TOUGHING IT OUT IN 85 DEGREE WINTERS; KIDS IN CHURCH
‘Casa Venamor’, La Guardia, Isla de Margarita, Venezuela, Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Toughing it out in 85-degree winters

Our quiet life as caretakers at Casa Venamor is occasionally interrupted by mini-events. Two days in a row last week, for example, our normally blue skies are blocked out by huge though only mildly threatening cumulo-nimbus clouds that have been building up all day over the mountains on the mainland. In late afternoon they move out over the sea and Isla de Margarita to throw some warm rain at us for about half and hour. Then they dissipate and the blue sky returns, the courtyard where we spend so much of our time at the house is left steaming, the clay roof tiles, the palms and the other plants dripping. The drains are not very effective. Hoping to forestall mosquito breeding, I spend some time sweeping rainwater toward the one or two drains that function. Following those two muggy tropical days the weather has turned wintry, the breezes last most of the day and evening from the east or northeast indicating that the NE Trades have set in and we are in deepest winter. The weather probs are for daily 85 degrees Fahrenheit and winds of 5-10 knots. At lunchtime it feels hot out on the street and, coming back from our morning work at the internet café and we are glad to have our light lunch and climb into our hammocks for a siesta. Toughing it out!

The iron grills on all the windows and doors and the high brick wall around the courtyard enclose the house. The individual rooms have doors that close and lock if you want that. But otherwise much of the actual house is really covered patio. This is fine when it comes to having the Caribbean breezes blow through but it also means that mice and cats and get in. I assume they are mice anyway since what I have seen so far are grey streaks only. I here them behind the stove, though. I put out some pellets behind the oven and now we near nothing. I was worried about the cats getting the pellets but I do not think they can get in behind. Hope not.

Some mall animal has left its calling card every night the front door. Not sure what it is but it has not come in through the front door since it is shuttered at night. After cleaning the mess up a couple of mornings only to find it again the next day, I spread caliente (hot sauce) on and around the spot. There were tracks in it the next day but that was the last of the scat. Hope it stays gone.

Kathleen has adopted the many plants in the courtyard. Under her careful ministrations they have all greened up. Though they appeared dead some of them have now got new leaves and one even put forth a couple of small white flowers. Even the two short palm trees have freshened up and put out new spears that are now opening quickly into palm fronds. They spread their shade over the red-tiled courtyard and against the whitewashed wall. This courtyard could be a sensation if plants are used right. The bougainvillea bushes needs pruning, I think, if they are to get more blossoms, and I see in my imagination several clumps of jasmine that would spread their perfumes around at night.

We are getting to know the village a bit better. Our predecessors, David and Estela left last week for Lima, Peru, so we are now on our own. We are already known a bit in the village and people respond to our greetings. ‘Bueno Dia!’ they reply to our ‘Buenos Dias!’ Like the coastal people in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador, they seem also here to drop their S’s. They never seem to say, ‘Hóla’ so I have stooped being so familiar.

The neighbours are easy to greet because they are not hidden away behind air-conditioned doors or living out on their wooden decks in fenced-off yards. They sit out under the trees in the street or on their front steps in the shade if it is during the day or just anywhere if it is after dark. The men tend to be a little more standoffish than the women. Old people, men and women, sit outside watching the world go by during the day. At night there are more people about. We hear lots of voices of kids until well after about 2100. Lots of people on bicycles, usually with someone, another kid or a girlfriend, on the crossbar. There are cars around – frequently monstrosities from the 1980’s with big, V8 engines and Hollywood mufflers. These cars are antiques now and getting parts must be a job. When a big Chevrolet or Oldsmobile passes under our walls we are never sure if it might not be a large lorry. It is usually the booming speakers that go with it that is the give-away. The noise is all the louder because it is otherwise very quiet. After 2100 the village seems to quiet down and go to bed.

The house is very large. It was once a barn, I think, and then a school until it was finally professionally renovated as a house. At some point I may post some pictures but that will require a camera. I am hoping that Kathleen will be able to get a preiswert digital model that is relatively waterproof when she goes to Germany in January and February. That will be too late for this gig but maybe her Dad will be bringing his camera when he comes in December. He does great photos.

Our Spanish is getting no better because we are not using it much. We would like to get to know more locals but the language is still a barrier. It seems the only Spanish-language school is in Porlamar or San Juan Gregio, which means complicated travel each day. Commuting! However, we met a young man named Engly Gabriel Alfonso at the internet café. It came about when I leaned back in the chair I was sitting in, the leg collapsed and I was unceremoniously dumped on by back. Engly leapt to the rescue. He is in his early twenties, I imagine, extremely open and friendly and works in the early morning and late afternoon at the airport. His English is very good and he teaches it to school kids here in La Guardia. We are going to hire him to give us two hours of Spanish each afternoon starting as soon as we can arrange it. We’ll try it for a week and see how we like each other.

Today in the internet café – this seems to be an unofficial meeting place! - we also met a Danish couple (we met them without falling on our faces or backs). We immediately invited them for a beer this evening. They have a place here in the village though they are leaving for Europe soon and returning in January. We can exchange some life histories tonight and pick up tips about the village. They live right on the beach near the rock jetty. As I suspected, Soen says the real place to buy fish here is direct from the fishermen. Just go down to the boats in the morning. But the fish is not all that cheap: 12,000 Bolivars (approx. $6) for a five or six-pound bonito. But, on the other hand, it will easily feed four people with its tuna-like fillets and I can freeze part for later. I am looking forward to this!

This may be a small village but the Danish couple does not know Jens, the German guy at the other end of the beach.



KIDS IN CHURCH

This may give you a few laughs.

3-year-old Reese: "Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen."

A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."

After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys."

I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer for several evenings at bedtime. She would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us from E-mail.

One particular four-year-old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."

Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.' Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"

A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. "Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked. "He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God throw him back down?"

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

And if you don't send this to at least 8 people --- who cares?