After we dropped our bags in HELL, I mean our hotel room, we decided to walk around this city that is not larger than East Lansing. The majority of the local residents of Choroni where darker than the people we were accustomed to in Merida, Venezuela. So we, The3Hermanos, fit right in! Even though our hues were similar it is still evident that we were not from Choroni. The people in Choroni, well some, walked around the streets without shoes on. I mean almost EVERYONE walked around this city without shoes as if it were a fashion statement. Even when Chris and I decided to play basketball with some of the locals they were playing without shoes either and playing really well I might add. You can forget about proper ankle support. It was bad, real bad, Micheal Jackson. Chris and I felt that we had an advantage because we kept our shoes on while we played.
Aside from protecting ourselves from possible foot diseases in the restrooms we were not allowed to place toilet tissue in the toilet because the city of Choroni cannot afford large sewage pipes to handle tissue, sanitary napkins, and the like. Yeah think about it...it's gross but it is how they live.
Even in Merida, the little things we take for granted in the United States like fluoride that we have in water. The country of Venezuela does not have fluoride in their water so the water does not help your teeth at all. Also, the water is not purified so the water is "hard" and causes the human skin to become dry and irritated.
In hindsight, the little things that we are accustomed to in America really do matter. Before stepping on Venezuelan soil I thought everyone had simple things like fluoride and purified water but I was wrong. We should not assume because we American that everyone in the world has what we have.
So think about the little things that you have in life and cherish it,
Paris
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