Regresando a los años noventa

Today, Venezuela has the real GDP per capita at its levels of 1960s. What I took from my sources is the information that in the 1970s, after the oil shock, or oil bonanza as it is frequently referred to here, its GDP per capita was at the level of West Germany. So now, basically, the GDP per capita is lower than it was in Germany in the 1970s.

People who know me a bit better already know that I regard GDP and GDP per capita as numbers that show absolutely nothing and they are only used by some people, especially leftists, to psychologically masturbate with them. But I'm writing about these figures just to show you on what level of development Venezuela actually is, following more than 30 years of constant crisis. But that's merely an introduction, in order for you to understand what I would like to tell you.

As said in the subject of this post, I'm feeling like I was coming back to the 1990s. During those years, Poland was struggling with all the state services; we commonly had a black-out or water shortage. I remember those times, having to read books using candles, waiting long hours for the water to come back etc. Unfortunately, it's what happens in Venezuela now. The level of state services is very, very bad, as well as the development of infrastructure. In their place, there are sometimes private services, which doesn't mean they are better, because there's no competition. Here's a photo of a common (private) street bus:

And another problem is that there's no water in the pipes since 2 days. I mean, there is water, but only reglamented; from 7 to 8 in the morning, 12 to 1 in the afternoon and 8 to 9 in the evening. However, today for instance, the water started at 8:05 PM and finished at 8:20 PM...

Now, a small addition to what was written yesterday:

- Almost all the Venezuelans have a Blackberry phone. They are using it all the time, because it doesn't cost anything to send a message - like with WhattsUp, you just pay for the Internet connection. So in the metro, as well as on the street, and in offices, it's very common to see a person typing in her or his phone. What actually shows the level of informality is that they don't regard using a phone in front of another person as a problem. What I mean is that people meet, for example for dinner, or for a couple of drinks, and at least 20-30% of the time is occupied with typing in the phone. In Poland it would be regarded as either sign of being very bored or a sign of very high disrespect at the same time.

- The Venezuelans are late all the time. Not all of them, of course, but it's a common "sin" here to be late. In Poland many people are late, and some of them do it all the time, but it is still regarded as a sign of disrespect and being very out of order. Here it's assumed as a natural thing.

- It doesn't really comply with the fact of having informality at a very high level, but it's interesting anyways. There's a gesture in Venezuela, which is flicking your fingers, and it means "a little bit". However, the same gesture in Poland (completely the same) means "fuck you". So the first time I saw this gesture I was stunned, and it took some time before I started understanding that it's not profanity. :)))

Words and gestures may not be profanity, but how to describe this taxi?