Okay, I just got done chatting with a guy who I  had some classes with in high school. I have not talked to him in a few months. He is doing well but is going to Tech. What a mistake. I was also thinking about yesterday because it marked one year since I'd left for Venezuela. I can't believe it was a year ago yesterday when I started my time there. I miss it so much and would love to return. There are so many things the country has to offer and see. Granted there are lots of political problems and I just received the other day from the Embassay down there a letter that said there are cases of Yellow fever ( or something like that) in some of the states. I was down there for 10 months. I lived with two families. I went with the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. I had a rough time for a few months. The hardest time was when there was a nation-wide strike which lasted for 2 months!  Everything during that time was shut down. Companies stop producing. Ran out of harina pan y cervezas. Tenemos q hablar en ingles o es espanol bien?  Quiero practicar escribiendo mi espanol porque ahora aqui no hay muchas vezes donde puedo escribir cual cosa en espanol. My spanish is not perfect. Far from it. I have been speaking for about 7-8 months now. The first 4 months I was there I spoke mostly English. That is a horrible thing to do if you are trying to learn another language. One reason I didn't learn in the first four months was because the first host family that I had lived with spoke English, and there family members spoke english. I met so many people who knew english. That is awful for me because everyone wanted to speak and practice there english with me. I wanted to practice spanish. When I would try and speak in spanish with my host family they would respond to me in English. So the first 4 months weren't the best. I started to learn slowly thought once I made more friends and once I had switched families. My second family was great!  My host mom was so nice to me and she would always talk to me and be more involved with me. I started speaking and understanding the language more. So by the time I left I had been speaking spanish for about 6 months, I wonder how much better I would be if I had spoke and learned during the first four mouths. I broke away from the Rotary program in June and traveled alone for that month. No one could travel with me, that was okay though because I was not going to miss out on seeing Venezuela for that reason. One reason why no one could go with me was because there was no money and the eco system had gotten so bad because of that shit head president Chavez. He even stopped selling american dollars. So I had to end up paying the black market prices for my trips that I went on in June, because the trips where priced in dollars. Well I paid because its a once in a life time opportunity. I went to Canaima. It was truly breathtaking!  I was so shocked to see how beautiful something could be. I absolute loved it and wished someone was there to share that sight with me. Well, in Canaima there are lots of waterfalls. I went to the famous Angel Waterfalls which are the tallest in the world. It was amazing!  I had to take a four hour bout ride there and then it was an hour walk up to the falls. They were great, spectacular. I truly recommend going there and at least once in your life. I also went to Santo Sapo, which is the frog or toad falls. I got to walk underneath the waterfall!   It was like in the movie The Last of the Mohicans but 100 times better!   That was my favorite part. I also went to a National Park called Morrocoy. They have the best beaches and little islands. I went to the islands which were basically empty only for the people who went there during the day. It was gorgeous. Beautiful clear water, great blue sky. I loved ever second. I also made it out to Aruba which is not part of Venezuela but its only a 15 min plane ride from the city I had lived in. Aruba was like the islands in MOrroccoy that I had gone to. IT had a great night life atmosphere as well. I had a blast!  I can't wait to go back and visit all of Venezuela!  I miss all the wonderful, kind people there. I returned the 1 of July, and have been back for 2 months. I miss it but I have to get my college started here. Can't wait till I have money to go back. College is free there here its too damn much. I already have way to much in loans, I won't say how much but let me say you could buy a good car with the amount I have in loans. Well Ciao!  Fuera Chavez  Vive Venezuela! Te Amo y Extrano!  Cuidate       

Big Five personality labels — Extraversion: y, Neuroticism: y, Agreeableness: n, Conscientiousness: n, Openness: n