The first problem—though I fear this has always been the case in Venezuela—is excessive air conditioning. Despite a pleasant and steady climate which oscillates between 80 and 90 fahrenheit, it’s entirely possible to freeze to death upon entering a building. Where I work seems to be worse than most. My feet got wet on the way to work (in one of the 10-minute flash floods which can sneak up on you during the rainy season), and I’m close to hypothermia.

Where I work brings us to problem number two of the Revolution: the elevators don’t work. The tallest buildings in Latin America until 2003, these towers have seen better days. The East tower was heavily damaged by a fire in 2004, and given that it housed government offices at the time, it is widely assumed that the opposition was responsible. The West tower is still operational, but the buttons outside the elevator don’t work. This could be fixed, clearly, but the cost of labor is so low that it makes more sense to have people sit in the elevators with walkie talkies, waiting to be called by the security officials on the respective floors. Also, each elevator only arrives to a random selection of floors (often either odds or evens, but sometimes more eclectic patterns). Still, if fascism made the trains run on time, then it’s at least a bit comforting when things don’t work perfectly… just a bit though.

UPDATE: It’s less comforting when I’m in the elevator and they tell everyone to spread out in order to even out the weight distribution…