I've noticed that people in Venezuela.....

really never seem to have anything to actually do. We toured around the main plaza within the first week of being here and most people were just sitting around. I don't know if its because I always catch them when they are taking a breather and relaxing, or if they really have nothing to do. Yes, they do work. Many people sell things on the street: fruits, vegetables, arepas, juices, ice cream and even phone calls. They have these little umbrella stands with cell phones chained to the spokes of the umbrella. You can pay to make a call whenever you want! But for the most part I see people just sitting around. This became very evident this past weekend driving through the campo (countryside)...granted these people aren't in the middle of the city. We drove by numerous houses with a large number of people sitting outside watching cars pass by. However, this lack of always having to do something provides the opportunity to spend more time with family, which is a large part of their culture. I respect that they are able to form strong family bonds through spending large amounts of time together.

I've also noticed that it is dry season here and people light off fireworks everynight all the time for the paradura del nino. I hope the dry grass doesn't catch on fire! Although that's probably the least of my worries with burning tires in the streets..jajaja. Joke! There haven't been protests here since Monday. I just hope they don't start up again.