Well this has been quite a hiatus…possibly the longest in the history of this blog. Instead of jumping right back in with my ramblings, I thought I’d give a brief summary of what I’ve been doing while I wasn’t writing.

Spanish: Yes, I’m still hanging in there with the course. Technically, I have another 4 modules to go before completing the entire program, but I’ve decided that I’ll stop when I feel that the only thing left to do is get out there and speak. Fortunately, I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel and very well may one day be fluent

Sick family member: It’s bound to happen to all of us – you find out someone in your family is sick and the prognosis isn’t good. As frustrating, shocking, and depressing as these situations are I try to take some perspective. Life is uncertain, so don’t put anything you’ll regret not doing off for later. Also, people are irreplaceable. Remember to take care of ourselves and each other.

Vacation: The kids had two weeks vacation and even though we didn’t travel this time around, they had a blast (I almost lost my mind ). Caracas was very tranquil the first week and it was nice to move about the cabin freely. I love discovering new places, but sometimes it’s nice to simply enjoy the old. 

So those are the big events that have been keeping me away. Oh yeah, the news also continues to amaze me – from Royal wedding mania to Bin Laden death mania – remember the earthquake in Japan? Crazy, isn’t it?!

In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these. – Paul Harvey

It feels like since my last post, the world has turned upside down – literally. With the Japan earthquake causing another shift in the earth’s axis, it’s no wonder mayhem has erupted. I was disappointed to see that international military intervention (a fancier way of saying war) was necessary in Libya and who knows how many more casualties this will cause. And Libya is one of many countries facing unrest in the region…

Every once in a while, I get this feeling of doom and gloom. It seems like humans have made so many technological advances, but we still haven’t figured out how to settle disagreements without fighting. I always remember the irony of hearing how World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars only to say 21 years later – just kidding. Even after World War II (they were supposed to mean it that time), we still are trying to solve with problems with the same methods that we’ve seen fail over and over again.

It’s no secret that Venezuelans are very polarized when it comes to politics. I don’t know if it’s all the other disasters/unrest that’s been going on, but lately I’m getting the sense that Caraquenos are feeling the doom and gloom, as well. This may be limited to the places I frequent the most, however it’s there. I usually blame the media for over-reporting on certain issues, but this time I don’t think there’s any way around it…big stuff is going down all over the world.

As Mr. Harvey states, there’s nothing new happening here – simply history repeating itself. I only hope that these times hurry up and go away because I could sure use some good news for a change

P.S. If you’d like to help with the Japanese relief efforts, Google has set up this page to get you started.