First Post

¡Feliz navidad y prospero año nuevo de Caracas!

OK, this is my first post to this new endeavor of blogging. I thought it might be fun to record my thoughts and experiences while I'm here in Caracas and, who knows, maybe even after I return to Albuquerque. For those who know me, most of this post will be repeats of what you have already heard or know about me. I'm a graduate student at the University of New Mexico and I'm in Caracas, thanks to a grant from the Fulbright Commission, to do dissertation research. Although I'm not quite the oldest grad student in the world, I'm probably close. I'm a returning student who got tired of "Corporate America" and decided to do something more fun. I'm a historian and my research topic is on women living within the slave society of Caracas between 1750 and 1854 (the year of emancipation in Venezuela). I spend most of my days reading old handwritten Spanish documents in archives in Caracas.

It's a few days after my first Christmas in Venezuela and all the archives are closed for the holidays. Just about everyone I know here in Caracas is gone - either back to the states, another country, or the beach - so I have time on my hands and not much to do. Hopefully someone will actually read this and respond, either through comments or email, for those of you who have my email address. The picture is a view from my apartment window of Avila - the big mountain on the north side of Caracas. A week or so ago I rode the cable car to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, but hopefully the person I was with will email me the pictures she took and then I'll post them. The view of the city was spectacular but the view of the other side was clouds. I had hoped we would be able to see the Caribbean, but no luck that day. I'll have to go back again.