After struggling with a new language and fielding bizarre questions about Bermuda, Gaynet? Edwards has finally adjusted to life in Venezuela as part of an exchange programme.

Miss Edwards, 18, has been on a Rotary Exchange youth programme in Maracaibo, Venezuela since last September.

Miss Edwards told about her life as an exchange student through the Internet.

?When I first stepped off the aeroplane everyone appeared to be speaking so fast,? Miss Edwards said. ?It wasn?t like the Spanish tapes that I had listened to in class. I didn?t understand the simplest phrases as they were being said to me. During my first two weeks here I felt as if I were stuck in neutral. I was paralysed by the language.?

Miss Edwards is very thankful to her Spanish teacher, Mrs. Mary Cottle, at Berkeley Institute for teaching her the language.

?It would have been impossible to leave Bermuda without having had a strong Spanish foundation,? she said.

While in Venezuela Miss Edwards became more fluent in Spanish by listening to the radio, television and also speaking it.

?Right now I am at a stage where I am able to speak confidently in Spanish,? Miss Edwards said. ?It definitely feels good not to be stopped and corrected by my friends or host family members in the middle of sentences. I feel a sense of victory. Now that I have the Spanish language barrier out of my way, I am studying French and Latin.?

Life in a different country has been a real eye-opener for Miss Edwards.

?It?s really sad the many things Bermudians take for granted and even sadder that one doesn?t realise what they have until it is no longer there staring them in their face,? she said.

Miss Edwards pointed out that in Venezuela 80 percent of the population live in poverty, a stark contrast to life on one of the richest islands in the world.

?The worst for me thus far was watching a man with a tumour the size of a basketball in his stomach, stumble around the streets shirtless begging for money,? she said. ?It is unbelievable how unfortunate some people are.?

She said political problems are also more intense in Venezuela than they are in Bermuda. ?I have yet to meet someone who is fond of President Hugo Chavez,? she said. ?Just about every day there are riots among the streets of Maracaibo in protest of any and everything that he does. The majority of them end pretty ugly. Luckily, I live in a pretty peaceful area, so I never actually have to witness these events first hand, but I do hear the gun shots in the distance some days.?

But she said there are also many good things about Venezuela, particularly the country?s natural beauty. Venezuela has hundreds of waterfalls, deserts, beaches mountains and rainforests.

?Another positive point about Venezuela is the people, who tend to be warm like the majority of Bermudians,? Miss Edwards said. ?An additional thing that I like about here is that local talent is the most popular, which is a contrast to Bermudian talent. There are many musicians from Maracaibo who are supported strongly by the community, and for that reason, have become very popular in the Latino American music market.

?When I first arrived here, everyone was so excited for me to listen to the local music compared to Bermuda where local acts seem to be shunned despite their bounds of talent.?

During her stay in Venezuela, the exchange programme has required her to change host families so she gets a wider picture of the country?s culture.

?At first I didn?t really see the point of changing host families during my exchange year, but it really does make a huge difference,? she said. ?I have learned so much more about the culture, and just life in general by changing families.?

Miss Edwards said there is hardly a dull moment with her new host family. They enjoy taking her to different places and including her in their everyday lives.

?They try really hard to make me feel comfortable and a part of the family,? she said.

However, Miss Edwards finds it difficult to constantly field strange questions about Bermuda.

?I have been asked if we have buildings, if I live close to the Bermuda triangle, are there any other occupations in Bermuda other than fishing, if Bermuda is bigger then my school here (which, by the way, is really small), did I get to Venezuela by boat, are there any Caucasian people in Bermuda, is Bermuda the same place as Bahamas, have I ever seen a car before I came to Venezuela, and even if we have cheese,? she said.

In addition to the questions about Bermuda, the food in Venezula also took some getting use to.

?The majority of it is fried with pounds of grease, accompanied by white rice and or plantains and stuffed with this really strong white cheese,? Miss Edwards said. ?Although I am still not too crazy about the cheese here, I have begun to enjoy a majority of the main dishes in Venezuela. My favourites being Teque?os that are similar to mozzarella sticks, but with a sweet, hand-made pastry, and baked in an oven; and Empanadas which are a corn-like pastry pocket, fried, and filled with your choice of: ham, cheese, chicken, hamburger, corn, or potatoes.?

She has also had a chance to try authentic Mexican food, because her host mother is from that country.

?Fortunately I live in a city and whenever I am in the mood to eat something different from the local cuisine, I can always go to any number of American fast food restaurants and a huge variety of Chinese and Arabic eat-outs,? she said. ?Of course there isn?t a Coconut Rock or L?Oriental restaurant here in Maracaibo. They are my favourites in Bermuda.?

Unlike Bermuda, Miss Edwards? part of Venezuela is hot all year round.

?The part of Venezuela that I am in has a reputation for being the hottest part of Venezuela with an average temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit,? she said. ?The temperature sometimes exceeds that. The good thing is that everywhere is air-conditioned, including my school, so I rarely have to face the scorching temperatures for too long. I have also had the privilege to travel along with some other exchange students here all through Venezuela, from the beautiful beaches, to the freezing cold Andes Mountains, to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to the Gran Sabana and Amazon Rainforest. I have also had the opportunity to travel to Margarita Islands, Aruba and Brazil during my time here.?

Her exchange trip to Venezuela has not been all fun and sun. She has also been attending school regularly.

?My first few weeks in my school were pretty tough,? Miss Edwards said. ?I saw the teachers? mouths moving, but failed to comprehend much of what they were saying. Fortunately, I began catching on to more and more of what the teachers had to say as time passed. Eventually, I got to the point where not only did I listen, but I began to respond to their questions and give my opinions.?

If Miss Edwards had to give other students advice about going abroad she would tell them to not think twice about it.

?You learn and grow so much within a year abroad as an exchange student,? she said. ?Yes, at times it is hard, particularly around the holidays, but the rewards greatly outweigh the difficulties. You learn about another culture, and also, by extension, learn things about yourself and your own culture that you never knew before. You also become more independent as an individual, get a once in a lifetime opportunity to be an ambassador for your country, learn a new language and get the chance to make life long friendships. It is truly a year of revolution.?