It’s weird going back home for vacations because I feel like a tourist in my own house, even in my own country. Rollins and Valencia are two separate worlds that will never touch each other. I’ve never had such a distinction between school and home because they were interchangeable. Having my mom teach at the same 350-student school I attended my whole life, I was raised both at Colegio Internacional de Carabobo and my home.
We lightened up the mood after getting home at 2 .a.m after a two-hour flight delay in Miami when we put on a George López stand-up comedy DVD and watched his act until 4:30 a.m. My first day back home could not have been better. That morning I started getting phone calls at 9:30 a.m. from a friend of my parents, aunt, uncle and a former teacher.
That next morning my mom took me to school—it was empty. Not a soul except the office staff was at school and I was glad to see familiar faces. After an eventful last week of fall semester I was ready to leave. I was so calm after having seen familiar faces, nothing had changed but so much time had passed. I was out of the loop in so many cases and I was saddened to hear that I wouldn’t see three of my friends pictured because they’re visiting their family in Spain (from oldest to youngest Aurora, Rebeca, and Cristina.)
What I felt most out of the loop was with the rumors and scandals that surrounded the referendum held last December 2. This goes back to Chávez’s re-election last year; he started talking about socialismo a la venezolana. He was proposing this time around a constitutional change that would amend 69 articles of the 1999 constitution he authored. This would declare Venezuela a socialist state, reduce the workweek to 36 hours, enhance executive powers, and introduce a concept of communal autonomy. This was rejected by a close vote of 51 percent, but the politics are not what I missed - it’s the going out to the supermarket and stocking up on staples, the canceling of school for a week, riots in the streets, and the shortage of basic foodstuffs that make every day an adventure.
Conversation starters are boring in Orlando, nothing ever happens there! Most people talk about the weather, the weather! Here conversations start with, “Do you have milk? I saw it in the store and got you some.” I take the good with the bad, and the good definitely outweighs the bad. Venezuela appeared twice this year in the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records, one in the largest soup ever made when the government made a huge sancocho in downtown Caracas. The second is more interesting, we were named as the happiest country in the world! I didn’t doubt it for a second.
The closest I had been to Caribbean beaches in Rollins was when I went to Key West with my roommate for Thanksgiving. For my dad’s birthday we went to Cayo Sombrero, a key off the coast to spend the day. We have small islands off the coast of Tucacas (a beach town an hour away from Valencia) that make up Parque Nacional Morrocoy. Not only are they the best kept secret in the country with the longest Caribbean coastline, but they are as close to Paradise as it gets on earth.
The title I chose for this entry reflects a popular national song that narrates the story of Simón Bolívar and his dream of liberating the Americas from Spanish rule. It is a source of pride for all Venezuelans and it’s a song I always keep close to me whenever I’m nostalgic and miss home. Below is a YouTube video of the song with images of Venezuela.
In his second year as an R-Journalist, Omar has enjoyed exposing the life of a student at Rollins College. As an Economics and International Relations double major, he has combined his passion for global affairs and economic policy. On campus he is involved on the exec board of the JUMP committee, vice-president of the International Student Organization, and founding co-president of Rollins Model United Nations.
Omar is the first international Cornell Scholar and as such has helped bring a different perspective on campus, that of a Muslim follower born and raised in Venezuela. His diverse background has helped him gain a more empathetic view of the world.
R-Journals is a program sponsored by the Offices of
Admissions and Public Relations & Communications. Your feedback is
greatly appreciated.
Click here to send your comments.
