It is hard to believe that it is already week three. Today I went with my school to what’s called “teleférico.” It’s a system of cable cars that ascend Pinchincha, the mountain my province is named after. The cable car ride was pretty amazing. Although it was pretty warm at the base of Pinchincha, once we dismounted from the cable car, it was windy and cold. After we arrived at the cable car landing, we hiked the path further up the mountain for a few hours. Breathing was rather difficult at times, both because the hike was quite rigorous, and because the atmosphere was a bit less populated with oxygen. The struggle for respiration was completely worth it, though. The view was absolutely breathtaking. The only bad result from this trip is that my ears are currently so burnt I think they shall soon fall off.

Cultural mishap dos: last night, right before dinner, my host mom gave me a spoonful of something to taste. The flavor was quite good, but the texture was a mite squishy. And I really can’t take squishy. It is for this reason that I abhor mushrooms. I was polite, however, and told them that it was really good (I wasn’t lying, because I really did like the flavor.) It was then that my host parents proceeded to tell me that the dish that I had just partaken of was chicken hearts and all other manner of chicken entrails. I pretended not to be almost sick. However, when they asked me if I wanted some for dinner, I decided to risk being thought impertinent, and politely said “no.” My host parents thought it was absolutely hilarious. My host mom had anticipated this, because she knew that we don’t generally consume entrails in the US, and had already prepared me an alternative dish. I believe that from now on I will conduct a thorough investigation of all edibles before I ingest them. J