When I think about my home country there are so many things I can say about Venezuela. My home country was built with an incredible mix of races. This mix created strong and hardworking people that fight every day to move forward in their lives. We are also blessed with an amazing landscape that will blow you away, and even though right now it is one of the most dangerous countries in the world (and I don’t recommend that you visit it this year) Venezuela has amazing places that I want you to get to know someday, wonderful food and an a rich culture that has been around for a long time. I am biased because I am in love with my home country, but I want you to fall in love too.

One of my favorite things about Venezuela and one of the things that every Venezuelan in the world misses the most is the food. Venezuela has a rich culinary history that goes back for hundreds of years. The arepa is the most iconic food in Venezuela. It is an easy dish that is usually eaten for breakfast (we usually eat savory instead of sweet in the morning). This is a delicious dish that consists of a type of tortilla made out of corn flower, water and salt. The arepa can be stuffed with any kind of filling you can think of. This is a dish we shared with our neighbor country Colombia. Colombian and Venezuelan people have always had an amicable discussion about whom the arepa belongs to, but history says that is from both of our Indian tribes so it is kind of impossible to be sure who the arepa belongs to. Also because at some point in our history Colombia and Venezuela were part of a bigger country called Gran Colombia, it is very hard to know for sure who came up with the idea of the arepa.

Something very magical about Venezuela is the landscapes you can find all over the country. You can go from Pico Bolivar which is the highest mountain in Venezuela where the temperatures reach 20 degrees Fahrenheit to the Amazon rainforest which is not only the lung of planet earth but also the home of many animal species you did not even know exist. Venezuela has 353,841 sq. mi and 23 states where you can find very different ecosystems, my personal favorite are the beaches, from the island of Gran Roques to the peninsula of Paraguana where you can swim in open sea. Venezuelan waters are so crystal clear that you can even see your own feet.

Venezuela is an amazing country that had the misfortune of having a destructive government that has deeply affected the life of every Venezuelan every single Venezuelan. Even though it is nearly impossible to travel around in Venezuela, it is my hope that whoever reads this article gets to know a little bit of the country I come from and understands somehow my love for that little piece of heaven I called home. Hopefully you get interested in knowing a little bit more of Venezuela and visit us one day.