Before the storm
The storm coming in
The grey soupiness that "erased" the cityIn other news, I got my phone fixed, which has facilitated the apartment search. Tomorrow I have a couple of appointments to see rooms and Nelly has agreed to come and help me decide. It eases my mind to have a Venezuelan (especially such a nice one!) come with me, so that I won't run into any problems.
This afternoon when I was out getting my phone fixed, I noticed the number of stores/malls here. In the town I lived in in Spain, there were many real estate offices, bar/cafeterias, several grocery stores and a few dollar stores. Here, I've noticed many, many malls and more fast food places than bars/cafeterias. These malls aren't the kind that I'm used to in the US, either, long and flat, usually not more than 2 or 3 floors. The mall, El Recreo, was 6 or 8 floors, a massive building with a mix of American and Spanish stores. I was elated to discover a hot soft pretzel stand, though, as pretzels don't seem to be as popular in countries outside of the US (except Germany, of course). Cell phone stores abounded and I wasn't surprised to hear that many Venezuelans have 2 cell phones, in order to call between the same networks (as in call from a Movistar line to Movistar users and use the other phone for other companies). I was, however, surprised to hear that many have as many as 3 or 4, for this same reason!
My impression of Caracas so far is that it's a small-town big city. It has a lot of big-city characteristics like size, population, variety, noise, but a small-town feel in that the people are very welcoming, and I wouldn't be surprised in a few months to run into someone I know in the streets in an area I don't usually frequent. When I went to the UCV to meet my professors today, I was greeted warmly and personally guided through the process. Not only did Profa. Yonis and Prof. Garaicoechea sit down with me and explain the registration procedures, they also gave me their personal cell phone numbers and said that if I had any problems, to feel free to call them.
In short, my experiences so far have exceeded my expectations.
This afternoon when I was out getting my phone fixed, I noticed the number of stores/malls here. In the town I lived in in Spain, there were many real estate offices, bar/cafeterias, several grocery stores and a few dollar stores. Here, I've noticed many, many malls and more fast food places than bars/cafeterias. These malls aren't the kind that I'm used to in the US, either, long and flat, usually not more than 2 or 3 floors. The mall, El Recreo, was 6 or 8 floors, a massive building with a mix of American and Spanish stores. I was elated to discover a hot soft pretzel stand, though, as pretzels don't seem to be as popular in countries outside of the US (except Germany, of course). Cell phone stores abounded and I wasn't surprised to hear that many Venezuelans have 2 cell phones, in order to call between the same networks (as in call from a Movistar line to Movistar users and use the other phone for other companies). I was, however, surprised to hear that many have as many as 3 or 4, for this same reason!
My impression of Caracas so far is that it's a small-town big city. It has a lot of big-city characteristics like size, population, variety, noise, but a small-town feel in that the people are very welcoming, and I wouldn't be surprised in a few months to run into someone I know in the streets in an area I don't usually frequent. When I went to the UCV to meet my professors today, I was greeted warmly and personally guided through the process. Not only did Profa. Yonis and Prof. Garaicoechea sit down with me and explain the registration procedures, they also gave me their personal cell phone numbers and said that if I had any problems, to feel free to call them.
In short, my experiences so far have exceeded my expectations.
