chicavenezolana

Today I moved out of my neighbourhood (the Lower Ninth Ward of Caracas) into Chacaíta, a safer district. It turned out that my host, even though he himself is living rather modest, possesses another apartment in this more expensive district. And here I am. My new neighbourhood looks like L.A. I live in a condominium which reminds me very much of my time in the US (same doorknobs, same power socket, same bed, same kitchen and even the siren of policecars is the same). On top of that, I’m sharing the apartment with KC, a guy from Indiana. KC has been living here since April, doesn’t speak any Spanish, doesn’t work, spends most of the time online, hates to leave the house and does only so if he has to buy some food. If I didn’t know it any better, I would bet he is a CIA-Agent. KC came to Venezuela because he “couldn’t stand” living in the US anymore. However, his dreams about Venezuela didn’t come true either. He worked temporarily as an English teacher (“Didn’t work out”), tried to learn Spanish (“Didn’t work out either”) and wanted to get to know the country and its people (“Don’t even ask”). Seems I¨m quite lucky. Or is it just beginner¨s luck?

I have been in Caracas for one week now and – just for the record – I haven’t been mugged yet. I consider that a success For that reason, I will continue the precautious measurements I have taken which are:
- not wearing any kind of jewellery
- not going to the barrios (the ghettos) on my own and especially not at night
- being at home before sunset which is around six PM (no kidding. But the only time this voluntary curfew bothered me was yesterday, Saturday night. They were having a party on the street and I couldn´t go to the reggaetonbeats)
- not carrying anything valuable or important with me
- putting my purse in a plastic bag
- not carrying more than 20 Euros in my wallet
- everything above 20 Euros is carried in my socks

And most important of all: I wont let the crime hysteria ruin my stay in Caracas.