One way to experience the sights, smells and sounds of another country is to use it's public transportation system...It's very interesting, and there is no such thing in Ecuador or on the buses as a personal bubble.
Today, my experience on the bus was probably the worst yet...on the way home from school, I was on the green bus, which was super crowded, so I had to stand up and hold onto the bar. I was standing in front of the door in the back of the bus, holding onto the rail next to me. And okay, this bus ride is not very smooth, we are going around corners really fast, going up the mountains back to Quito, so needless to say if you're not holding on tight you're definitely going to go for a ride. And apparently today was my day to wipe out! So I'm having a nice conversation with one of my friends and all of the sudden we take this turn and I fly backwards in slow motion, I thought that I was going to fall out the door and into the Andes! It was scary, I was just falling backwards, but luckily there was some guy behind me who caught me! After that I really felt like an idiot, but I laughed it off, because there was nothing else to do. (Oh and I also got a better grip, so that I wouldn't fall again!)
Alright, so after that I got on the red bus, it was as if I was literally in a can of sardines. There were so many people packed into the bus, I got stuck standing again and of course it was rainy out and all the windows were closed, so it was also like a mini sweatbox or whatever, that trapped the smell and made it a thousand times worse!
And then tonight I went out with some friends and instead of taking the bus like 8 blocks, I thought I would walk...and I was already late, so I ended up having to run like 6 blocks! I was so tired! With the altitude, it's a lot harder to run and I already don't like to run!
