I decided to get a bit more personal today and talk about the cultures I was brought up in. As a girl who constantly moved around, living in almost all continents -- Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa -- I have seen and experienced more than most people in the world. Sure, I had this amazing opportunity, but moving around also had its negatives. I couldn't figure out where my home was. Since I moved countries every two years, I never got to stay in a country long enough to call it my 'home'.
But I'm not going to whine today. I feel too spoiled to whine, in fact. I would sound like I'm bragging about my 'petty' problem. Let's put my personal struggles aside and look at the positives...
Here's an interesting story. At one point in my life, not so long ago, I lived in Venezuela for 2 years. Our family lived in Caracas, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Crime-rates were high, inflation was soaring through the roof, and nothing was safe. There were many murders, robberies, and other horrible things that only existed in movies. Everything existed here. People were afraid to walk out at night; people had to be on high alert when riding cars (since many robbers on motorcycles threaten you to give them your phone). Every single person I knew had at least one encounter with a criminal or had been robbed.
If I'm really, super-duper honest, Caracas was one of the worst cities I've ever lived in. The people were quite rude (calling me weird names when I passed by), ugly meaningless graffiti covered the streets, and the whole country just seemed to be corrupt. Nothing was working correctly. My friends were all leaving, scared out of their wits. For the first time in my life, I was pretty scared, too. And to me, that was a huge deal, because I'm a girl who has visited so many "dangerous" cities in the Middle East.
I'm not going to say what my opinion on this man is, because it's very mixed. I've heard some really good things about him, such as how he really helped out the poor, and how he is a savior to them...and then I also heard some really bad things about him, such as how he ruined the paradise which Caracas once was, and how he messed up the politics and economy of Venezuela. I mean, it's hard for me to know where to stand when I'm hearing all these different opinions -- I don't want to be biased, of course. I would need to truly see from both classes' point of view before judging.
Anyhow, for 14 years this man was the leader of Venezuela. Change was nowhere to be seen. The situations in Caracas were getting worse and worse, yet people still loved him for what he was doing. The rich were getting angrier. Elections came and went, but Chavez kept control of the reigns.
I remember school being cancelled frequently as the elections neared. In the city, marches were held, and occasionally little fights would break out. I was tucked inside my house, away from what was going outside in the center of the city. Whenever there was class, I would hear my classmates talk about how amazing Capriles was. "Hay un Camino," people would quote, cheering.
Everywhere I went, there were advertisements. There were gigantic posters, graffiti, and newspaper advertisements with the faces of both leaders. It was such an interesting experience, seeing all this happen in front of my eyes. I was also very amused by how different newspapers and media shared this information. Some were pro-Chavez, trash talking Capriles and about how he was going to work with the U.S and only bring worse changes to Venezuela. Some were pro-Capriles, talking about the different changes Capriles would bring to the country.
Then suddenly, on March 5, 2013, Chavez passed away. Sparks were ignited again, and some people felt like hope was found again. The vice president of Chavez, Nicolás Maduro Moros (23, November, 1962), former bus-driver, was up against Capriles. Everything repeated -- the advertisements, arguing in class, and school cancellations. One time our family even found a mail in front of our house with a fake 1,000-bolivar bill with Maduro's face on it. It was funny.
Maduro won, but the results weren't as impressive as last time. It was a close win, unlike the Chavez v.s Capriles election. Things went really strangely from there. Many people in my class made fun of him, especially when Maduro said something about seeing Chavez in the form of a little blue bird one day. They were apparently very unsatisfied with how this man was ruling.
I left Venezuela after that, but I'm still in contact with many of my friends there. What I've heard is even more amusing. Apparently many of the attack is now being directed towards the U.S, and everything is being blamed on them. When I say everything, I mean little things as well, such as electrical black-outs, or floods. I knew something like this was going to happen, because one day while I was eating at the mall with my family, we saw a restaurant owner yelling at someone to leave. All the waiters and waitresses of the restaurant were giggling and waving at an angry, American family. "Racist!" I heard them shout as they descended down the escalator. The other people in the mall just made rude remarks and whistled, laughing along. As a person who has been poked fun at many times, I felt really bad for that family. They didn't deserve that. At all.
So this is what I had to say. I feel like I shouldn't be saying anything about the elections. I mean, I've only lived in Caracas for two years. I didn't really care much about the country like I did for my home-country, and I didn't want to have a biased opinion. I'm not the kind of person who jumps to conclusions just after hearing one side of the argument. All the leaders have their own stories and I respect everyone's beliefs, whether he/she is supporting Chavez, Capriles, or Maduro. I'm not going to say anything bad about that.
This experience was a very strange one. Caracas in general wasn't the best city to live in. The food and prices of clothes were good, but everything else wasn't -- in my opinion. There were just so many bizarre events happening in this country. Everything just seemed so unstable and weak. I hope that one day, when I return (which I probably won't do), Caracas would be a completely changed place. I really do hope that this place becomes amazing like it once was decades ago. Caracas is a beautiful place and would bring in a lot of tourists. The only problem is, it has so many things to fix.
