Maracaibo- the Petrolium Industry

Maracaibo, the second largest city of Venezuela, is the capital of Zulia State, a state that accounts for about 70% of the petroleum produced by Venezuela and exported to countries worldwide. Maracaibo is considered as a major petroleum-shipping center.

The Lake of Maracaibo covers 13,300 sq km (5,140 sq mi) in the Maracaibo Basin. The lake is 195 km (121 mi) long. Major petroleum deposits are located under and around the lake.

The bridge constructed between 1959-1962 ( 8.7 km (5.5 miles) long , 17.4 meters wide, 45 meters high) is considered the largest bridge in the world in reinforced concrete.

Maracaibo- the City

Maracaibo is a modern city with huge bulidings with some hints of colonial architecture. Those hints include the church pictured on the left, known as La Chinita.

Maracaibo presents a mixture of buildings and houses. The typical houses of Maracaibo have colorful walls, just as seen in the picture on the left.

Most of the residences in Maracaibo tend to have air conditioners due to the extremely warm weather in the area. Indeed, Maracaibo is one of the warmest cities in Venezuela.

Life in Maracaibo & in Venezuela

Life in Maracaibo is very active. Maracaibo is characterized by the warm and friendly spirit of its people. During week days it is a busy city, whereas on weekends you can spend your free time visiting malls, shopping centers , restaurants, clubs, and parks that are available.

For the new family, teacher, or student moving to the city, there is both opportunity and challenge: the opportunity to know Venezuela the touristic country -Angel Falls, Los Roques, Merida, and Margarita Island; but also the challenge of adjusting to a new culture.

The PTSA at our school would be more than glad to assist new families in this transition. Our local staff and students are great in making you feel at home -our lovely home EBV, in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

Do you want to know more about the country? Just follow this link for some information on Venezuela:

• venezuelatuya.com

Some Useful Links

• http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/vetoc.html -A Complete Country Study from the Library of Congress, Federal Research Division.
• http://www.embavenez-us.org - Embassy of Venezuela in the US.
• http://www.ds.state.gov - Bureau of Diplomatic Security, includes a link to the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).
• http:// www.Panodi.com - Panorama
• http://www.el-nacional.com - El Nacional, a Newspaper in Spanish.
• http://www.eluniversal.com - El Universal.
• http://www.venezuelaturistica.com/index2.htm - Touristic Guide for Venezuela.
• http://www.venezuelatuya.com/occidente/maracaibo.htm - Maracaibo from Venezuelatuya.com

Some Tips

• Spanish Lessons? Go to CEVAZ (Centro Venezolano Americano del Zulia)
• Classes at EBV: Some of our Local Staff offer Spanish classes at school.
• Learn Spanish on-line: click here
• BusinessSpanish.com. Learn online for free " will teach you how to speak and write business and conversational Spanish by listening and repeating examples and simplified grammar rules. ALL LESSONS and each topic contain vocabulary with recorded AUDIO, and they are organized in Chapters ".
• On-line English to Spanish translator click here or here