On the way out

Ok, top 10 things I will miss about Venezuela:

1. The people
2. 30 cent ice cream cones
3. Getting a little cup of coffee every time I visit a house
4. Wishing that gas cost 12 cents a gallon everywhere
5. The people
6. Bootleg DVD´s
7. Fried Plaintains
8. Speaking Spanish, sometimes
9. Being of above average height
10. Venezulanas

Top 10 things I won´t miss:

1. Flies, they´re everywhere
2. Arepas, duh.
3. Copious amounts of worthless change
4. Waiting for public transportation
5. Arepas
6. Walking past the cereal /chocolate milk powder aisle to get to the empty milk aisle
7. Crappy beer. I mean really crappy.
8. Over-enthusiastic car horn users
9. Music that features accordians
10. Farming

I´ve got two days left, then I´m out of here. Its been a great experience, but now that I know I´m leaving I´m really looking forward to being back in the states. Besides the obvious things like seeing my family/friends/dog, football, the english language, the holidays, and non fried-foods, there are a few other things that I´ve found myself looking forward to such as rugs/carpets, traffic laws, cracklin´oat bran, and reliable electical power.

As much as I´ve enjoyed Venezuela, I feel like I´ve gained a much greater appreciation for the U.S. I´ve had the same feeling in other countries as well, but this is the first time I´ve gotten to know the ins and outs of a normal local´s life well enough to spot the more subtle differences between countries. Like how much more difficult it is not only for people here to afford a university education, but how much more difficult it is to physically get to the university every day and how much harder it must be to learn from the limited materials and ill-equipped teachers. Or how much faster and better a damaged road gets repaired in the states, or just the lack of parks and ball-fields for kids to play in. I guess nowhere is perfect, but America is a damn fine place to live.

Ok, that´s it from Venezuela, see you soon.