Although Daniela doesn’t say anything, Cristina senses pity in the uncomfortable silences. It is obvious that her friend would rather be married and unhappy than alone at thirty-something. Cristina gets that same vibe from many Venezuelans across all ages and genders. A “full” life in this society seems to lead to a single path, getting married and raising a family. Anything else is considered failure, particularly for women.
Thankfully, living in the United States opened Cristina’s mind to other paths. First, she wants to achieve success in her career as an interior designer. Caracas had been an ideal place to start her own company. In a matter of two years, Cristina has built an impressive list of clients which includes her family’s friends, many of her childhood buddies and an ever growing number of people that have contacted her because of positive references. She is always taking on new projects, making more money and adding services to her business.
Even though she wouldn’t have been able to achieve so much success in such a short time anywhere else in the world, Cristina sometimes misses the freedom she felt in the States, where society did not impose a specific track and timeline on her life. Yet she knows that by being her own boss Cristina can travel often, train for short marathons, take yoga classes at her convenience and even do a bit of volunteer work. Following her mother’s advice, she’s decided to become a volunteer at the Institucion Nacional de Orientacion Femenina (INOF), a women’s penitentiary located in Los Teques; the final destination for women unable to break vicious cycles.
After taking a quick shower, Cristina throws on a white t-shirt, worn jeans and casual shoes and heads out the door. It takes her forty minutes to arrive at the INOF. She parks in her usual spot, hides her valuables under the passenger seat and locks the car door, decided to leave the baggage behind for a few hours and focus on the volunteer work. Cristina gets strip searched at the entrance and crosses the threshold to an alternative reality, a place freedom never visits.
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