Venezuela-in search of foreign love

---

Flying over the Andes mountains, I again wondered what had brought me back to Venezuela for the sixth time. I looked over plane aisle across from me and saw the beautiful family with whom I was traveling. The father and mother had met in Venezuela; the father being from the States and the mother from Venezuela. I finally felt of age to get married so I was returning to the land where I had met my first love eight years ago.
I first went to Venezuela in 2000 on a church mission trip and instantly fell in love with a local church member. Combine the power of love with the overwhelming sensation of being in a new country and you will feel the most amazing feeling possible. I felt so alive! After that initial 2 week trip, I returned four more times until 2003 when (like all long distance relationships) our love crumbled. I vowed never to return to Venezuela.
From 2003 to 2008, I dated many girls from different countries trying to recapture that magical experience I had with my first lover. I dated a Dominican, a Chinese, two Koreans, a Taiwanese, an Ecuadorean, and a Mexican but none could compare to my first. Dating for the thrill of being with an exotic woman is enticing but in the long run only leads to short term rendevouz and broken hearts. I decided to return to the land where I had first fallen in love. I knew one girl who was 12 when I first met her in 2000 but now, eight years later, was 20 years and very attractive. We had kept in touch even when I was on the other side of the world so I was very curious to see if there could be any future between us.

As we drove through the Colombian border into Venezuela, I could tell there had been changes in the past 5 years. Colombia seemed more prosperous than its Venezuelan neighbor due to Chavez's socialist reign. Chavez had kept prices deflated which appeared to keep the economy deflated as well. On the Colombian/Venezuelan border, rows of Colombians lined the streets selling smuggled gallons of cheap Venezuelan gas ($0.40 a gallon in Venezuela)

I arrived late at my host family's door. When I entered, the first one to greet me was Cindy. She had her eyes stretched out and a big grin on her face. She had become more and more attractive over the years and now she was a full grown woman! On my first trip in 2000, I had broken my arm and she fed me at the dinner table and called me 'my baby'. I hoped that infantile admiration would turn into a romantic affair.

The trip was only 2.5 weeks long which was enough time to visit everyone and to judge whether or not there was any chemistry with Cindy. Unfortunately, I was visiting during finals so she was constantly doing school work.

Everyday consisted of waking without an alarm clock, eating with my host family, and deciding what to do for the day. Venezuelans are friendly, helpful and welcoming of outsiders so I felt good to be welcomed. I followed anyone that would take me anywhere and tried to join in on the conversations as much as possible. Cultural immersion at its best.

In the middle of the stay, a car full of guys and I went on a tour of the state of Tachira. The roads were narrow and winding that went from the base to the top of the Andes and back down again. The temperature dropped to 55F at the top. There is no greater thrill than hearing tire squeals as you round narrow mountain roads with several hundred hundred feet valley drops as chilly air blows in through the window and you look out and see mountains, valleys and quaint villages that you can only see in postcards.

Toward the end of the trip, I began saying my goodbyes to the people down there. My relationship was Cindy was status quo so my trip was void of romantic drama. Venezuelans are always sad when visitors leave and always want to know when they will be back. I could only give them vague answers like one year, but the truth is that I'll be back if and when I can't complete my quest. Still I search for new and exotic lands trying to recapture that feeling of being with love with a broad abroad.

---