My Last Days in Venezuela

This blog update comes to you from onboard my flight to Buenos Aires from Caracas.

My last day with my Host family in Margarita was a nice way to end my exchange experience there. During the day, I made a Pavlova for my family, which although they seemed to like, I didn’t think it was very good. They don’t have caster sugar here, or baking paper. And, if you’ve ever made a Pavlova, you’d probably know that you need baking paper. Due to the sugar not being as fine as caster sugar, it was pretty much impossible to dissolve all of the sugar, which I spent about two hours trying to do. Also, I didn’t have fruit, so on top was just cream. But yeah, my host family seemed to like it, so it doesn’t really matter, does it?

Well, after I’d left the Pavlova in the oven to cool, I went with my family to the Fortin de Juan Griego, located in the town of Juan Griego. I had a nice time there with my family, we watched some of the sun set, and then made our way home.

The last night I had in Margarita wasn’t spent sleeping, due to the fact that I had to finish packing my bags, although I don’t think I would’ve been able to sleep even if I tried. The last few days I had in Margarita were partially filled by pockets of horrible sadness, as I began to realize that I’m leaving my new family, and I have no idea of when I’ll be able to see them again. What’s nice though, is when I came to Venezuela; I came to live with some strangers, who eventually became my Venezuelan family, the people who I’m going to miss a lot.

Before I left, I was told several times that, while leaving New Zealand may be hard (I didn’t really find it particularly hard), leaving your exchange country is going to be a lot harder. It turned out to be true. I don’t think you could ever really imagine how hard it would be, I definitely didn’t think it was going to be as hard as it was, as it is. When I came to Venezuela, it was pretty much just another country. Now that I’m leaving, I’m leaving my second home, Like I said previously, I came to live with strangers who became my family, a random woman who became my Venezuelan mum. I’ve come to love this country, and accept the things I don’t like about it. What perplexes me now, is why Venezuela isn’t a much more popular exchange destination. Sure, it has its problems, but it is a truly beautiful country, with so many different things to see. Beautiful beaches, wonderful wildlife, big cities, and so much more. The people too, generally, are just so open, friendly, and accepting. And no, I’m not writing a promotion for the Venezuelan tourism industry. I know that I’ll return as soon as I can.

Another reason I didn’t sleep was the fact that we had to leave at about 4AM to go to the airport. Once I’d finished packing and was already, I sat around and tried to relax. We left the apartment at about 4.30AM, and made our way to the airport in the early morning darkness. My family took me to the airport, and following the normal airport procedure, bid me a sad farewell. When taking a few last photos, I was told to smile, but I found it a little hard, due to the circumstance.

We arrived to Caracas at about half past seven, and waited around for a few hours for other students from other cities, and then went to the location where our end of stay orientation was to take place. I left a day earlier than everyone else there, due to flight schedules, but while I was there we did some typical activities, and had a chance to talk, in small groups, about how we felt.

I left for the airport a day after I arrived, accompanied by some AFS volunteers, and did the necessary airport things. I went through security fairly quickly; at least compared to a few experiences I’ve had, and then started to walk around looking at shops and stuff. Before I left Margarita, my mum had been looking for a shirt of the Venezuelan Football team, La Vinotinto, in my size to give to me. Neither she nor I were able to find one in Margarita. But, luckily, after asking a few people out and inside the airport if they were sold at the airport, I found one in my size. I was extremely happy to finally get a shirt, and it brightened up a sad day for me. If you didn’t already know, in Venezuela there is a currency control system in place. This makes it pretty much impossible to exchange Bolivares for other currencies outside of Venezuela, so I was stuck with the task of spending the remaining money I had. I went to one store with nice looking souvenir things, and started talking with the woman working there. I told her I wanted to spend the remaining Bolivares I had, explaining why, and then started talking about my time in Venezuela, where I was going and other related things. I bought a small Venezuelan flag, to accompany the other one my family gave me, and a Venezuelan shot glass. I had the exact amount of money to make the purchase. Well, demonstrating the friendliness that so many Venezuelans show, she gave me a nice Venezuelan bracelet type thing for free, and let me keep my last one Bolivar coin as a souvenir.

I think they ways that my exchange has ended have been almost perfect, and I’m quite grateful for that. But I miss Venezuela and my family quite a lot. It's hard to believe it's over and how fast it went.