pretty sweet first week

When we told people we were moving to Venezuela they had 2 responses: "There is a lot of murder there-are you sure you want to go?" or "They have lots of Ms. Universe winners and plastic surgery there- are you sure you want to go?" We learned from Qatar that you can't let pre-conceived ideas dictate what you do and how you live- but still... murders and fake boobs- we were a wee bit nervous.
Our first week has of course been totally different than anything we could imagine- I haven't seen a single killing and... no comment on plastic (family blog and all)
Caracas is amazing! The people at the school have made sure we are getting settled in and finding what we need (including TP) The green! The birds! It is so alive here- and warm. We have a great apartment with great neighbors and a football pitch across the street. We have gone on runs (lisa) and jogs (innes) thru the neighborhood as well as wandered thru the local neighborhood Las Mercedes. It seems just like any other big city- there are places you don't go to and times you don't go out. The school is awesome, the kids are happy- it's just what you would want from a first week. 
and if I sound too chipper don't worry- it will all come back to earth next week... when the toilet paper runs out.
Til then here are a few shots of the hood.

Front area of the school- a 7 minute walk from home.

There is some good graffiti here- will make a later post for sure.

This is the Avila mountain- you can see it from most everywhere- a good landmark to use.

They told us not to get into taxis that weren't legit- they may drive you off somewhere and rob you. How do you know a non-legit taxi I wondered- then I saw this one with the bungee cord attached sign. I get more street savvy by the minute.

On our walk to school- not too shabby, and we have a mango tree off our kitchen patio.

This is going to be many a breakfast- so good.

The concierge has a tortoise that roams about the yard- Luca thought that was cool.

We have heard about shortages of items- and it is a real problem here (milk is a bugger to find). Right now its kind of an adventure to see what we can do without- and no doubt it will at some point become a real pain in the... but for now its all industrial sized TP and ketchup.

On Saturday I got to go and play the local golf course- a real treat. It is the most beautiful course I have ever been on, we had caddies (a first), I got a birdie (a first), and we survived the Mango hazard on hole 14. Even more incredible- 18 holes, a caddie, breakfast for the caddie, breakfast for me, club rental all came out to about 30$. Too bad I can't afford a membership I could get into this.

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Mangoes on the course