesitate to give me a comforting embrace or sit and listen while I babble at them in my foreign language.
And so, I would like to devote this post to the DeVitos, two of my family members, who will be missed but not forgotten:
First, my Uncle Johnny, who was a wonder to me as a kid. He was tall man with an excellent mustache who made everyone feel like they were a long lost friend come home. He always wore a smile and had plenty of stories to share. With his strong new jersey accent, a wine glass in one hand, and a cigar in the other he will be hard to forget. He left earth on Thanksgiving 2013 surrounded by loved ones and thought about by loved ones scattered across the globe.
Second, is my mother's sister Aunt Eileen. She was the most glamorous aunt I had as a child. The fashionista who always had some new fashion accessory, the latest health tips, or advice about boys for her nieces. Her relationship with my mother and her other siblings showed me that even though you may not always agree with them, they will always be family and you will always love them. She joined her husband Johnny in eternal sleep on January 10, 2014.
These two people will always be remembered and though I am unable to grieve with my family I am in good hands. I have my friends here in this little town in the middle of Venezuela who remind me to remember the good things and never take for granted the small things and unique people you have in your life.
