Today is our fourth day in Baños. We have all settled into our host families. Me and Katie are staying with Lorena, the administrator of the Spanish school Raices. We have three dogs that are constantly playing with us and looking to be rubbed on their bellies. Tasting all the home-cooked meals is a delicious way to experience the local culture. Our classes are 3-4 hours a day, with a tea break.
After lunch, we all volunteer with local schools helping with homework and teaching english. Eight of us stay in the city, while Me, Harvey, Will, and Emi go to a small town in the mountains to teach kids English. 15 kids that are around ten years old are a lot to handle, but I think we are doing well. They enjoy Emi’s drawings and love when Harvey lifts them up so they can dunk on the basketball net after class.
We have not been spending a large amount of time together as a group. We see each other in between classes but we are rarely all hanging out together. Personally, after two weeks of spending every day and night with them, a bit of space is welcomed. Tonight a lot of us are meeting to go to a pool hall nearby.
The town is named after the hot springs that are heated by the nearby volcano, Tatuagua. Many of us have experienced the warmth of these natural hot tubs. From the tubs, you can view a volcano that reaches high above – it must be at least 200 feet tall. Simply being in this city seems quite magical. We are surrounded by rolling clouds that envelope lush mountains that form the valley where the city is located. It is a tourist town, but the culture is preserved quite well- I saw guinea pig roasting at the market the other day. Beautiful and intricate murals are commonly seen on the street. It seems that everybody eventually falls in love with each place we visit, and this is certainly no exception.