I wish that I was... bulletproof

I’m feeling better today mentally and physically. I have almost kicked even this cold.

I went to visit one of the really nice restaurants for prices today, I wanted a couple prices so the owner just gave me to take one of his really nice, large menus. Miguel said when I got in the car “you’re American, it’s no problem, everyone wants to be nice to you.” Guess so! The next day I went out to eat with Miguel. He couldn’t believe how much I ate. He said he never would have thought I could eat as much as I did. Typical, haha.

I had an allergy scare at a restaurant tonight, I have no idea what it was or why my taste buds were acting up, but everyone wanted to know why I wasn’t eating my food. I felt really bad about it especially because most people don’t understand allergies and I was letting my food sit and get cold while I panicked , drank water and shoved benedryl in my mouth. “No nuts” they said over and over, but my mouth was telling me otherwise.

People here in Venezuela are aggressive when it comes to things like driving, (ESPECIALLY) driving, but on the other hand are very polite. They wait in line, they say their please, thank yous and excuse me’s. Friendly and willing to help, but no more friendly than North Americans, I would say. This is not a good or a bad thing.
Pollution is terrible. Horrible. You can feel its grittiness and stink in the air. It’s thick.

Realtor meetings went well, Luis was very friendly, Maria was very informative but all business. In and out answering my questions and no chit-chat in between. Both great sources for this ever-changing market. This is the type of stuff that makes my wheels spin because it’s so hard to imagine the market, living conditions, life in general changing as rapidly as it does here. I found it very interesting that realtors that deal with expats must maintain a low profile, because they deal with expats. No dressing up, casual wear only. Usually it’s easy to tell who is and who isn’t a foreigner anyways, but expats don’t want any more attention then needed directed at themselves and those they are with. Speaking of security, there were some sort of security guards hanging out at the hotel with bullet-proof gear on, and further, I actually passed by a BMW dealership that advertised bullet-proof cars. Can you imagine what kind of society you live in where you would need this? It’s totally insane.