After the earthquake in Haiti last year, I wrote about how generous I found Venezuelans to be in times of crisis. I hadn’t realized it then, but their generosity goes far beyond that.

In the US, I’m so used to seeing homeless people sitting on the side of the street and acting like I don’t see them. Or at intersections seeing disabled people holding signs asking for money and looking the other way. Even when walking down a street where a struggling artist is playing music with a donation cup in front of him/her, I manage not to look like I don’t notice. People asking for help don’t make me uncomfortable, I’m just so used to seeing them ignored that I easily jumped on the bandwagon. Not in Caracas.

There are people (usually with a disability) who hang around the intersections on our route to the kids’ school. Sometimes when I’m riding in the embassy car, the driver will slow down ahead of the light and hand over whatever loose change he has. Now, I know he’s not raking in the big bucks and yet he still feels the desire to help out. This isn’t once in a while, either. If he reaches the light and it’s red, he reaches in his pocket.

While on the train, you sometimes have small groups of young people playing instruments, singing, rapping or reciting poetry. They don’t hang out at the train stops (I think it’s illegal), but actually ride along with you. The first time I witnessed this, I simply thought “oh, they do that here, too”. What surprised me was as soon as we were arriving at the stop, almost everyone reached in their pockets, purses and wallets to give money. Even if it were only a few Bolivars, it was well received. So guess what? After the 4th time this happened, I reached into my pockets, as well.

These acts of kindness is just one more way Caraqueños break the stereotype of the habits of people in a big city. The best part is my kids see that the norm isn’t to ignore those in need, but to give/do what you can. In turn, another habit I hope to hang on to when our time here is over.

Lunch in El Hatillo was a delicious rugula and serrano ham pizza at Das Pastellhaus Pizzeria. The town has an abundance of Italian, Asian, and Spanish restaurants. They also have a couple of Swiss fondue joints.

Dessert was gelato at Gelatto e Caffe. They didn’t have as many flavor offerings as other gelato places I’ve been to in Caracas, but the mantecado was lovely.

Lastly, I had to try the local chocolates. Blue Moon Chocolates has a variety of flavors. The only downside is that they don’t let you sample