I returned to Ohio at the end of last week, but plan to keep writing in this blog to reflect on other aspects of my year in Venezuela, considering that even though the experience is over, I haven't stopped learning from it.
On my way home from a job interview, I was slightly delayed because of rush hour traffic. I was surprised at how little it affected me. A year ago, I would've been extremely stressed in that bumper-to-bumper situation and it would've tired me much more. However, I became used to the traffic jams in Caracas at all hours of the day and night and Cleveland's rush hour pales in comparison. On the other hand, when traffic was flowing smoothly, I felt that I always had plenty of room and time to change lanes and maneuver safely and efficiently through traffic. It almost felt like the rest of the world was moving in slow motion.
Living in Caracas, in spite of its ups and downs, has made me a better person. One of the hardest parts of my reincorporation into American society will be to focus on those positive changes and try to learn from the difficult, more frustrating moments I lived through while there.
Since I've been back, I have had time to reflect on how Venezuela has affected every aspect of my person. One of the most striking differences I have noted in my personality is my level of patience. In Caracas, patience is a necessary quality, given the time one spends carrying out various and sundry (often mundane) tasks throughout the day. For example, it wasn't out of the ordinary to spend the entire morning waiting in line at the bank to make a deposit, nor letting four overflowing trains pass by before being able to squeeze into the subway.
On my way home from a job interview, I was slightly delayed because of rush hour traffic. I was surprised at how little it affected me. A year ago, I would've been extremely stressed in that bumper-to-bumper situation and it would've tired me much more. However, I became used to the traffic jams in Caracas at all hours of the day and night and Cleveland's rush hour pales in comparison. On the other hand, when traffic was flowing smoothly, I felt that I always had plenty of room and time to change lanes and maneuver safely and efficiently through traffic. It almost felt like the rest of the world was moving in slow motion.
Living in Caracas, in spite of its ups and downs, has made me a better person. One of the hardest parts of my reincorporation into American society will be to focus on those positive changes and try to learn from the difficult, more frustrating moments I lived through while there.
