Venezuela

When the plane arrives in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, you will see a modern city in a colorful valley. The people you meet will welcome you warmly—Venezuelans enjoy introducing visitors to the charms and richness of their country.

Venezuela has welcomed people from Western Africa, Italy, Portugal, Germany, and, more recently, immigrants from other Latin American countries. This ethnic mix has produced a creative and energetic culture that spans all art forms.

In Venezuela, family connections and the bonds formed by friendship are the network that tie the country together, so chances are good that your host family will take its family ties and responsibilities seriously. Your host family will have many reasons to get together with extended family and friends for parties, holiday gatherings, and Sunday dinners.

You’ll celebrate many holidays tied to Venezuela’s independence, the Catholic church, or to African ancestry. Depending on where you live, you may participate in Carnival in February or Los Diablos Danzantes (Devil Dances) in late spring. This holiday, celebrated in San Francisco de Yaré, a town south of Caracas, is marked by a spectacular parade and the "Dance of the Devils," who are elaborately masked and costumed.

Academic Programs

While living with your host family you will attend high school, where you get to choose from humanities or science tracks. While courses are academically challenging and some are mandatory, you will also have the opportunity to set your own study goals and select subjects of your interest. Students must be born between March 1, 1991 and September 1, 1994. Overage students cannot be accepted on the regular academic program and can only participate in the Gap year option.

Students will participate in a 3-day orientation upon arrival in Venezuela. You will meet some volunteers and returnees as well as Exchange Students from other YFU countries also participating in the program in Venezuela. A mid-program orientation for year students will ensure that you are gaining the most out of your cultural exchange experience. There will also be a re-entry orientation before students depart to help ease the transition back to the United States.

While YFU pays for school enrollment fees, students must cover the costs of a school uniform, school materials and transportation fees.

Optional trips offered by YFU can enhance your experience as an exchange student and provide additional opportunities for you to experience the variety of cultures and regions that make up this tropical country.

While the trip destinations vary by year, if you choose to visit Merida, a state located in the Andes of Venezuela, you'll see amazing mountain landscapes, ride mules, and enjoy wonderful meals. Parque Nacional Morrocoy is a group of white sand islands located along the Carribean coast. You'll work on your suntan and spend the night talking for hours with your exchange friends near the hotel pool watching the stars. Choosing the trip to Angel Falls (Churún-Merú), the world’s highest waterfall, offers you the opportunity to explore plenty of waterfalls and undiscovered paths, share time with the local indigenous people, and have the adventure of your life. Finally, the trip to Los Roques is a worldwide known national park with hundreds of white sand and transparent water islands. It is the best way to finish your exchange experience by watching tropical fish, sailing, and relaxing.

Gap Year Abroad
Theater, dance and arts options are available as a Gap Year Abroad option. Learn more about other 13th Year Abroad Programs.

Gap Year Abroad Theater
Attend school at Escuela Cesar Rengifo and study theater history, theater analysis, acting, voice education, and diction. In addition to theater classes, students will take literature, Venezuelan history, mathematics, physical education, and other academic classes.  Solid intermediate level command of Spanish is required

Gap Year Abroad Dance
Attend school at the Instituto Universitario de Danza. Subjects include technique and methodology of contemporary dance, choreographic composition, popular dance, pedagogy, general psychology, anatomy applied to dance, social history of art and language. Previous contemporary or classical dance experience and solid intermediate command of Spanish is required.

Summer Program

Discover Venezuela
If spending six weeks in a relaxed Caribbean environment is your kind of summer, Discover Venezuela is for you. Summer students benefit from the same rich mix of living with a Venezuelan family and learning a new language and culture as year students do. As a summer student, you’ll enjoy a variety of activities and learning opportunities during your six-week stay in this colorful and lively country.

Programs, Departures, and Costs

Online Resources

To learn more about Venezuela, we recommend:

• E-mail YFU Alumni from the Alumni Referral List with your questions
• Visit your local library to find reference books, travel guides and essays, Spanish language dictionaries, and many more country resources 
• Use an internet search engine to find informative web sites 
• Embassy of Venezuela in Washington, DC web site

"You have to know someone and where they come from before you can form an opinion about them." - Katherine Freer

All YFU Programs are subject to change or cancellation without prior notice.
Last Updated: Monday, December 8, 2008