My Trip To Venezuela
For most Taiwanese, the impression of Venezuela may be just the origin
of beautiful girls and petroleum. But after A 10-day trip, I have realized
a different Venezuela.
It was midnight when my dad and I arrived at Caracas. Because Caracas was
a city built along the hills, and many people lived on the hillside, I saw the
lights brightening like the stars all the way to the hotel. My father told me
that those "shining stars" were slums. Even though the 20% rich of all
Venezuela's population paid the water and electricity fee of the whole country,
those poor still had to pay to the gangsters because it was those gangs that
offered them these essential services. I could not help sighing: the stars in
the sky were creation of the Creator, but the stars on the land were the sign
of poverty and criminals.
During the next two days, we stayed at Colonia Tovar, a village where the
ethnic-Germen gathered. It was a famous scenic spot in Venezuela, and the
entire village seemed like the background of the stories for children.
Here we enjoyed traditional German foods and juicy strawberries, bought
hand-made candles, visited the museums of the village, and we also joined
a daily tour. I could not understand the guidance since my Spanish was still
not good enough; however, the bus driver was really somebody. He always drove
on those steep roads, which made us scream all the time. My father said,
"Maybe he wants to leave us a 'real adventure'!"
After the days in Colonia Tovar, my father's Chinese friends treated us
on our second day in Caracas. That day I bought two books about Venezuela's
history and a poetry of Pablo Neruda. We also visited the parliament building
and the Supreme Court. Different from Taiwan, many stores and peddlers surrounded
them, and it was said that robberies often happened here. How ironic!
Staying overnight in Caracas, the next several days my dad and I were in
Merida, my most unforgettable place during this trip. Compared with the other
places of Latin America, (even all the world) rarely did I see such a clean
and calm place. There I realized the beauty of the Andes; since that time I
have believed that those Indian legends are not exact suspicions but the
praises to nature. For example, it was said that condor (a kind of bird
living in the Andes) was the bird which takes the souls to the heaven. If you
had seen how the condor fly, you would have believed your soul would be freed. I'm sorry that I cannot say anymore because the desolate beauty of the Andes is beyond description.
The last two days my dad and I spent the last two days visiting a modern
art museum and a big park in Caracas. Although Venezuela is a poor country
now, they took a lot of efforts on their cultural conservation and development
in 1970's. After my several trips in Central and Southern America, I consider
that nothing but the ideal can influence a country's cultural and natural
conservation. I hope that someday we Taiwanese know how to cherish what we
have and forge our own characters. Only by this way can we create an image of
"graceful Taiwanese."
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使於四方
不辱使命
---<<政大外交系系訓>>
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