Elevator Conversations
After I got out of the elevator, having spoken to a woman in English, I realized how funny timed elevator conversations are. Often these conversations start belatedly, because both people are a bit uncomfortable with the stranger standing across from them. By the time someone finally risks a few words more than, “Buenas” [hey], the floor I am waiting for is fast approaching. Just when it seems we may have a good conversation going, the familiar “bing!” sounds, and I (or they) exit the elevator with a hurried last few words and “Chao!” The fallout is often, “Wait, I didn't ask what her name was,” or, “Why didn't I just ride up another floor and finish what I was saying?” The answer is the inevitable, “Oh well, hopefully I’ll see them again!”
After I got out of the elevator, having spoken to a woman in English, I realized how funny timed elevator conversations are. Often these conversations start belatedly, because both people are a bit uncomfortable with the stranger standing across from them. By the time someone finally risks a few words more than, “Buenas” [hey], the floor I am waiting for is fast approaching. Just when it seems we may have a good conversation going, the familiar “bing!” sounds, and I (or they) exit the elevator with a hurried last few words and “Chao!” The fallout is often, “Wait, I didn't ask what her name was,” or, “Why didn't I just ride up another floor and finish what I was saying?” The answer is the inevitable, “Oh well, hopefully I’ll see them again!”
You’d think in a
building such as mine, with only 2 elevators and 15 floors to accommodate, we’d
see most of our neighbors on a regular basis. The fact of the matter is that
the only people I run into on a regular basis are my neighbors next door, and
those who go to work at the same time as me.
Squirrels
Venezuelan squirrels are different than the ones in the US. I've tried to describe them before, and even found some Google images to email to friends in order to show the difference. A few weeks ago, I finally got the opportunity to watch one up close, and take some pictures of it. If you look carefully at the 3rd picture, you can see his orange tail. His underside is orange-ish too. He is eating the skin of a walnut-sized coconut. These types of palms grow all over the place down here.
Grapefruit
One of the things I noticed right away when I first moved here were the natural fruits and vegetables. I quickly learned the difference between the GMO (genetically modified organisms) foods that I'd eaten in the US, and their natural predecessors that I am privileged to eat down here.
My first discovery was that the stiff "handle" of the bananas would break off very easily, whereas in the US you have to really fight with it to break it off. The bananas definitely have more flavor here, though, which makes up for the weak handles.
My next discovery was grapes. They were delicious, but what giant, bitter seeds they had! I finally gave up buying them because of the annoyance of the seeds.
Grapefruits are my latest discovery. Delicious, sour and zesty, but again- the seeds! I am used to a handful of withered, slivers of seeds in the US. Here in Venezuela, I found more seeds in one half of a grapefruit than I'd ever seen from 2 whole grapefruits in the US! I still hold that natural fruits are much more tasty though, so I gladly look over the abundance of seeds in the case of the grapefruit, and the weak handle in the case of the bananas. Of course there are giant mangos and avocados here as well, something I never saw that big in the US.
Venezuelan squirrels are different than the ones in the US. I've tried to describe them before, and even found some Google images to email to friends in order to show the difference. A few weeks ago, I finally got the opportunity to watch one up close, and take some pictures of it. If you look carefully at the 3rd picture, you can see his orange tail. His underside is orange-ish too. He is eating the skin of a walnut-sized coconut. These types of palms grow all over the place down here.
Grapefruit
One of the things I noticed right away when I first moved here were the natural fruits and vegetables. I quickly learned the difference between the GMO (genetically modified organisms) foods that I'd eaten in the US, and their natural predecessors that I am privileged to eat down here.
My first discovery was that the stiff "handle" of the bananas would break off very easily, whereas in the US you have to really fight with it to break it off. The bananas definitely have more flavor here, though, which makes up for the weak handles.
My next discovery was grapes. They were delicious, but what giant, bitter seeds they had! I finally gave up buying them because of the annoyance of the seeds.
Grapefruits are my latest discovery. Delicious, sour and zesty, but again- the seeds! I am used to a handful of withered, slivers of seeds in the US. Here in Venezuela, I found more seeds in one half of a grapefruit than I'd ever seen from 2 whole grapefruits in the US! I still hold that natural fruits are much more tasty though, so I gladly look over the abundance of seeds in the case of the grapefruit, and the weak handle in the case of the bananas. Of course there are giant mangos and avocados here as well, something I never saw that big in the US.
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