It´s update time:) So I went camping this weekend on Atacaso, a beautiful mountain, and it was a total blast! This wasn’t like anything I had done before though. So on Friday we went to the mountain climbing store to stock up on gear since I didn´t bring any here. I rented a backpack which I didn´t even know you could do, I was really grateful for it though because I ended up bringing a lot of stuff! We also rented a tent for 3 and some pads for under our sleeping bags, I borrowed my brothers’ sleeping bag. This trip was through my mountaineering class, it was nice to have a guide and to not really have to worry about the details.

Saturday a couple of my friends met up at my apartment and we headed out at about 7:30. We met everyone at a bus station and headed out from there. We took 3 buses and then we arrived at the final step, a pick up truck. This was quite the experience! Everyone jumped in the back of the trucks with all their gear and away we went! There was a big group of us so we took 3 trucks. We started to head up the mountain but after a while, once we got off the asphalt roads we started having problems. The poor little cars just could seem to make it all the way up without taking breaks. So we would all jump out, push the cars, they would get going, and then run like crazy and jump into the back! Some made it, and some didn´t. Unfortunately I wasn´t fast enough some of the times so I got a nice little walk up the mountiain:) It was so funny seeing everyone scramble to get in. Once we got to the top we ate lunch and got ready to hike. My group basically ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the whole trip! Lindsay was nice enough to make them for us the night before, all 22 of them!

So we hiked for a while, which was a lot harder than I anticipated because of the altitude. I couldn´t believe how much trouble I was having breathing, I took lots of breaksJ Onec we reached camp we all collapsed and ate some more sandwiches! Then we set up camp. I was originally with 2 other girls in our 3 person tent but another girl didn´t seem to have a place to sleep so she came in with us, 4 people made it a very interesting night! But for the rest of the day we hung around camp, played cards and got to know the people. A lot of Spanish practice so that was good! Its fun all the interesting people you meet on random excursions like this one. There was no bathroom which is always interesting, and man does it get windy at night! We got settled in our tent and just kind of hung out while a group of people took a midnight hike up the mountain. I must admit I was too scaredJ I opted to go in the morning.

Unfortunately I didn´t get much sleep, it was cold! We were also pretty crammed in like little sardines and so I couldn´t move much. And the hill I was sleeping on didn´t do much for me either:) But enough of this complaining, it was still fun because we all stayed up and talked for a while, kinda like a girls night. In the morning I was amazed at the view, I couldn’t wait for my turn to hike up the mountain. It was a hard hike but we made it and the view was breathtaking! You cold also see other tops of mountains which was pretty cool. I just love being above the clouds, it seems almost unreal. After we climbed down, we packed up camp and headed out. It was exciting because I got to sit in the front of the pickup truck going down the hill, not quite as much eating dust involved:)

I was pretty beat after the trip but I had to get pumped for the bears game! We headed to a sports bar where we had reserved a table right in front of the TV. There were so many gringos there! We took over the place. Despite the depressing finish of the game, it was still a lot of fun. After that I headed back to study for a test I had the next morning.

This week has been a fairly normal school week. When I went to volunteer at the elementary school they were having a play to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the school. They were in the middle of Snow white and the 7 dwarfs, sooo cute! Last night we went to a Mexican food show. Our empleada Dana is in a cooking class and she invited us to come and try the food she has been learning to make, it was delicious!
Well that’s about all for me! I hope everyone is keeping warm and having a great day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!