Sooo I may have had my first low point of the semester, apart from the moment when I realized that my group doesn't really like poop stories. This is going to sound crazy, but...two days ago I may have locked my entire family out of our apartment so that my host mom had to hire a professional to come open the door. So. Horrible. And so not like me, am I right?
Shut up. I want my lanyard.
In other news, today I sort of half climbed Cotopaxi, one of the tallest mountains in Ecuador! There are two refuges on the mountain and Jenny, two of Jenny's friends, and Ben and I hiked to the first. I was completely unprepared for how different it is from hiking in New England. First of all, there are no trees and there was a ridiculous wind blowing hail at the side of your face and almost knocking you over. Example:
Also, the dirt was really loose like on a sand dune which was so difficult on the way up but AMAZING on the way down because you could dig your heals in and slide for like five feet each step at a run.
The altitude made me feel pretty dizzy and weak but eventually we made it!
The best views we had were actually on the drive to the foot of the mountain, here are a few of my best pictures.
I am actually so proud of that one. The rocks are all from volcanic explosions.
This is the largest one.
Obligatory attempting-to-jump-and-failing photo.
Lastly, here is me, my host mom, and Jenny at my host mom's birthday dinner:
Today me and the fam are going to the zoo and tomorrow I actually start classes at the University Salesiana! I also begin my community service at PrevenSud, a family planning organization in Quito. I am definitely ready to start having a schedule and classes and attempt to meet some Ecuadorian students (I picked classes with lots of group work in the syllabus, that should help, right?)!
Por fin,
Por fin,
