Big bad Venezuela...going deep deep cover, 007 incognito style. 8) 8) 8)

[Awesome]

ja ja..bathrooms dont count. Military bases with Venezuela flags or view of Caracas  from the cable car please. You can use your dumb hat if you want..but somethingin the picture toidentify you clearly

I don't plan on going back to the military zone any time soon and I'm semi scared of heights so I'm not in a hurry to do the cable car thing, but I'll try to get you a pic of something that only exists in Venezuela.  Maybe I'll go back to the mall and snap a pic of that wooden Hugo Chavez statue with my Rockets hat on his head jaja..

[Awesome]

Well I had my first rumba in Venezuela.  I was downtown in the Sabanagrande district which is this big promenade type walkway with stores and restaurants where I chatted up this cute morena.  I asked her for her phone number and she told me she didn't have a phone, but I gave her my number.  Of course I didn't believe she didn't have a phone and I assumed she was just blowing me off in a nice way. 


So that night I was chilling in the hotel lobby not planning on doing anything and she calls me from her amigas's phone inviting me to the movie theater nearby where we met.  It was around 8pm and here I go walking to the metro station down the street from my hotel.  Now this Caracas, supposedly the most dangerous city in the world and basically walking around at night is a complete no-no, not only that this girl doesn't exactly come from a high income background.  So I'm walking down the street at night thinking, "hmm what am I getting myself into?".  So I arrive at the shopping mall where the theater is at and she's happy to see me.  I buy my ticket and we take our seats by her amiga.  During the movie she's feeding me popcorn and candies and we're sharing a pepsi, enjoying the movie.  It was the 50 shades of gray sequel, which was almost like watching soft-porn lol. 


So after the movie her and her amiga were waiting on some guy with a car to pull up and take them out to a discoteca and they invited me to go along.  This is where I thought "maybe I should quit while I'm ahead" instead of going with them and some guy out partying.  These girls seemed very cool and I didn't get any weird vibes from them like they were setting me up to get robbed or kidnapped, so good ol' Awesome agrees to go along with them.


So the guy friend pulls up in a 90's model toyota camry and we get in.  The guy is kinda dorky but is totally cool otherwise and I could tell right away that they weren't going to rob me.  So we try to go to this one disco but they don't let us in because I'm wearing shorts, so the guy drives me back to hotel, which is nearby, so I can change clothes real quick.  It was a shame because there were some serious hotties going into the initial club we tried to get into.  So, anyway we get back to the second disco we'd tried to get into and they let us in and all is going good.  We get a bottle of vodka with the ice and juice set up and we start drinking it up.


Of course the whole time I'm thinking "what are the chances I'm getting laid tonight?" jaja!  Everything started out good, but then things also started out good with the chica in Cucuta and you know that turned out.  Anyway at some point in the discoteca the girl, who lives like an hour away, asked if it's okay for her to spend the night at my hotel.  Score!!  Well that still isn't a 100% guarantee I'm getting laid, but it's pretty damn close to it.  So we drink it up and dance the night away.  Sure enough the dj played a vallenato set and everybody started loudly singing all the words to the song just like they do in Colombia jaja!  I'm all the way in Caracas and I still can't get away from vallenato music.  Well the name of the club is actually called Vallenato's Sports Bar, I think.


So we finished the bottle around 3am and we were all ready to go.  For some reason the girls came up with the idea of us going to a hotel close to where we were at I guess so the guy didn't have to drive too far to take me back to my hotel.  I didn't mind as long as I was still getting laid jaja!  So we tried a couple of hotels and they were all filled up, no vacancies so the guy had to take me and my chica back to my hotel.  There weren't any vacancies at my hotel either so to be nice I told them they could crash in my room even though that probably would've blocked me from scoring.  I think the couple were trying to be alone so they just dropped us off and I guess carried on looking for a place to spend the night.  The night ended up being a complete success if you know what I mean jaja!  She left the next morning then came back in the afternoon for a few hours before going home back to Charallave which is pretty far from the city.  This girl is very cool and seems to be very into me.  She's 28 with two kids, works in a restaurant, and comes from a very humble background.  I don't think I'm going to keep seeing her very often since I don't want her to think we're something serious, but she's super fun to hang out with.  Oh yea saturday morning before she left my hotel she asked me for some money to get something to eat so I gave her 10k bolivares which is about 4 dollars, so I don't know if that's normal or what.  I don't know if that makes her a prepago or golddigger, but whatever.  When she showed up at my hotel later that evening she had some new clothes that she'd bought for her kids at the mall.  This girl is super horny so it was kinda difficult to try to figure out the money situation.


Today I just kinda wondered around the city, still learning my way around.  Starting tomorrow my sole focus is going to be opening a Venezuelan bank account because that's the only way I'm going to be able to stay in Caracas.  With a Venezuelan bank account I'll be able to use bitcoin to change my money and I won't have to go all the way to Colombia to hit the atm.  If I'm not able to open a Venezuelan bank account this week then I'm going to have to move to San Cristobal because the bus ride to Caracas is too dangerous.  This last time I think I came close to getting taken in by the "Guardia Nacional".  That sh*t was a little too scary for me.  San Cristobal is just easier for me logistically, at least until I have a Venezuelan bank account.


I'm kinda glad that the wifi at this hotel only works in the reception/lobby area because, Jesus Christ, I'm seeing some HOT Venezolanas coming and going, whew!!


Here are some pics I snapped today where I wandered to this shopping mall which might be the coolest shopping mall I've ever seen.  It's super nice, open air set up looking out at Mt Avila in the background.  I think it's call San Ignacio.




 

[Awesome]

I got a buddy who's letting me use his atm card to pay for stuff instead of having to lug around huge stacks of cash, and he has a friend who's going to rent me a furnished apartment.  My buddy is a student at the university UCV and tonight we're going to a party of some of his friends from school.  Things are mostly going good so far, just dealing with bank accounts, bitcoin accounts which are a pain in the arse, to be able to exchange my money on the "black market".  I've been learning A LOT about Venezuela and the situation here.  A few days ago a couple of off duty cops/soldiers were stabbed to death by some street kids in a robbery attempt, and this morning when I was on my way to meet up with this really nice pretty girl for coffee and English practice a guy was shot in the leg at the metro station right by where I was at.  The girl I was hanging out with is a physical therapy student finishing up her last year of university and she says as soon as she receives her degree she's leaving to Spain.  I think I'm going to learn a lot tonight at the party, supposedly the group of friends who will be there are affiliated with some student political club and they'll most likely be talking about politics and the government, so we'll see how it goes.

[Awesome]

Well the party ended up being at a bar/club so no politics discussions but a lot of rumba.  I just got home.  Had an awesome time.  The place was full of super hot chicks.  I didn't really get anything going with any girls but I have a great social circle going.  Everybody loves the gringo and these Venezuelans party hard.  The girl who spent the night with me last friday night has been calling the last couple days wanting to see me but I've been blowing her off, telling her I'm too busy to hang out.  I don't want her to get too attached to me.  Man I'm super tired.  One thing's for sure I freaking love Venezuela!

[Elexpatriado]

If your not Coming up with this stuff in grandmas basement, you obviously are not reading the news you crazy a$$ed nut bar.

There is a border row between Colombia and Venezuela.. You might be stuck there permamently.
You might create an internacional incidente looking for your "Rumbas"

[Awesome]

If your not Coming up with this stuff in grandmas basement, you obviously are not reading the news you crazy a$$ed nut bar.

There is a border row between Colombia and Venezuela.. You might be stuck there
You might create an internacional incidente l9oking for your "Rumbas"

That "border row" won't affect me in any way.  I shouldn't have to go back to Colombia any time soon.  The only reason I was going to go to Colombia was to hit the atm, but I've found better, easier, safer ways to exchange my money here in Caracas.


That party last night was pretty great, seriously hot chicks everywhere.  The group of people I was with were all university students who were throwing a going away party for a friend who was leaving the country to live in Andorra, some tiny country on the border of Spain and France.  I talked to this other guy who was planning to study his final year of his mechanical engineering degree in Torino Italy, then stay to live and work in Italy.  He has a EU passport due to his family originally being from Portugal.  That seems to be the ongoing theme here, people who get their university degree then leave the country.  I think that's pretty sad, all the young educated people are leaving the country.  Who the heck is going to stay in Venezuela and work?  Well, anyway I made friends with a lot of good people last night.  Hopefully I'll be moving into my own apartment soon.  I'm getting tired of staying in this hotel.


I actually went to the teleferico today with my buddy, but I didn't bring my id with me so we went all the way there for nothing because they require id to ride the teleferico.  I think tomorrow my buddy wants to take me to Tovar which is some German village up in the mountains.  He was there yesterday helping film some video of some chefs who make some special type of smoked pork and sausage.  He said they make some really good artesenal craft beers, so I might go out there to pig out and drink some beer.

[Elexpatriado]

Well dont tell the Mech.Eng. to go to Canadá cuz there are no jobs for Canadians with ME degrees from the best Universities in Canadá.

Unless he likes delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut.

Same situation in Houston.

We can always use hot Latinas from Any country in the stripper bars though.

[Awesome]

Well dont tell the Mech.Eng. to go to Canadá cuz there are no jobs for Canadians with ME degrees from the best Universities in Canadá.

Unless he likes delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut.

Same situation in Houston.

We can always use hot Latinas from Any country in the stripper bars though.

On what are you basing your assertion that there are no me jobs in Canada or Houston?


I did a quick search for me jobs in those two locales and came up with 3500 job openings in Canada and 834 job openings in Houston on the website indeed.com.


So was your post serious or are you just trolling as usual?




And what do you care about hot chicks in strip bars?  You don't even go to strip bars.

[Elexpatriado]

Because I am a mechanical Engineering with 35 years expereince and have friends wit 20 years experience who have been laid off and cant get work.

Big deal tou did a search and came up with these openings. There are 10 to 20 guys with 10 years pertinent experience applying for each and every One of those positions.

I have a friend, Chicano like you, Texas A&M grad, 20 years ME and project management experience, was laid off, and been out of work for 3 months And is going to Kazakhstan to work.
I am.pretty sure it is the same in Europe.
A foreign graduaste, without Any experience is SOL.

Your friend better get used to driving taxis and delivering pizzas.

I have to admit, you have a lot more experience with strippers than I do, so I bow to your expertos as far as strippers go. But Any thing else, you are the troll expert.

[Elexpatriado]

By the way, they are starting to crack down on "bitcoin miners" in Venezuela

http://colombiaconnection.freeforums.net/thread/2968/venezuela-cracking-on-bitcoin-fever

Throwing them.in jail.
If you really are there, better Watch it. Venezuelan jails arent too nice.

[Elexpatriado]

Awesome meets his cell mate in Caracas jail


https://youtu.be/rMHTo4sAYKA

[benjio]

Because I am a mechanical Engineering with 35 years expereince and have friends wit 20 years experience who have been laid off and cant get work.

Big deal tou did a search and came up with these openings. There are 10 to 20 guys with 10 years pertinent experience applying for each and every One of those positions.

I have a friend, Chicano like you, Texas A&M grad, 20 years ME and project management experience, was laid off, and been out of work for 3 months And is going to Kazakhstan to work.
I am.pretty sure it is the same in Europe.
A foreign graduaste, without Any experience is SOL.

Your friend better get used to driving taxis and delivering pizzas.

I have to admit, you have a lot more experience with strippers than I do, so I bow to your expertos as far as strippers go. But Any thing else, you are the troll expert.

Just my 2 cents, and this isn't me agreeing with either one of you. Expat I think you're misinterpreting the job market in Houston a bit. There are plenty of ME jobs...BELIEVE ME. I have three friends, recently graduated (the soonest would be in December) who majored in ME and were employed within 3 months of walking across the stage in Houston. Here's what you're missing. Your Aggie buddy is older, wants $120+, probably has a wife and kids (which means more expensive benefits), wants some kind of retirement perks, life insurance, etc. The people I know are in their mid 20's and are completely fine with half that salary to start off and very minimal benefits. They're sharp, have had several internships and can learn on the fly. This is the job market these days in the IT and engineering fields. My recommendation would be to tell you friend to go get a couple of masters degrees and/or certs and start looking for ways to make himself a lot more marketable. At his age, simple experience isn't going to cut it anymore and he should be looking for upper management positions anyway....where he would be mentoring people like the three I just told you about.


I just got 2 more certs last year to land the job I have now after the oil industry chewed me up and spit me out. And I'm studying for another one. I'm in my mid 30's by the way, but even now I can see the light at the end of my career tunnel. There's only so much longer I'm going to be able to demand 6 figures. Truth be told, computers will be programming themselves for the most part in another decade...which is why I'm already looking to open my own business(es). Rules of the game these days. Tell your friend to catch up.

[Awesome]

By the way, they are starting to crack down on "bitcoin miners" in Venezuela

http://colombiaconnection.freeforums.net/thread/2968/venezuela-cracking-on-bitcoin-fever

Throwing them.in jail.
If you really are there, better Watch it. Venezuelan jails arent too nice.

I'm not mining bitcoins, I'm exchanging bitcoins.  Two totally completely different things.  Try again troll.

[mambocowboy]

I'm not mining bitcoins, I'm exchanging bitcoins.  Two totally completely different things.  Try again troll.

Aweshucks   calling someone else a troll? Lmmfao!

[Elexpatriado]

Just my 2 cents, and this isn't me agreeing with either one of you. Expat I think you're misinterpreting the job market in Houston a bit. There are plenty of ME jobs...BELIEVE ME. I have three friends, recently graduated (the soonest would be in December) who majored in ME and were employed within 3 months of walking across the stage in Houston. Here's what you're missing. Your Aggie buddy is older, wants $120+, probably has a wife and kids (which means more expensive benefits), wants some kind of retirement perks, life insurance, etc. The people I know are in their mid 20's and are completely fine with half that salary to start off and very minimal benefits. They're sharp, have had several internships and can learn on the fly. This is the job market these days in the IT and engineering fields. My recommendation would be to tell you friend to go get a couple of masters degrees and/or certs and start looking for ways to make himself a lot more marketable. At his age, simple experience isn't going to cut it anymore and he should be looking for upper management positions anyway....where he would be mentoring people like the three I just told you about.


I just got 2 more certs last year to land the job I have now after the oil industry chewed me up and spit me out. And I'm studying for another one. I'm in my mid 30's by the way, but even now I can see the light at the end of my career tunnel. There's only so much longer I'm going to be able to demand 6 figures. Truth be told, computers will be programming themselves for the most part in another decade...which is why I'm already looking to open my own business(es). Rules of the game these days. Tell your friend to catch up.

I was talking more about the oil and gas and Energy industry. Thats where my friend works.


And I know Houston is more diversified than that, and the US in general is way more industrialized than Canada.


At my friends age (late 40s I think), it would better serving to go on a tax reduced assignment to Kazakhstan for a year or 2 until things picks up, or he gets something in a transfereable industry like Petrochemicals, what with Exxon spending $20 billion there over next few years and whatever.


Going back to University doesnt always pay back, as you are out of the job market, and spending money.


A lot of extra learning can be done "on the job" and late at night.


A lot of young guys depend too much on computers, and soon forget thier "basic principles" they learned in engineering school. I have seen it over and over.


Like Computers were supposed to eliminate jobs. They seem to create more jobs, because people want more acurate numbers, and want to investigate more and more "alternate scenarios".


And someone with common sense and basic knpwledge still has to analyze the results.


In Canada reight now,the only industry is laundered Chinese mafia money

[Elexpatriado]

I'm not mining bitcoins, I'm exchanging bitcoins.  Two totally completely different things.  Try again troll.

Well the Venezuelan authorities dont care. And your cell mate will be "Mining" something else when you are in there with him (or them).
 

[Elexpatriado]

Aweshucks   calling someone else a troll? Lmmfao!

Yes..height of hypocricy, isnt it?

[Awesome]

Aweshucks   calling someone else a troll? Lmmfao!

When have you seen me trolling?  Please quote me somewhere you've seen me trolling.


I remember you made a comment about costenos having sex with donkeys as if you KNOW it to be a fact.  I called you out and asked you how do you KNOW this to be true.  You couldn't come up with one credible source or reason of how you KNOW that costenos have sex with donkeys.  I was simply refuting YOUR bullsh*t.  So who's the troll, me or you?

[Awesome]

Well the Venezuelan authorities dont care. And your cell mate will be "Mining" something else when you are in there with him (or them).
 

How do you know what the Venezuelan authorities care about?  Do you have some inside information about the way the Venezuelan authorities operate?  You posted some completely irrelevant article about some Venezuelan cops chasing some guys into Colombia as if that HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING AT ALL.  That's the definition of trolling.  90% of your posts consist of you posting dumb sh*t solely for the sake of posting dumb sh*t.


If I'm such a troll like you say, please give me an example of me trolling.  Go ahead, I'll be right here waiting to see what you can come up with.


And even if I ever did get locked up I don't have anything to worry about.  I carry knockout power in both hands and both feet.  I relish any opportunity to practice my fighting skills.

[Elexpatriado]

How do you know what the Venezuelan authorities care about?  Do you have some inside information about the way the Venezuelan authorities operate?  You posted some completely irrelevant article about some Venezuelan cops chasing some guys into Colombia as if that HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING AT ALL.  That's the definition of trolling.  90% of your posts consist of you posting dumb sh*t solely for the sake of posting dumb sh*t.


If I'm such a troll like you say, please give me an example of me trolling.  Go ahead, I'll be right here waiting to see what you can come up with.


And even if I ever did get locked up I don't have anything to worry about.  I carry knockout power in both hands and both feet.  I relish any opportunity to practice my fighting skills.

LOL..too funny

[Awesome]

LOL..too funny

That's all you can come up with?  You call me a troll, quote me where I've made trollish posts.  Yall want to call me a troll but none of you b*tches can show proof of me trolling.  You say dumb sh*t but can never back it up with any logical or coherent reasoning.  You're pathetic as usual, troll.  Just like when MJB took your dumb@ss to school when you tried to give your idiotic uneducated opinion on the farc vote.  You shut up real quick after she made you look stupid.

[Elexpatriado]

That's all you can come up with?  You call me a troll, quote me where I've made trollish posts.  Yall want to call me a troll but none of you b*tches can show proof of me trolling.  You say dumb sh*t but can never back it up with any logical or coherent reasoning.  You're pathetic as usual, troll.  Just like when MJB took your dumb@ss to school when you tried to give your idiotic uneducated opinion on the farc vote.  You shut up real quick after she made you look stupid.

 Hey settle down and take your meds. You are not having an aneurysm there are you buddy ? LMAOF and you dont have the sense to get trvel insurance .

[benjio]

I was talking more about the oil and gas and Energy industry. Thats where my friend works.


And I know Houston is more diversified than that, and the US in general is way more industrialized than Canada.


At my friends age (late 40s I think), it would better serving to go on a tax reduced assignment to Kazakhstan for a year or 2 until things picks up, or he gets something in a transfereable industry like Petrochemicals, what with Exxon spending $20 billion there over next few years and whatever.


Going back to University doesnt always pay back, as you are out of the job market, and spending money.


A lot of extra learning can be done "on the job" and late at night.


A lot of young guys depend too much on computers, and soon forget thier "basic principles" they learned in engineering school. I have seen it over and over.


Like Computers were supposed to eliminate jobs. They seem to create more jobs, because people want more acurate numbers, and want to investigate more and more "alternate scenarios".


And someone with common sense and basic knpwledge still has to analyze the results.


In Canada reight now,the only industry is laundered Chinese mafia money

It's really all about one's willingness to adapt and improve upon themselves. Especially for those approaching middle age. A Masters doesn't have to be a risk, nor do you have to take off of work to get one. Not any more. There are literally thousands of Master's programs at hundreds of institutions built especially for full time working adults, and Master's degrees are the easiest degrees to get grants, scholarships and loans for. There's also plenty of literature online with very informative and up-to-date information about which engineering and IT niches are in highest demand. It's just a question of whether or not someone wants to put the effort in. Unfortunately, more times than not, a middle aged adult that busted their a$$ in college to get a technology degree then honed their skills with 15+ years of hands-on experience isn't ecstatic about going through that entire process again. But that's the world we live in. Professionals with degrees start their careers in their mid-20's and about every 10 years they need to be combining their work experience with some effort to further their education to remain marketable.


When I graduated with my Bachelors my first job was as an assistant database manager for $45K a year. You couldn't tell me I wasn't rich! LMAO!!!! But since then, I have been a database admin, a Logistics Coordinator, an Implementation Project Manager, a software developer, a Systems Analyst and a Business Consultant. Each job paying a little more than the last and demanding a little more education and experience. All this while most of the guys I know have been doing the same thing since they left college, laid off every five years, wondering why their financial situation hasn't changed as they do exactly the same thing every single day.


You mentioned engineering software. That's actually a perfect example of what I'm talking about. You know who writes that software? Ex-engineers with real world experience that went back to school or double-majored in Computer Science, Software Development or Application Systems to begin with. These guys are in super high demand and their starting salaries would give anyone a moment a pause. But try to convince an engineer to take a semester of CS prerequisites, and spend 18 months earning a Masters in Engineering Application Systems. I know everyone is not in the position to do what I'm talking about. Life happens....kids, mortgages, divorces...I get it. But to suggest there's not an alternative to Kazakhstan is a little far fetched IMHO.

[Awesome]

I was walking around the west side of Caracas today when I passed by this old guy in a wheel chair who I heard him ask me to push him a little way.  I thought he meant 20 or 30 feet down the sidewalk, I ended up pushing him like 10 blocks!  I figured it would be easy to push him a few feet but then he kept asking to push him a little bit further and I had trouble understanding him.  So by the time I'd already go about two blocks I just kept going because I didn't want to just bail on him and leave him just sitting in some random place lol.  Then he lit up a cigarette and was blabbering about how he lost his house and the government screwed him over somehow while I was pushing him uphill.  Then finally we got to some apartment building he said he lived in and he looked back at me and said "estas sudando bastante".  I felt like telling him "yea thanks to you for conning me into pushing your old ass all the way over here".  He still thanked me and was polite though.




There are these two Mexican guys from Tijuana at my hotel and I've been hanging out with them a lot, basically because we see each other every day and we're all foreigners.  They made friends with some hot Venezuelan girls from out of town who are staying at the same hotel and one of the girls scored a couple of joints for me.  These guys are cool but they move a little bit too fast for me.  They dress kinda flashy and one of them is real cocky and all they talk about are picking up chicks and partying.  The girls they made friends with are kind of hoodratish/ratchet and I'm trying to explain to these guys to be careful of who they associate with because you never know what could happen.  They've been trying to get me to go out with them which seemed like a good idea at first but I think I'm going to have to pass for now.  I don't want to get into a jam behind someone else's behavior or carelessness, I create enough problems on my own.  There's no need to compound my risk by teaming up with young, cocky, flashy foreigners.  Screw that.  They're here for work so their job keeps them pretty busy which is the good thing about them.  And to be honest I'm just a tiny bit jealous that those chicks chose them to latch onto because I had already tried flirting with both of those girls and I got nowhere jaja.  Oh well I'll get over it jaja!  These guys are saying they're going to follow the girls to another hotel downtown that is nicer but the same cost, and they're telling me to move with them which of course I'm not going to do.  These guys give me the heebee jeebees... or maybe it's just the reefer making me paranoid jaja!!

[robert angel]

Why don't the three of you take this thread into your very own room and call it 'piss, oil and economics'?

Because if it's remotely meant to be some kind of wacky trip report, it certainly isn't catching any traction from the larger membership here....