When Dave was first hired into the Foreign Service, the idea of evacuation filled me with fear. I'd hear stories and they'd make me want to cry - not that the storyteller cried, just that I felt such fear. With the vision of life in Caracas now settling into my mind, evacuation actually provides me some comfort.
We've switched from watching China in the news, to picking up stories on Venezuela instead. And current events on Venezuela these days are always stories about Hugo Chavez. The leader of Venezuela is a clear megalomaniac, but is also a cancer patient with no clear successors groomed to follow him. Many leaders have already promised turmoil should their opposition take leadership, and the military promises not to support elections which bring the opposition into power. This kinda scares me, except that I know we'll be evacuated if we're in real danger.
Another excitement tidbit about Venezuela is its affinity for earthquakes. Venezuela is apparently in an earthquake zone, has had some minor earthquakes recently, and is due for a doozy any year now. I doubt their apartment buildings and office complexes are as shoddily built as those in China, although the possibility certainly exists. No, the bigger problem is that many of the buildings in Caracas are apparently shanty towns, of a sort. Should an earthquake hit, the majority of the population would lose their housing, and I've read that Caracas' emergency infrastructure would be overwhelmed. Scary, except that I know we'll be evacuated if we're in real danger.
Unfortunately, the danger of gun violence and frequent robbery will not be cause for evacuation. I am curious what our life will look like, in the face of such danger. At this point, I'm guessing that we'll frequent places which are safe - home, school, the embassy, and a few markets and stores. And my guess is that we'll become claustrophobic quickly - although our life these days basically circles around work, home and school anyway, so maybe we're well suited for a post such as this.
We've switched from watching China in the news, to picking up stories on Venezuela instead. And current events on Venezuela these days are always stories about Hugo Chavez. The leader of Venezuela is a clear megalomaniac, but is also a cancer patient with no clear successors groomed to follow him. Many leaders have already promised turmoil should their opposition take leadership, and the military promises not to support elections which bring the opposition into power. This kinda scares me, except that I know we'll be evacuated if we're in real danger.
Another excitement tidbit about Venezuela is its affinity for earthquakes. Venezuela is apparently in an earthquake zone, has had some minor earthquakes recently, and is due for a doozy any year now. I doubt their apartment buildings and office complexes are as shoddily built as those in China, although the possibility certainly exists. No, the bigger problem is that many of the buildings in Caracas are apparently shanty towns, of a sort. Should an earthquake hit, the majority of the population would lose their housing, and I've read that Caracas' emergency infrastructure would be overwhelmed. Scary, except that I know we'll be evacuated if we're in real danger.
Unfortunately, the danger of gun violence and frequent robbery will not be cause for evacuation. I am curious what our life will look like, in the face of such danger. At this point, I'm guessing that we'll frequent places which are safe - home, school, the embassy, and a few markets and stores. And my guess is that we'll become claustrophobic quickly - although our life these days basically circles around work, home and school anyway, so maybe we're well suited for a post such as this.
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