Donde esta mi gente.

Well hi there! Sorry I haven't been around for a little while. They keep us busy here at the center and with my free time I have taken up the hobby of napping. Since it has been a minute, I have a lot to fill you in on so let's get started!

Hola! Perdona me que no escribí por mucho tiempo. Estamos muy ocupados aquí en el centro y con mi tiempo libre me gusta tomar siestas. Pero porque pasa mucho tiempo tengo muchas cosas para decir a ustedes. Vamanos pues!

We had a three day weekend this month and we took advantage of the break to do some traveling outside of Quito with our friend Julia. Riobamba and Banos were our chosen destinations where we hiked a volcano and slid down waterfalls. It snowed while we were on top of the volcano Chimborazo and I made a snowman. The air was so thin at the altitude of 16732 ft which made it difficult to breath but made the experience all the more exciting. I tried Coca tea (cocaine tea) at the top of the mountain, it was delicious and much needed after the tiring hike. Coca tea is made by soaking coca leaves in hot water these leaves are the same leaves used to make cocain. Alkaloids are extracted chemically from several kilos of coca leaves to make the base of cocain. For this reason drinking coca tea is not the same as taking cocaine although it is a simulant (equivalent to a medium strength cup of coffee), would show up on a drug test and is illegal in the US unless it is decocainized. The tea is only legal and found in South America.

Tuvimos un fin de semana de 3 días y por eso viajemos a Riobamba y Baños con nuestro amiga Julia. Subiremos un volcán se llama Chimborazo y veamos nieve y hacía un muñeco de nieve. El aire fue muy difícil para respirar por que estuvimos muy alto hasta 5,100 metros. Cuando subimos en la montaña bebía té de coca y fue delicioso. Este té es hecho con los mismo hojas para hacer Cocaine. Pero tienen que hacer un proceso cemical para sacar los alkaloids de multiples kilos de hojas para hacer cocaine. Por eso reson tomando te de coca is differente de tomando cocaine pero es un estimulante (igual a una cafe de medio fuersa), y es ilegal en los estados unidos.

After going to Riobamba we took a bus to Banos, a very touristy place. In banos there are tons of outdoor activities to do anything from sitting in hot pools to repelling down waterfalls. On our first day there we checked into our hostel and went out to eat at a place called Stray Dog. This restaurant is named for the many stray dogs that roam the streets of banos and take take care of drunk people as they walk them back to their hostels. The food was delicious and the owner was from the US so we got to have a nice conversation with him.

Después de Riobamba tomemos un bus a Banos, un puesto de turismo. Aja hay muchos actividades para hacer en la naturaleza como piscinas calientes y cascadas. En la primer dia llegamos al hostel y comemos en un restaurante se llama Stray Dog. Se llama eso porque hay muchos perros de la calle y se cuidan a borrachos cuando están caminando a su hostel. La comida fue delicioso y el hombre quen tiene el restaurante estaba de los estados unidos y conversemos con el.

The next day we went cascading in the morning. I got to put on my first wetsuit and repel down very cold water. We repelled down two waterfalls, slid down one and the last one we jumped off backwards. It was terrifying and awesome, terrifyingly awesome. Especially since I am afraid of heights or more so falling from a high place. I always put myself in situations though where I'm climbing up tall things and jumping off.

El proximo dia fuimos cascading en la mañana. Yo puse mi primer wetsuit y baje de agua muy frío. Bajamos de dos cascadas, deslizado uno, y salte hacia atrás del final cascada. Me puso mucho miedo pero fue genial. Tengo miedo de caller hasta puestos muy altos pero siempre me puse mi persona en estas situaciones.

Later that day we went up into the mountains in rented vehicles to some swings and to see the view. Unfortunately it was cloudy and raining by the time we got up to the mountain (ahem Colin). We did get to see some really cool rainbows though and watched one of our friends go on a giant swing over a cliff. (the pictures from the waterfall and swing are on the video page of my blog)

Mas tarde en esta dia subimos los montanas en vehículos rentados para ir a unos columpios y para ver la vista. Estuvo con nubles un fortunatamente pero nos veremos a unos arco iris my genial. las imágenes de la cascada y el columpio están en la página de video de mi blog.

Our final day in banos we went up to the swing of the edge of the world Casa del Arbol. Were my famous cover photo was taken. It cost a total of $3 to do this activity including transportation. The bus was $1 each way and it cost $1 to get into the park where the swing was. It was a bit of a wait in line but totally worth the awesome pictures and view. This activity doesn't take too long and you can complete it within an hour to an hour and a half. People really go for the picture opportunity though so you want to go on a nice clear day. Fortunately we went at the perfect time and got awesome photos.

La final dia en Banos fuimos a Casa del Árbol este es donde mi cover foto en Face estaba tomando. Cuesta en total $3 para hacer este actividad. $2 para el bus y $1 para entrar el parque. Tuvo como un hora y media para hacer la actividad. La gente se va primero por los fotos geniales y por eso quieres ir en un día cuando el cielo es claro. Fortunatemente fuimos en un buen dia.

The next weekend was Nathan's birthday and we celebrated with our friends from the University. One of our friends, Camilla, is the great granddaughter of Guayasmin, a famous painter from Ecuador. We got to go to her house which is right next to the museum and had a party for Nathan's birthday. Her parents also came home while we were there and partied with us which was awesome. I had my first coffee with coca cola and experienced grass on a porch.

El próximo fin de fue el cumple de Nathan y celebremos con nuestros amigos de Universidad. Una de nuestras amigas, Camilla, es la bisnieta de Guayasmin un pintor muy famoso aqui en Ecuador. Nos fuimos a su casa que está al lado de el museo de Guaysmin y tuvimos una fiesta para Nathan. Sus padres fueron en la casa también y festejaron con nosotros. Fue muy padre. Tomé mi primer Coca cola con café y tuve un experiencia de césped en una porche.

We celebrated Halloween by going to a BBQ at Julia's house and out to la Ronda for a zombie walk and canelazo which is a delicious hot cinnamon drink that can be alcoholic. It is really only found in this area of Quito and at maximum is $5 in a restaurant or $0.60 to $1 on the street. When we went out it was the perfect time for cannelaso because it was cold and rainy.

Para Halloween fuimos a un BBQ en la casa de Julia y a la Ronda después para el camino de zombies. Tomemos canelazo que es una bebida caliente de alcohol con canela. Solo puedes encontrarlo en este parte del ciudad de Quito y cuesta máximo $5 en un restaurante y $0.60-$5 en la calle. Cuando fuimos estuvo un buen tiempo para tomar canelazo porque tuvo con lluvia y frío.

At Julia's BBQ we met a lot of new friends including her roommate Lena who is also from Germany and two guys Tian from Amsterdam and Jackson from California who are taking spanish lessons and traveling around South America. We also met up with some more friends who are from Quito on the way to La Ronda. The two guys who are from Quito took us to a bar where there was a rap performance and amazing passion fruit mojitos. After, we went out for a bar crawl (my first) where we got into a van and went to a shot bar called Holy Shots, a Karaoke bar and a nightclub called . The total cost of the bar crawl was $10. It included a shot at the first bar, a fishbowl at the karaoke bar and an open bar for one hour at the last bar. I definitely didn't drink my money back but it was still worth it for all the fun I had with my friends. Hope all is going well with you all hasta el próximo tiempo Buena Gente. Cuidansen.

En la casa de Julia conocemos más amigos como su compañera de casa Lena que es de alemania, y dos chicos Tian de Holland y Jackson de California quen estaban en escuela de español y viajando por América Sur. Y conocimos gente de Quito también cuando fuimos a La Ronda. Los dos hombres de Quito llevaron a nosotros a un bar donde hay los mojitos de maracuya más sabrosos y una concerto chiquito de rap. Después fuimos a un camina de los bares (mi primero). Subiremos en una van y fuimos a Holy Shots, una bar de Karaoke, y una discoteca. Cuesta $10 y no tome mucho pero fue muy divertido para pasar tiempo con mis amigos. Ojala que todo está bien con ustedes. Until next time Buena Gente. Take Care.