What do you MISS and NOT MISS about your home country?

[Saltenya94]

What do you MISS and NOT MISS about your home country?

Though I have been in Bolivia a smaller fraction of my life, there were definatly some differences and things I miss

WHAT I MISS:
-How the people talk (in La Paz anyway). There's a sweetness that ppl have in thier language that I look back with some fondness. Not from everybody of course, but "Aye pues no" and people would talk with their whole body. Using their arms and knoding with thier heads.

-When a group of 5-6 people get together and someone will make a joke, or say something silly everyone will say "Yaaaa" in unison and laugh.
For Example:
"I am rich and good-looking," says I.
"Yaaaaa," everybody laughs. :)

-Saltenas sold in the comercial districts. Salchi Papas (a Kiosk frying diced up hot dogs and diced french fries, served with mayo/ketcup) a few steps away from my grnandma's house all the way to 1AM. Heaven in the La Paz cold.

-How the little kids run behind the micro-buses. Doing it to get a free ride on the bumper/or maybe for the thrill of it all.

- Soccer 24/hrs/day 7/days/week

- Hearing languages other than Spanish (though not understanding them to well)

- The Andean music of La Paz + the Happiness I felt listening to Pazenos playing Heavy Metal singing in English (w/accents of course) on a faint-signal pirate Radio station very LEFT of the dial. (note I'm more of a punk-rock person myself, but it was nice all-the-same)

WHAT I DON"T MISS:
- Getting ripped off. I for the most part enjoyed haggling by the time my Spanish got more Bolivian, but I paid some crazy rates b/c of my accent

- No bathrooms on the charter buses to Cochabamba. Geryhound spoiled me.

- The Corruption/Bribes. Everywhere we went it was "give me some $$$ or this (ride/transaction of papers/we'll take u to jail) will take longer"

- No Bathroooms anywhere. I'd buy something at a store. They'd still not let me use their bathroom. Must admit US spoiled me here too. The most prayin' I ever did in my life was in Bolivia - praying my liver wouldn't explode :D

- No water in Cochabama BEFORE 10 am and after 5 (?) 7(?) I think.

- Seeing all those teachers striking all the time. No wonder the country has problems. What do you expect from the young generations when they don't even finish thier schooling/ or it keeps getting interupted.

- Classism - People put a lot of emphasis on last names. And how people from the country get dissed. I wasn't too fond of that, I must admit.

That's all I remember now.

[Pibe#10]

hey we have salchi papas in Colombia too!

What I miss

- Family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins...)
- Culture
- Food and ambience
- The warmth of the people

What I don't miss

- Violence
- Muggins

[DanRod78]

This is about Venezuela

What I miss:
- 1st of all, THE FOOD. American food sucks. I miss eating fish, arepas, venezuelan hamburgers (with everything), chicha, cachapas, platanitos, etc, etc.
- Family and friends
- Going to the beach in Caracas and Falcon (just south of Aruba)
- Running into animals (sounds funny but its true), where I live in the US you see animals only during the summer and not many.
- The historic places and everything that has to do with culture (carnival, dances, etc.)
- Seeing funny things that you don't see in the US because people have money or the laws are too strict (cars that barely work, people riding hanging outside the buses, etc.)
- The weather, where I live the temperature has gone down to -14 F. (how in the hell did people live here 100 years ago?)
- Speaking spanish (venezuelan) and using slangs
- And of course, venezuelan women.

What I don't miss::
- The dirty streets of Caracas
- The constant (day and night) traffic in the city where I grew up
- Crime, having to watch your back everywhere you go.

I don't care much about the negatives because I've gone to Venezuela twice in 9 years, so I wouldn't care.

[JuanArango82]

Dammit I was in Venezuela last week, and everyone I know is telling me "man, you should stay In Venezuela a little bit longer". Now this thread comes up with DanRod's post in it. :(

To add to Danrod's list

I miss
- Getting on the Microbus and saluting everyone while they salute you back in the morning.
- Going to el Polideportivo and playing baseball, Basketball, and futbol on the same day. Probably only place besides the U.S. where that is done.
-women of alll race and social background.
- The different Venezuelan accents.
- Deciding to go to the beach at the last minute without a problem.
-Family

I don't miss
- I never had any problems with theft or Violence plus that stuff happens here too.
-Venezuelan tv, besides Meridiano TV and the cable channel I cannot stand to watch Venevision or RCTV.

[efernandez9]

I Miss:

the trip to the hills and vuelta oriente
las arepas
el guaro
los caballos


I do not miss:

the military ck points
the street kids stealing gold chains and windshield wippers

[efernandez9]

Al menos 48 personas, entre ellos 10 soldados, murieron en combates registrados hoy en diversos puntos de Colombia entre tropas del Ejército e integrantes de grupos guerrilleros y paramilitares, informó una fuente oficial.

De acuerdo con fuentes castrenses, los choques más intensos se presentaron en la región de Villanueva, en el oriental departamento del Casanare, donde 10 soldados y 21 paramilitares murieron.

Los enfrentamientos continúan en esa región ganadera, donde el Ejército realiza una operación de persecución de miembros de las Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), que rompieron la promesa de cese al fuego que hicieron para negociar con el gobierno.

El Comando del Ejército indicó, por otra parte, que 17 guerrilleros de las rebeldes Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) murieron en el sitio Llano Grande, en los límites entre los departamentos de Antioquia y Chocó, en el oeste del país.

[argentine soccer fan]

I miss:

The way people are. Argentines wear their hearts on their sleeve. We can get into a taxi and in twenty minutes we learn the driver's whole life, or we can argue politics, philosophy or religion and then never see him again. The women. They have a different way, a femininity which is not a weakness but a strength, noticeably different from women in the US. The noises of Buenos Aires, running into people on the street and having a cup of coffee at a corner cafetin. The football on the radio. The depth of the people and the ability we have to laugh at problems and despair. The barbecues with lots of red meat and red wine. The football pick up games on the street. So many things.

I don't miss:

The informality drives me crazy. People not keeping promises. The cynical politicians and demagogues, (although here we are unfortunately moving in that direction). The disregard for the law and distrust for the police (well earned) and for all those in authority, the class hatred, the disdain for those who have less and envy towards those who have more. The feeling of hopelesness when desiring improvement and a better life and finding no oportunities.

[argentine soccer fan]

I miss:

The way people are. Argentines wear their hearts on their sleeve. We can get into a taxi and in twenty minutes we learn the driver's whole life, or we can argue politics, philosophy or religion and then never see him again. The women have a way, a femininity which is not a weakness but a strength, but different from women in the US. The noises of Buenos Aires, running into people on the street and having a cup of coffee at a corner cafetin. The football on the radio. The depth of the people and the ability we have to laugh at problems and despair. The barbecues with lots of red meat and red wine. The football pick up games on the street. So many things.

I don't miss:

The informality drives me crazy. People not keeping promises. The cynical politicians and demagogues, (although here they are unfortunately moving in that direction). The disregard for the law and distrust for the police (well earned) and for all those in authority, the class hatred, the disdain for those who have less and envy towards those who have more. The feeling of hopelesness when desiring improvement and a better life and finding no oportunities.