I spent the weekend in Mérida, a beautiful city in the Andean region of the Venezuela, with a population about 200,000. On weekends, cyclists in full spandex zip up and down the mountain roads, people enjoy a cafecito in the beautiful Plaza Bolivar, and a university crowd fills up the lively disc[...]
Archive for the ‘Venezuela’ Category
Crossing Cultures: Madam Tooth Fairy, meet Sr. Ratón Pérez
While I enjoy teaching here in Caracas, my favorite part of my grant work is serving as an unofficial ambassador of United States culture for my English-language institution, the Venezuelan-American Center. Among other presentations and projects, I work with teenage students studying at the Cente[...]
Why Simón, what large sideburns you have!
Before I start, I must beg ignorance; I’ve never considered myself a Latin American history buff by any means. My knowledge of the region is mostly limited to post-1900 imperialist meddling in Central America by an overzealous United States, and the ensuing fallout that lasted well into the [...]
Going Once, Twice, SOLD!
After combing the city for months looking for a health-oriented NGO, a friend pointed me towards Acción Solidaria, which focuses on providing education and resources to combat VIH/SIDA (that’s HIV/AIDS to all you English-speakers) in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. Nestled in[...]
The Panadería – A Lesson in Venezuelan Deliciousness
How do we not have these in the States?! I’d like to take a moment to talk about the Venezuelan panadería, and why these little shops fill me with warm fuzzies. Panadería translates to “bakery,” but it is so much more. They’re nestled in business districts and resident[...]
