Venezuela #3

Folks from the school







7/26/05
Friends, Loved ones, Family,So you may be asking yourself, another email from Liz...already? Well, yes. My life is fairly leisurly here. And after a while my legs get tired walking around, so I sit myself down in an internet cafe and write to you all about my adventures. I´ve been in Spanish classes for two days now. The school is very nice, they offer english classes for people here which is cool. I have class for two hours in the morning from 8 until 10 (very early) and then again from 2 to 4. So far it´s been pretty easy, but tonight I have to do some homework.Yesterday Simone and I stumbled upon a festival/protest in the street. Some people had a stage set up and different musicians performed. Anything from reggae in Spanish but with words like lion interspersed because it rhymes with zion to hip hop with beat boxing in the background to hard core rock and some young boys forming a mosh pit in front of the stage. There was also a clown show, jugglers, and so on. My kind of place. We chatted a bit with a guy who was helping to put it on. The artists of Merida were protesting because in the constitution here it says they can sell their art whereever they want, on the street or anywhere, but the police here don´t let them. It was also a celebration of the end of the 13 moon cycle of the Mayan calender and thus an international day of peace and the beginning of a new cycle. It was a lot of fun, and warmed my heart to see a bunch of artists being crazy in the streets.This morning the school hosted a little social hour for all the students complete with cake and punch and cheesy games. It was nice to chat with the other students a bit. A good bunch, some from Switzerland, Canada, the US, many different ages too. But, my favorite character was the caretaker of the school. His name is Feliz (which means happy) and he pretty much embodies his name. He really likes to do outdoor kind of stuff and sometimes takes students on adventures in the mountains, which I would definately like to do at some point before we leave. He is also an amature artist and astrologer doesn´t drink and likes to do yoga. I think we´ll get along great.So, things are going well here, making friends, exploring, eating arepas (these cornmeal things that people eat here), walking around A LOT. Every day we walk at least two hours total to go back and forth from school. Much love to you all