I'm normally a writer for The Christian Science Monitor. But the next nine weeks, I've traded in my stenopad for an R.A.'s clipboard and tour guide's whistle. Playing resident counselor to 21 college students entails its share of exhaustion but also excitement and healthy doses of humility. I may have reported on events around the world, but I've never before stopped with students to photograph stray cats or watch them amble through darkened city streets to give out left-over restaurant food to the homeless. Seeing Venezuela through their eyes should help expand my own vision.