JOOOOOOOOOOOOSE

Dear Chris Kwon,

If Chelsea Cook could have a ton of entries in her Roman blog, then so can I doggonit!

Yesterday, I met my host brother, Daniel. He and his girlfriend had lunch with all of us. I assumed the gf was from Ecuador, because she spoke to me in Spanish. In the middle of a conversation, she spoke perfect English with an accent very similar to mine. As it turns out, she is from Maryland. She went home today.

Antonio decided that since it was such a lovely afternoon we were all going to go to telefériQo, which is this gondola that goes up the side of a huge hill until it reaches 13,400 feet. For those of you who aren't aware of how high that is, think of Mount Rainier. It is recommended you wait a week before you attempt this ride, but, of course, I went on my first day.

Antonio made a phone call. Antonio, Susana, Daniel, Daniel's gf, Chris, my host aunt (tía), and I piled into the car and drove to telefériQo. Antonio bypassed the entrance, with a short stop to talk to some woman, then parked in a spot I'm sure is not meant for people to park. A security officer came over, but Antonio managed to keep his car parked there. We walked into the entrance to the gondolas. Antonio told us to wait. He came back, bearing "express lane tickets". The corner of the ticket said it cost $0. We bypassed this huge line and boarded the gondola. Antonio and Susana didn't want to ride, so they went home.

All of us were feeling the altitude, but we decided to trek on. At the top, there are trails you can walk on. You can get pretty high up. We managed to make a little progress, but stopped where the actual park ends, just before the horse rentals. You're familiar, I know.

Today, I woke up, ate a HUGE breakfast of yogurt, bread, and juice, then fell back asleep for an hour. Susana told me she would walk me to my school, but that never happened.

Tía and Ibeth, my host sister, walked with me to my school after a big lunch of steak, egg, rice, and juice. The school right behind a mall and near a gorgeous park. We walked through the mall on the way home. When we stepped outside, Antonio was waiting with his car. This guy is amazing! It was really hot today (Maybe 75). My walking partners were both clad in exercise pants, long sleeves and hats. I wore jeans and no hat.

For dinner, nothing special happened. I had some kind of noodle/tuna casserole and, you guessed it, juice. The juice here is delicious and fresh and fruity, but I don't know how long I'm going to last with this much juice in me. Plus, I've been eating a ton. I feel like it's rude not to eat everything, because everyone else does, but I'm dying.

Tomorrow, I start school. I'm pretty hyped to get to walk everyday to class. I'm also stoked to actually start school, because I feel like I'm under house arrest. C.K, I watched 3 episodes of Seinfeld today. I'll probably watch more before bed.

I hope everyone is getting drunk tonight in honor of my birthday. Good luck with your first days of school tomorrow. Keep on truckin'