¨Are you a lesbian?¨

A few days back Manfred, Nilaya (I discovered the correct spelling and pronunciation of her name!), Geder, and I were hanging out in Santa Elena.  We had been to the Brazilian border town, Pacaraima, looking for ice cream, but no one had any!  We ended up buying popsicles and ice cream bars from a man in Bolivar square back near Aldeas de Paz.  This is where my coming out story begins...

Manfred noticed my ring on my left hand and said, ¨Is that made of copper?¨  I made some small talk with him about the metals in the ring and then added, ¨I got it at an art fair.¨  To which he replied,¨Oh I thought your boyfriend might have given it to you...¨  I told him that I dind´t have a boyfriend and I stole a line from my mom Bev, ¨I don´t need a man!¨  Manfred proceeded to give me some life and relationship advice about how sometimes it´s nice to share life with someone special.  I was scared to tell him anything because I´ve heard that queer stuff is often hidden and just not talked about openly in mainstream Venezuela.

Yesterday, Manfred and I were driving in the car alone and he started telling me about his past relationships and wives.  He asked if I have ever found someone perfect for me, but then immediately answered his own question, ¨Of course not, or else you would be with him!¨  Without much thought I said, ¨Manfred, there´s something I want to tell you, but I´m afraid because of what I´ve heard about Venezuela.¨

¨Are you a lesbian?¨

I told him yes and that the ring is from the woman I am engaged to be with.  He was very friendly and spoke to me about how his ideal community includes lesbians and gays and all different kinds of people. He also shared a little about his own sexual orientation that does not always jive with the mainstream.  The conversation closed with Manfred saying, ¨I think we are going to be great friends.¨

Brianna