Lazy Sunday.

It rains a lot in Quito at night, but seldom during the day. Today is a beautiful exception. I get to stay in, continue pouring over Eat, Pray, Love and work on some of my literature homework for class, while listening to the drops on the roof cover up the noises of traffic and bustling city life.

Also, I get to happily turn down the endless invitations today and do my own thing. Hordes of Gringos in this city will be stuffing themselves into bars to try and catch the Superbowl (even though apparently Quito is playing Guayaquil in fútbol and I'd imagine that age-old rivalry will be taking precedence on the screens) and so my natural response is to cozy up in my blanket and maybe make myself another coffee.

I had an amazing Saturday in Papallacta, the natural hot springs resort about 2 hours from here. My usual group and I left very earlier in the morning, then enjoyed a day soaking in the sun and the minerals from the steamy water. We were surrounded by views of the beautiful mountains and blue skies - hard to imagine anything more incredible. Best part? Only $7 to get in for the day. Got back late and went to bed very early. We had been out on Friday, dancing until nearly 2:30am and so my 4 hours of sleep could only carry me so far.

In other news, I also tried salsa last week! I didn't know how - nor do I now, really - but I managed to get by and had a few guys let me know que yo tengo rítmo :) (that I've got rhythm! haha). It was a fun night, and I met a few nice guys, a few sketchy guys, but mostly just had fun and hung out with my friends.

The biggest thing I'm dealing with while living here is balancing going out and staying in. I don't party at UNC, and my best nights are spent hanging out with friends, talking, laughing, or watching movies. I've been exposed to drinking within my family and friends for years, and have spent a fair amount of time where I'm allowed to drink, and so arriving here, going out does not hold the appeal it does to me as it does to all the others. What I've witnessed is actually a very stereotypically-American reaction of kids who are suddenly allowed to drink going overboard and I just honestly find it ridiculous. That being said, I have lots of friends here and I'm invited out nearly 4-5 times a week to go to bars for trivia, salsa, regular dancing, etc etc. And I feel like I'm turning people down all the time. At night, we take taxis to get anywhere, and then get at least one drink while out. It gets expensive. The area of town where people go out, while very busy, is only more-or-less safe and you have to be careful. I have always fun those nights but I can only handle it once or twice a week. And feel guilty those other nights because I'm missing out on some fun times. So I'm trying to figure out how to balance this desire to stay in and relax and make the most of my other nights out...

After days like yesterday though, I try to not let myself worry and convince myself that my time and money are better spent planning incredible weekends out, visiting the country, than being accosted by sleazy strangers in bars. I'm sure you agree??

Enjoy your Sundays, everybody!

Love, Cyn