Lunches and Economic Lessons
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Well, let’s see…what’s been happening these last two weeks? Not much, really. Last weekend we had lunch with the parents of students and celebrated Mother’s Day with a group of Mexicans.
Saturday was spent at the home of a Brazilian family. Carrie has the older boy in her class and I have the younger girl in mine. They live in a beautiful apartment clear over on the other side of town. We enjoyed Brazilian cocktails and a fabulous sea food lunch.
Dad is the head of a large pharmaceutical company here. He runs the plant where the drugs are manufactured. He had an interesting observation about Venezuela. I had commented on the fact that there were always shortages of things like milk, flour, eggs, coffee. He said that before Chavez only twenty percent of the population had any disposable income. Since taking office, Hugo has redistributed wealth and made it possible for more people to purchase more things. Overall this is a good thing except that the infrastructure of the country can’t keep up.
Suddenly, sixty percent of the population can start buying stuff. Unfortunately, the factories aren’t capable of keeping up. Even if they could keep up, there are no trucks to deliver the goods. Even if there were trucks, there aren’t really any roads. Even if there were roads, there are no warehouses for storage. Even if there were warehouses, the markets aren’t designed to house the goods. The ports and airports too are woefully behind the times, making it all but impossible for supply to keep up with demand.
When put that way, things started to make sense. It also means that the problem won’t be fixed anytime in the near future, especially considering the fact that nobody is actually working to fix it.
Sunday was Mother’s Day. We went to a picnic at the International Club. The parents of one of my students are from Mexico. Mom has made it a point to identify the other Mexican families at the school. They get together on occasions such as this to celebrate together. One of the mothers there asked me how Zman was fitting in. I told her that since he didn’t speak Spanish, he was finding it difficult. She told me that it was not the Spanish; her kids also had difficulties fitting in. In fact, all the Mexican children were having difficulties, mostly because the Venezuelans are not open to outsiders.
That was a bit of a relief; to understand that it isn’t just him, but the culture that offers the challenge. It fits in with what we know already, but it doesn’t make staying here another year any easier. I am still dreading that.
I have been working to focus on the positive aspects of next year. I believe that what I need is some perspective. I am hoping that this summer will provide me with enough distance for enough time to help me feel better about wasting a year here. We have been casually invited to Nicaragua for Christmas; that would be fun. We have also talked about other places to go to help us escape the city/country for longer periods.
I am super excited about Peru this summer. I have always wanted to see Machu Picchu for myself and now I get the chance. I have been trying to walk the hills around here two or three times a week. It is hard; the hill is really steep. By the time I get to the top I want to die. After I have made the circuit and come down I feel better. If nothing else, I will sweat off a few pounds. I have also arranged for a road trip with my brother. We are moving the family piano from Seattle to Austin. He will fly up and help me drive down. It should be a good time.
Fourteen more work days and we can flee this place for two whole months!
MJR
Well, let’s see…what’s been happening these last two weeks? Not much, really. Last weekend we had lunch with the parents of students and celebrated Mother’s Day with a group of Mexicans.
Saturday was spent at the home of a Brazilian family. Carrie has the older boy in her class and I have the younger girl in mine. They live in a beautiful apartment clear over on the other side of town. We enjoyed Brazilian cocktails and a fabulous sea food lunch.
Dad is the head of a large pharmaceutical company here. He runs the plant where the drugs are manufactured. He had an interesting observation about Venezuela. I had commented on the fact that there were always shortages of things like milk, flour, eggs, coffee. He said that before Chavez only twenty percent of the population had any disposable income. Since taking office, Hugo has redistributed wealth and made it possible for more people to purchase more things. Overall this is a good thing except that the infrastructure of the country can’t keep up.
Suddenly, sixty percent of the population can start buying stuff. Unfortunately, the factories aren’t capable of keeping up. Even if they could keep up, there are no trucks to deliver the goods. Even if there were trucks, there aren’t really any roads. Even if there were roads, there are no warehouses for storage. Even if there were warehouses, the markets aren’t designed to house the goods. The ports and airports too are woefully behind the times, making it all but impossible for supply to keep up with demand.
When put that way, things started to make sense. It also means that the problem won’t be fixed anytime in the near future, especially considering the fact that nobody is actually working to fix it.
Sunday was Mother’s Day. We went to a picnic at the International Club. The parents of one of my students are from Mexico. Mom has made it a point to identify the other Mexican families at the school. They get together on occasions such as this to celebrate together. One of the mothers there asked me how Zman was fitting in. I told her that since he didn’t speak Spanish, he was finding it difficult. She told me that it was not the Spanish; her kids also had difficulties fitting in. In fact, all the Mexican children were having difficulties, mostly because the Venezuelans are not open to outsiders.
That was a bit of a relief; to understand that it isn’t just him, but the culture that offers the challenge. It fits in with what we know already, but it doesn’t make staying here another year any easier. I am still dreading that.
I have been working to focus on the positive aspects of next year. I believe that what I need is some perspective. I am hoping that this summer will provide me with enough distance for enough time to help me feel better about wasting a year here. We have been casually invited to Nicaragua for Christmas; that would be fun. We have also talked about other places to go to help us escape the city/country for longer periods.
I am super excited about Peru this summer. I have always wanted to see Machu Picchu for myself and now I get the chance. I have been trying to walk the hills around here two or three times a week. It is hard; the hill is really steep. By the time I get to the top I want to die. After I have made the circuit and come down I feel better. If nothing else, I will sweat off a few pounds. I have also arranged for a road trip with my brother. We are moving the family piano from Seattle to Austin. He will fly up and help me drive down. It should be a good time.
Fourteen more work days and we can flee this place for two whole months!
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 2:20 PM
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