Ayo we bloggin’ heree!

Today we started off early at 8:00 a.m. and headed to breakfast at Roma Santa. We had pancakes, eggs, raspberry sauce, ham, granadilla, mandarins, tea, and almond milk. The food was great BIG FACTS! Afterwards, we split into groups with our GGLs (aka GG leaders) and we began our first free day. The first group went to get their haircuts and make phone calls at the Internet Cafe. The second group went to another Internet Cafe and got snacks at the local corner store. A lot of us then went to the Paris Cafe in Riobamba and the pharmacy, where we met Taylor, the stray dog.

We then walked to Roma Santa for lunch and had beef, curry rice, eggplant, salad, lemon juice, salsa, and popcorn. We then split into 3 groups with the GGLs for our second session of free time.

The first group went to 21 de Abril with Sergio, where they saw some EPIC tricks! They saw people doing backflips. AND front flips! They also walked through Riobamba and went sightseeing.

The second group went with Mama Isabelle and Kelly to the nail and hair salon. The group had a great time getting the cheapest manicures, even though it took 2 hours. They got gelato too! Also, thanks to Bryan for translating everything.

The third group went with Amy to The Avenue. They enjoyed the view by the artificial lake. They got gelato too, and thanks to the man who translated! They then went on the green tour and to a church, which was having a ceremony.

All the 3 groups met up at Plaza Roja, where we bought a lot stuff from stuffed llamas and keychains, to clothing. We realized practicing Spanish became an important aspect of the day.

We then all walked to dinner at Roma Santa, and we had chicken (except Michael), cheese empanadas, pasta salad, salsa, and tea. As usual, dinner was E-P-I-C. We came back to the hotel, where Jerry led our seminar for our “Living Like a Local” day tomorrow. We then led our nightly meeting, where we talked about responsibility. Emily, Manny, and Desiree then showed us their talents, which consisted of Emily’s wonderful rendition of Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain,” Manny’s hella mad handshake with Ryan and his owl whistle, and Desiree’s mad rapping skills. BIG FACTS. They introduced our schedule for tomorrow and let us know the important things to bring. Wesley then transitioned into our CAP meeting, where we organized ourselves into groups for the project.

We had a great time leading the first free day and good luck to tomorrow’s leaders!

BIG FACTS

– Shreya, Ryan, and Nathan