The Elias Jaua ¨Nanny case¨ has so many edges, that I have been trying to establish a hierarchy of the many things wrong with this case. For those who have been living in the Artic Circle, here are the basic facts of the case: Jaua, a former Venezuelan Foreign Minister, now Minister for Communes, went to Brazil, on an official/unofficial trip, reportedly on a private trip, as he needed to have his wife treated at the Syrian-Lebanese Oncology Hospital in that city. Reportedly, he then had his mother in law flown in, with the family Nanny, in a PDVSA jet and on a special flight. As they went through customs on Sao Paulo, a gun was found in the Nanny’s briefcase and she was detained. Later, the Government of Brazil protested, via its Foreign Minister, for Jaua’s “unofficial” trip, which included the signing of agreements with various Government (City of Curitiba) and non-Government groups (Movimiento Los Sin Tierra). The Nanny has been released, but awaits trial. Jaua argues his trip was perfectly valid and he told the Nanny to remove the gun from his briefcase, which contained documents which had little to do with his trip to Brazil. The National Assembly refuses to investigate the affair. Nobody in Government really wants to investigate Jaua.
How many things are wrong with this picture?
Too many in my opinion. Just too many:
-The one a lot of people have focused on, has been the fact that Jaua used a PDVSA jet for his personal use, or at most an unofficial use. This is clearly corruption, but this has become normal during the years of Chavismo. PDVSA has a fleet of planes that has been ready to fly anyone from Antonini, to General Carvajal, to Cuban officials anywhere they want, upon demand. Yes, it is illegal, it is corruption, but in the end, nothing new there, La Carlota airport has been closed to private traffic for 11 years, but you see the planes (PDVSA and Government) take off and land daily from it.
-How about that gun in Jaua’s briefcase? To me, this is more interesting, a Government that claims to be disarming the population, because it is concerned with violence, but then a Minister carries a gun in his briefcase and it is hard to believe the Nanny, “forgot” or could not find the revolver in the briefcase. Hard to believe. What does this say about the mental and emotional state of these Ministers that not only go around surrounded by armies of bodyguards, but are also carrying? What for? What are they afraid of? Does Jaua know how to use the gun? Does he have a permit? Does he think nothing of bringing it to another country?
-The unannounced visit. This is also quite interesting. The trip became an “official¨visit, only after the Nanny was caught with the gun and jailed. Except that the Brazilian Government knew nothing of the trip and complained after that fact via diplomatic channels and publicly. Jaua apparently met with groups and signed agreements, but reportedly this was an excuse brought up afterwards to justify the “Nanny’s” trip. Jaua has said little of what ails his wife, but he has also said little of what the agreements have to do with his Ministry or his responsibilities in Venezuela. He probably never expected the friendly Roussef Government to complain about his trip.
-The Nanny. Some Venezuelans justify Jaua having a Nanny. Why should not he have one if it is so common in the country? Well, to begin with, it is not as common as it used to be, because it is no longer as cheap and only wealthy people can afford to do it. But more importantly, Minister Jaua is not a wealthy bourgeois oligarch ( Or is he?), but a supposed leader of a radical “revolutionary” process. He is a self-confessed “Tira Piedra” (Stone Thrower) who has become more radical with time. But wait. the “Nanny” is not a recent addition to the family. She has been with the family for about ten years, when Minister Jaua was barely beginning his revolutionary career (He was actually doing a Masters Degree at the time). But more importantly, the “Nanny” goes everywhere. She is not stay at home Nanny, but a frequent flyer Nanny, needed wherever the family may be.It makes life easier for everyone.
Because in the end, the new revolutionaries are as bad as the old ones. Jaua may have become more radical with time, according to his own words, but more of an oligarch and bourgeois as time went by. In fact, his kids go to a well known private school in Caracas, where they mingle with the upper classes and since it is a “foreign school” they also befriend the children of diplomats and expats. Thus, Mr. Jaua’s radicalism and revolutionary spirit seems to end at the door to his home. Like so many others in the Chavista Government he hires his wife. That gives them a double salary hosuehold and I guess in their mind justifies the need for a Nanny. Nepotism is not a word used by Chavismo.
And while Mr. Jaua keeps accusing Miranda Governor Henrique Capriles of neglecting his duties, he goes around the world promoting the Bolivarian revolution and not doing his job. This is nothing new, Argentina once refused to accept him as Ambassador, because he seemed to be interested only in promoting the Bolivarian revolution.It seems this is his life, holding positions, but always just dong politics and promoting the revolution. As Minister of Agiculture, Jaua did nothing more than expropriate, but little to promote the use of the lands he took over.
And the briefcase had little of interest to Brazil or the Venezuelan Government. Most documents were about how to win next years election, revolutionary processes, the Government’s political agenda in Venezuela and how to stay in power. I guess Jaua really worries about losing his status as an oligarch. But never mind, his kids are now fluent in another language and he can always send the Nanny to accompany them if necessary.
But the deeper question is how these guys mutate from revolutionaries to oligarchs so fast. At which point did Jaua start betraying those radical ideas that took him to such important positions? Shouldn’t the kids of a revolutionary go to public school with el “pueblo”. How did he get away with sending his kids to this foreign school, while the same institutions were under fire from the revolutionary Government? How do his kids (now adolescents) perceive the world and their father in this potpourri of conflicting ideas? How many nannies does the Jaua family have?
There is something profoundly wrong about this sordid affair. These are the “radicals”, the tira piedras, the encapuchados of the revolution. Their revolution has the consistency of tapioca and their world is a an incredible farce in which they have become the new oligarchs.
And they know it.
The Devil's Excrement 
November 18, 2014 at 2:44 pm
He is going to move $ that are in parallel funds to the reserves, This is a one shot deal…
November 19, 2014 at 5:45 am
Especially when you consider that the price of gold has also been falling & the Banco Central will eventually have to factor in these lower prices into the International Reserves
November 18, 2014 at 2:28 pm
Miguel,
What’s he talking about?
http://www.notitarde.com/Economia/Gobierno-incrementara-esta-semana-las-reservas-internacionales/2014/11/18/395004/
November 19, 2014 at 6:29 am
For Yahoo News, that’s the big story now.
They say he did a 4-hour cadena yesterday, and actually had the balls to say that the economy is already showing signs of improvement.
November 18, 2014 at 1:39 pm
I always spent my half an hour to read this website’s content every day along with a mug of coffee.
November 15, 2014 at 10:32 am
Who says there’s nothing special about Venezuelan “cuisine”?
The Venezuelan asquerocito was just voted the best hot dog in New York City by the Village Voice.
Santa Salsa
http://www.villagevoice.com/bestof/2014/award/best-hot-dog-5026670/
November 14, 2014 at 12:21 pm
I eat arepas from the DC trucks. Very good but too perfect. Home made arepas have burn marks and melted queso coming out of the sides.
November 13, 2014 at 11:15 pm
“For those who have been living in the Artic Circle…”
Well, I read Your blog so I’m not completely in the dark. It’s “Arctic” btw.
I think Jaua carries a gun so he can commit suicide in a hurry if circumstances change.
November 13, 2014 at 2:15 pm
Are there any signs that Chinese government increase the supports to Venezuela? I heard that the cheap Chinese goods are increasing in Venezuela market.
November 13, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Yes, but you still have to pay for the stuff. And VZ already owes China mucho, mucho $, which they’ll be repaying with oil, for like forever.
November 13, 2014 at 9:01 pm
so where does those money come from. as i know, Chinese exporters in Venezuela will not deliver goods unless they get real dollar. we all know that VENEZUELA’s dollar reserve has run out.
November 14, 2014 at 7:20 am
I don’t know what you mean by Chinese exporters in VZ!
November 14, 2014 at 2:04 pm
I mean the exporters who export chinese goods to VZ
November 14, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Works like anywhere else I guess, but I doubt the Chinese take Bolivares as payment.
I don’t know what the deal is with the VZ government trying to bring in more “cheap,” or let’s say “more affordable,” Chinese products into VZ, whether they subsidize or not. But let’s face it:
The U.S. and everywhere else already imports tons of Chinese goods, so what makes VZ so special that they would receive cheaper prices than an in importer in the U.S. or elsewhere?
When the USSR exported to Cuba, the stuff was cheap–because it was total shit and no one in the rest of the world wanted it. Plus, it was cheap because if their communist slave labor policies. And you know what I mean by slave labor. They also did it for political reasons, to show the world the “wonders” of communism.
But modern-day China is a different story. They’re not giving anything away, and they sure wouldn’t sacrifice profits in order to spread communism.
November 15, 2014 at 2:01 am
Here’s a good story, with the VZ govt. subsidizing Barbie dolls.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-11-14/barbie-takes-venezuela?cmpid=yhoo
November 11, 2014 at 6:16 pm
Hey buddy, I’ve missed you. We have not sat down since we had Chinese on 8st
November 11, 2014 at 6:11 pm
.38 caliber? That does sound like a nanny-gun. You want to give women revolvers because of the simplicity.
November 11, 2014 at 6:09 pm
Regarding the food, Ira is correct. Venezuelan cuisine has not taken off in Miami because the Colombians, Cubans and Nicaraguans where here first and beat them at their own game. The much heralded “tequeno” originally from Spain via Venezuela has now morphed in Miami to a cheese and guava filled delicacy that is very popular in Cuban cafeterias. The arepa and cachito linger on in Colombian-Cuban-Venezuelan cafeterias but who is going to pay five dollars for an arepa? Not to many folks. The latest stab is Venezuelan-Italian and don’t hold your appetite…not nearly as good as back home. These joints are designed to earn a residential Visa that’s all. The latest exeriment is opening this week: fast food arepa joint in Doral (aren’t all arepas fast food?). It’s called Amaize as in amazing. I will check it out at least once. There is one place I have to recognize: Hereford Grill. They where here first and the meat cuts are good and the arepitas con nata delicious.
November 11, 2014 at 7:29 pm
There is actually quite distinctive Venezuelan cuisine and even Colombians would accept it’s better than theirs. Unfortunately, cuisine traditions have gone down the drain like most everything else.
Arepas the Venezuelan way are better.
The hallacas are not quite the same as the Tamales.
Preparations with chigüire? Plenty.
And then there are the cachapas, which, unfortunately, are now served in Venezuela almost only with one kind of thick cheese, quite different from 20, 30 years back.
In Venezuela proper if you go to the Llanos you can find fish dishes (Orinoco basin fish).
Then we have stuff like caratos, chichas, etc, not quite the same as in Colombia even if there are similarities. But all in all, it is a distinct cuisine.
Last but not least: traditional Venezuelan hot dogs are yummier than gringo hot dogs just like gringo pizzas can be sometimes better than the original one, the Italian.
November 11, 2014 at 9:35 pm
Those street hot dogs are the best!
But in general, if you went to a decent sit-down restaurant for a quality VZ meal, it’s mostly derivative of other places.
Now, the same can be said of the U.S. The only native foods that come to mind are hamburgers, hot dogs (which come from Germany anyway), fried chicken, and real barbecue–which could ALSO be attributed to the Brazilians. (Steaks sure don’t count because every country has those.)
Yes, you will find fantastic delicatessens in the states, Spanish, Mexican, Chinese and Thai, Italian, Indian…all coming from ELSEWHERE. So my criticism isn’t unique to VZ.
If someone from elsewhere asked me where to go for a “typical” and native American meal, I could only say barbecue. Maybe the shellfish in New England. And a few other regional examples like that.
November 12, 2014 at 1:14 pm
I love Cuba dishes. these guys really know how to cook seafood
November 11, 2014 at 10:08 pm
The national dish use to be meat. Half a cow at a time tossed on the fire served with yuka arepas and lots of beer and great live music. For the rich it was lomito (tenderloin) a la braza or llanero style, a kilo of choice cut stuck on a stick and cooked on an open fire. There were also lot of roast pork places and chicken places for the lower strata. Great fish on the coast with anti pastas like pulpa. There were meat markets even in the barrios and people outside who would cook it for you for a small fee and tropical fruit everywhere. Bakeries and coffee shops on every corner at prices even those making minimum wage could afford. Now, people fight over cans of corned beef and low quality frozen meats from Brazil!
Also, except for basic staples at the Mercal the cost of food has soared with inflation if you can even find it. Of course those running this corrupt revolution are still eating lomito washed down with imported whiskey. When I get mad about all this I make arepas ( a bag of which cost me 3.50USD far less than in Venezuela) and toss what ever I have laying around in it and often eat it plain. What should be the richest country in LatAm is now a corrupt basket case.
November 12, 2014 at 1:20 am
I forgot about those barbecue chicken places. I really loved those, and the ones I went to were always open air–roof only.
In Downtown Caracas right off Avenida Lincoln, Sabana Grande, was one of my favorite restaurants of all time, La Giralda, closed several years now thanks to wonderful revolution.
Anyone here ever hear of it? They used to serve a pitcher of something called Pool (or Pul?) de Cerveza.
A couple of pitches of those and I could fly solo back to Macuto!
November 12, 2014 at 1:09 pm
imported whisky? i prefer Scottish or Japanese whisky.
November 12, 2014 at 1:55 pm
One dish I enjoyed on the rig in Venezuela was huevos pericos, eggs scrambled w vegetables. Which is the way I have cooked my eggs for years. I don’t know if huevos pericos are uniquely Venezuelan or not.
November 12, 2014 at 11:13 pm
Same here! I ate perico all the time when going to restaurants there.
My wife still makes it at home for me, but it’s much better there.
Bad, bad cook.
November 12, 2014 at 6:08 am
Maybe the Arepa has not taken off in Miami, but in places like NYC, San Francisco and Washington DC the Arepa is quickly becoming very popular.
There are now 2 Arepa based Food trucks in DC and one restaurant that just opened.
The folks from Caracas Arepa Bar in NYC now have 3 or 4 locations and there’s one in SF (can’t remember name now) that has 2 locations.
Most of Venezuelan Cuisine, as we know it is rather derivative. Even our “national dish”, Pabellon, has elements found in other countries almost untouched (Rice, Black Beans, Fried Platano and Shredded Beef(AKA Ropa Vieja).
What is truly Venezuelan has been lost in the mists of time, as Kepler rightly points out.
None of the food we consider popular Venezuelan today is truly unique to Venezuela, but that is the case for many other cuisines around the world.
I mean, imagine arguing where hummus is from, or kibbehh?
November 12, 2014 at 6:25 pm
You can get Arepas in TLH at Super Perrors here:
http://www.allmenus.com/fl/tallahassee/323539-super-perros/menu/
Most ly Colom-US fusion. Placed started out as a hot dawg stand (awesome) and grew. Difficult to get too but pretty good food, weekly visits.
November 12, 2014 at 6:26 pm
Perros naturlich.
November 12, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Weird:
Most of the arepas on that menu say “topped with.” I thought they were only filled. In VZ, are they also served thinner, and topped, like you would a half an English muffin? Because THAT sounds better to me.
And should my anti-arepa writings here be taken as pure fact, I DID enjoy the walk-up areperias that a million choices, even pigeon eggs! They were smaller, and the harina pan didn’t totally dominate the flavor.
Like my wife makes them, which is 90% harina pan and 10% filling, which 99% of the time is just cheese. (1% it’s chicharones.)
Like I wrote elsewhere here, bad, bad cook.
November 13, 2014 at 6:30 am
Indeed Ira, they have a different take on Arepas, they treat them (in most cases) as open faced sandwiches. Good tho, and the base is legit. The McCoy is available on request.
November 12, 2014 at 11:14 pm
I adore cachapas, but I will never understand the arepa thing.
November 11, 2014 at 5:56 pm
It was a .38 caliber revolver according to Brazilian authorities. The revolver was in Jaua’s briefcase, she was not carrying it herself.
I have no idea abut the Ambassador.
I have not heard anything about the Nanny being anything but a Nanny, somebody was just asking above.
November 11, 2014 at 5:54 pm
Nanny = cachifa, maid, slave, indentured servant.
November 11, 2014 at 5:53 pm
For example, Ali Rodriguez Araque always packed in an ankle hoster. He used to rankle the PDVSA pilots with the amount of guns on board including the regular deliveries of crates containing assault rifles on trips to Maracaibo. These weapon deliveries where always for FARC
November 11, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Miguel, a few comments: What kind of firearm? A pistol or revolver? Whom does it really belong to? I thought it was a pistol-packing nanny. Why was the nanny’s Facebook account closed? And where was the Venezuelan ambassador to Brasil that supposedly was canned because he was nowhere to be found? It seems that carrying the gun was standard operating procedure. The nanny had to know it was there and did not think twice because they have always done this. However, this trip was slightly different and the dumb nanny did not forsee that having a gun on unnoficial visit w/o the boss at her side would be problematic.
Regarding the nanny as sexual conquest and the trips as pleasure orgies, where is the proof? Amazing the unsubstantiated conjecture we get here from folks who should know beter. We don’t need to go there to show these imbeciles for what they are.
November 11, 2014 at 9:23 pm
A revolver is still a pistol, isn’t it? And what would be the difference if it was a revolver or a pistol with magazine?
November 11, 2014 at 2:53 pm
“”But the deeper question is how these guys mutate from revolutionaries to oligarchs so fast”‘
Isn’t that usually the whole point of revolution? Replacing one group of rulers with another?
November 10, 2014 at 8:41 pm
This shouldn’t surprise anybody to be honest.
Their goal from the very start was to become oligarchy and steal the obscene fortunes.
They’ve always been thieves, swindlers, bastards, granite-faced hipocrytes.
November 10, 2014 at 7:15 pm
OT:
Yuzhou, I’ve been watching a lot of coverage of APEC 2014 on an English-language Chinese news station (CCTV).
Even in English, I don’t understand any of it.
November 10, 2014 at 7:24 pm
that is ok, it is just a political party anyway
November 10, 2014 at 7:01 pm
OT: Clorox comments on its departure from Venezuela: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWxsN_hYt_4&feature=youtu.be
November 10, 2014 at 8:37 pm
OT: Thanks for the link. Quite frankly, I’m shocked there are ANY American or foreign companies still doing business there.
November 10, 2014 at 8:43 pm
I have seen Ali Moshiri of Chevron and the boss of a major group in Venezuela explicitly say the same thing: when things are good, they are VERY good.
November 10, 2014 at 4:33 pm
I have a question other than foods. is this “Nanny” really a Nanny or a mistress?
November 10, 2014 at 4:45 pm
She seems to be a real nanny, but who knows?
November 10, 2014 at 4:48 pm
In VZ, does Nanny has same meaning as maid?
November 10, 2014 at 5:57 pm
A nanny is an employee who takes care of the children.
November 10, 2014 at 5:59 pm
so , did Mr Elias Jaua also brought his children to Brazil?
November 10, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Think of the movie Mary Poppins;
Except Mary Poppins carried an umbrella–not a gun!
HAH!
November 10, 2014 at 7:22 pm
so old a movie!
November 10, 2014 at 7:55 pm
Well, I’m old too! It came out in 1964, and my 3rd grade class went on a field trip to see it at Radio City Music Hall.
November 13, 2014 at 11:40 am
Winner winner chicken dinner
November 10, 2014 at 3:55 pm
“And they know it” but how many citizens know it? This article should be in the newspaper in Spanish. The plain simple truth that everyone should understand. The opposition can use all these facts to educate the people.
November 11, 2014 at 3:00 pm
There is no real opposition media
November 10, 2014 at 1:16 pm
By the way, how old are Jaua’s kids? Do they still need a nanny?
November 10, 2014 at 7:09 pm
I dont think so, she is probably more of a do it all Mujer de servicio.
November 10, 2014 at 11:20 pm
she must be hot, i think
November 10, 2014 at 11:52 am
I’ve already commented on this at a different blog. Nowadays information doesn’t get to the people, specially chavistas who only watch VTV or get their info from other official news media. The Aporrea forum only had a comment on this the Sunday (several days) after it happened. The response was people asking what this was all about, who the sources were, etc. And then a couple of people trying to defend what Jaua had done …… and the comments died. Of course, the news of Capriles trip are still at the top of the list.
November 10, 2014 at 10:36 am
The finances of the government and its officials are closed tight. For the Vzla high officials, its like having a heavy truck loaded with gold bullion where you can take as much as you can carry and keep coming back as often as you want.
The opposition should concentrate on finding out where the Bolivars go. This will take them straight to the corruption. One day PDVSA will have to explain their cash flow and expenses in detail. They can do it now because Chavez almost certainly wanted monthly reports.
November 10, 2014 at 10:10 am
” just dong politics and promoting the revolution. As Minister of Agiculture, Jaua ”
Miguel, these typos are simply delicious for revealing so much about how your subconscious processes Venezuelan politics (I am a Jungian, I cannot help notice such stuff, forgive me).
* ” just dong politics” on the face of it it means nothing but somehow it is so meaningful! 🙂
*”Minister of Agiculture”. So appropriate since the only thing Jaua does is agitprop…
November 10, 2014 at 10:11 am
PS: PLEASE! do not correct those typos!
November 10, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Okay. I relent.
November 11, 2014 at 5:38 am
I’ve told Miguel before not to type with his mouth full, but you are right, Daniel. He shouldn’t stop doing so!
November 10, 2014 at 9:26 am
Jaua’s kids study in a “foreign school”? Do you have any sources? I have never heard that one before!
November 10, 2014 at 9:30 am
They certainly celebrate Bastille Day at their school. Know lots of peopel at that school.
November 10, 2014 at 3:52 am
The offer was made to treat Hugo Chavez at the same Syrian-Lebanese Hospital of Oncology. Not good enough for Hugo, but good enough for his underling. 🙂 The inferred reason for treating Hugo in Cuba instead of Brazil was that there would be better control of information in Cuba.
http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/130206/lula-renews-offer-for-chavez-to-receive-treatment-in-brazilian-hospita
November 10, 2014 at 6:36 am
Maybe Jaua chose Brazil because Cuban hospitals did not work out so well for Chavez?
November 10, 2014 at 8:43 am
Maybe the hookers and food are a lot better in Brazil than Havana.
And I ain’t joking.
November 10, 2014 at 12:20 pm
Maybe Jaua chose Brazil because Cuban hospitals did not work out so well for Chavez?
Perhaps, but if it were simply an issue of superior medical treatment, I’m sure that Chavez would have also chosen Sao Paulo over Havana. Even Fidel knows that Cuba’s medical treatment isn’t top tier- which is why he brought in a Spaniard for HIS medical treatment. No Bolivarian barefoot doctors for Fidel.
Jaua made a no-brainer decision. He didn’t let politics trump treatment for his wife. While politics certainly entered into Chavez going to Cuba for treatment, there are some unanswered questions.
Would Chavez lived had he gotten treatment in Sao Paulo? Or was his a terminal case where it didn’t matter where he got his treatment? Was there a miscalculation or a misstep in treatment in Cuba?
Because Cuba has very tight control of information, it is doubtful we will ever know these answers.
November 10, 2014 at 8:39 pm
Castro got his medical treatments for years in Boston, in the middle of the mean, evil empire.
November 10, 2014 at 1:12 am
Porque soy el unico aqui hablando con el chine?
November 10, 2014 at 1:39 am
Because I’m the only one here talking to the chine？
November 10, 2014 at 2:09 am
Maybe they think I will never have courage to go to VZ, not mention taste the foods
November 10, 2014 at 3:19 am
you can go, just be careful, have a good guide like a friend,someone you can trust.
I recommend street food from Maracaibo.Beautiful beaches: Chuao and Choroni. Keep it simple.Good night!
November 10, 2014 at 3:25 am
Ok, maybe next time when i make some good VZ friends. one of my English teachers is from VZ, she had bad memory with VZ unfortunately.
November 10, 2014 at 8:44 am
If your VZ friend has a gun, maybe,
November 10, 2014 at 8:38 am
We’re with you in spirit, Ira, enjoying the conversation.
November 10, 2014 at 8:45 am
Now THAT’S funny!
November 10, 2014 at 11:34 am
Porque sólo tu hablas chino
Javier
November 12, 2014 at 11:59 am
In Texas, Hispanics use the term “hablas chino” for those who talk too fast in Spanish they can’t be understood. Tejano Spanish isn’t spoken at Venezuelan or Caribbean rates of speed, so some Tejanos have difficulty with rapid Spanish- especially second or greater generation Tejanos whose primary language is English.
November 10, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Porque el chinito(a) cambió el tema y tu de bolsa le estás siguiendo la corriente.
November 10, 2014 at 3:54 pm
what does chinito mean in Spanish？ small Chinese?
November 10, 2014 at 7:04 pm
Yes! And you can call me el judito:
The little Jew!
November 10, 2014 at 7:11 pm
Juidito: buy the book about Chinese food. What’s your favorite Chinese in your area?
November 12, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Turning Chino into the diminutive- Chinito- makes it a term of affection, of endearment.
November 10, 2014 at 12:52 am
Yuzhou, Venezuela isn’t really known for having food that’s very distinct from the rest of South America, and now all of the Venezuelans here are going to yell at me, but I can tell you this:
The Chinese restaurants in Venezuela give you BREAD, which is totally ridiculous. But for good food in the country, go to the BEACHES.
The food stands, the food carts on the street, are fantastic, and on many of the beaches, people walk by selling oysters and other seafood to be eaten cold.
Or at least they used to, before Chavez fucked everything up.
November 10, 2014 at 12:58 am
Is it safe to walk in beach? I heard your country is famous for crime rate now. and, normally Chinese restaurant only give customers rice or noddle, they do it in China and LA. first time I heard give customers breads, but , why it is ridiculous? do you not like breads?
November 10, 2014 at 1:10 am
Thank God I don’t live in VZ now. And it’s not safe to walk ANYWHERE there nowadays. As a Chinese, you would be robbed or killed in less than an hour.
And for the bread…who doesn’t like bread? But real Chinese food doesn’t include bread! Rice and noodles only!
November 10, 2014 at 1:30 am
you know what, real Chinese food did not include orange chicken either. those foods are for foreign customers only, so maybe those Chinese restaurants just think that you may like bread
November 10, 2014 at 4:48 am
Mr. Lin, the most obvious,
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/arepas
November 10, 2014 at 8:30 am
Yep! I know what you’re saying! You’re right.
There are a lot of Chinese dishes that we eat in America that aren’t Chinese at all. They’re American inventions!
I used to be very into Chinese cooking, trying to cook it myself (it’s HARD to do correctly), and I used this one huge book as my “bible” for recipes.
Chinese cooking is so fascinating because of the different styles from different regions. None of us who aren’t Chinese understand these differences at all, because where we live, our choices are so limited.
But now you inspired me to start cooking Chinese again! The big problem I have is that where I live in Florida, we don’t have gas for cooking. It’s electric stoves only, and that’s horrible to use for a wok.
And Miguel–I know this discussion has nothing to do with airlines, but it’s a lot happier subject.
I like you, Yuzhou!
November 10, 2014 at 8:39 am
Ira:
I know its off topic, but fun topic, no problem.
Top get my two cents in and since I know you are interested in food, you should read this one:
Iits about a NY Chinese girl trying to figure out where those dishes come from, fun book!
November 10, 2014 at 4:09 pm
lack of gas for cooking is a problem even for Chinese in USA. However, as my personal experience, some dishes can be cooked with electric stoves. the taste may be a little different from cooking with gas, but it is also delicious.
November 10, 2014 at 11:44 pm
I live in Florida and have a gas stove top.
November 11, 2014 at 6:30 am
In Florida it’s usually the age of the house/neighborhood that determines if you have access to gas infrastructure. Where I live – in North Florida- Propane is usually available, but maybe not piped methane.
November 10, 2014 at 12:44 am
I have question, what kind of food is delicious in Venezuela. I think i will never step in Venezuela as the bad safety situation but I can find a restaurant in LA and taste them. tell me, friends ,,,
November 10, 2014 at 9:28 am
Here are some options for Venezuelan food in LA: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=venezuelan&find_loc=Los+Angeles%2C+CA&ns=1&ls=897a09f029f24206
November 10, 2014 at 3:57 pm
Thanks Amigo
November 10, 2014 at 12:02 am
Maybe they needed to deposit something overseas.
November 9, 2014 at 11:17 pm
Miguel, these typos are KILLING me. Please–I volunteer to proofread, not edit.
But I was most shocked that there’s actually something called the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital of Oncology.
I think I would rather die.
But what happened to Cuba’s ground-breaking medical practices and treatments? Why Brazil over Cuba?
Gee, let me guess?
November 10, 2014 at 12:47 am
why not they treat in China, we have best doctors for those foreign powerful friends and it is totally free !
November 10, 2014 at 1:06 am
Yes, in CHINA!
But not in Brazil!
China is doing amazing things, and no one is denying that.
But you have to remember that until not long ago, Chinese mothers killed their female babies, because they were only allowed to have one child and for some reason, Chinese culture thinks that boys are better than girls. The country even provided free abortions for pregnant women who were going to give birth to girls! And tax penalties to parents who had more than one child.
To us in the west, this is a despicable, disgusting way for people to look at life. We can’t understand it, and we will never be able to understand it. It proves the horrible nature of Communism, and although China has turned into a Capitalist society, more or less, it’s going to take decades for the west to trust the country.
November 10, 2014 at 1:11 am
yeah, i feel shameful for those things too. we can regard those things as Chinese version of Dark age. it will pass just as western countries pass dark age. at least, now we barely heard about killing baby girls. and the abortions are not free anymore.
November 11, 2014 at 2:55 pm
Women have to pay for forced abortions?
November 11, 2014 at 3:46 pm
if the abortions are forced, of course it is free. i just mean that there are no such thing called”The country even provided free abortions for pregnant women who were going to give birth to girls”. in fact, whether or not a woman will be forced to abortion is depend on if she break the single-child law. not depend on whether she is carrying a girl. what is more, it is illegal to know the gender of a unborn child, this law is used to prevent women abortion girls.
November 9, 2014 at 11:14 pm
Additional questions: Why his wife has treatment abroad while in Venezuela hospitals do not have even acetaminophen?