Not Fact, Not Fiction

Disclaimer: the things that come out of my mind through my fingers aren't researched pieces of scientific evidence and have not been read and corrected by a panel of peer experts.  They're just things that I think about, bad and good and crazy and weird, and I am unsure if you'll like all of them.  Or any of them.  But that's the way things go.

The past few days I've spent quite a bit of time at La Lagunita Golf Club in Caracas, walking and watching golf, taking pictures, eating, sitting by the pool, and talking to people who happen to want to talk to me.  The golf community is pretty small in this mammoth city and most of the players know each other from other tournements.  The tournement staff (at least the man that I talked to) even knows which country clubs whose parents belong to and their families.  At least a few of all of the people either playing or running the tournement have spent significant amounts of time abroad (a year of highschool, a university education, or a stint in the LPGA) and plenty of them are willing to say hi to me in English. :)  A funny but warm novelty for me, words I don't have to conciously open my ears to understand.

Over the past week I have been feeling ENLIGHTENED with the gift of tongues.  I have been able to understand about 60% of things said, sometimes more, and sometimes less when I turn my ears off.  If the Spanish is clear and without too much slang I can understand (now only to RESPOND!).  Despite my one-sided conversational ability, it feels good to not be searching in the dark with a keychain flashlight for meaning anymore.  Now I have a stadium sized light, and I feel much more confident in my presence with a group.  It's a strange thing to be sitting with people who are talking to each other and have no idea what's going on; there's a feeling of helplessness and stupidity.  I'm feeling that less and less.  Plus, when I don't understand I just ask.  This way there's no question of my intention, I'm here to learn and I want to communicate.  I refuse to be one of those foreigners who wants everyone to speak to them in English, though honestly sometimes it's hard not to feel like this, espceially when that helpless feeling sets in.

This weekend we're headed to the beach, I think for another golf extravaganza and some sun.  I'm told I need to protect myself from two things: UV rays and friendly strangers wanting to steal my things.  I am truly enjoying Venezuela.

La Lagunita as described by Yahoo!Travel:

La Lagunita Country Club is basically a golf, tennis and swimming club. It is the most ambitiously designed golf club in Caracas. It was built at the same time as La Lagunita, a housing project aimed at the successful businessmen, TV actors and so on who make up the city´s noveau riche. You can also practice paragliding and rock climbing at the club. It is located near El Hatillo, a little colonial town that has become part of outer Caracas.