sitting on the curb

I sat on the curb tonight and my butt froze. Let's back up.
The past few days have been many things, among them - intensive spanish. I hate it. I suck at spanish in the classroom. I don't want to capitalize spanish. My spanish outside the classroom is improving I think... at least I'm taking every opportunity to practice. Today, ordered lunch in spanish. Got the sauce for my pasta "sin carne y pollo" (without meat and chicken, here they are different). Don't even worry Mom. I am the only vegetarian in the entire country, but I'm making it work.
I am becoming better friends with more people in the group. Adventuring some; I went to a protest on Tuesday morning, photos on facebook. Learning the routes of subways and buses. Got on the bus the wrong way one night, that was incentive to learn exactly how they work... but then forgot about one-way streets later that night and after 10 blocks of blisters called a cab.
I am busy. I love sleeping more then most things, but I'm trying to branch out with my interests and activities. I want to write letters so bad, but finding time is impossible. So I'm sorry.
We started classes today. Econ and humanities this afternoon. They weren't as bad as I was expecting. Then ate some pizza at the casa. After that about 35 of us made a few sandwiches and loaded into some mini-buses (between bus and van, slightly smaller then an ambulance, we dont have anything like them in the states) and went to a children's hospital. If you don't know this then maybe we aren't that good of friends, but it is my dream to become a doctor and work in public health care in developing countries, preferably with small children. The sandwiches were for the parents of the kids at the hospital, we bring them dinner every Thursday, I guess it's a thing, btw. So got there, split into small groups with bags of food and walked around to a few different patient rooms. I didn't want to leave that place. It was sad; babies and kids with tubes and respirators, breathing with plastic bags, rashes, yellow eyes, varying degrees of sickness, all within about 15 hospital rooms (on out assigned floor, duh there are more then 15 rooms in a hospital). Many parents just sat next to the beds of their child looking hopeless and exhausted. My spanish is terrible but all I wanted to do was speak to them, to care for these people. We gave the parents sandwiches and I did my best to talk to them and their kids. One girl was 11 with a swollen abdomen and bruises all over her arms from a disease. She had a tube up her nose. She lifted her shirt and showed us a million stitches across her stomach. It was bewildering and eye opening. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve her parents in giving them dinner. I hope I can see her next week.
After I walked home with some friends (and enemies, Dad). Travis wanted to stop to grab food so 4 of us went to a restaurant. It was good conversation, not the best food, but fun. After I ended up walking alongside and talking to Travis. He is a close friend, one of the closest from school for sure. We asked one another how we are doing in the way that means something. If that makes sense. Yeah? Ok. Our conversation was just beginning when we got to the door of his and Carly's apartment complex, so he walked the 3 blocks with my to mine. We sat on the curb. And we were given the gift of a great conversation. My butt was freezing and I'm pretty sure that there is dog poop residue everywhere in this city, but it was the best talk I've had since I left camp, it was a talk that could take place at camp. It was genuine.
I love this city. I love that I am here. Everything is different, sometimes challenging, often tedious or uncomfortable, but I'm loving it.

Please email, skype, ichat, facebook comment or message, write letters, send smoke signals or use morse code (spl?) on a radio - I want to hear how you are doing. I want connection with you, my family and friends.
Ok? Ok.
Also tell me how to make my blog better. Obviously more adventures, working on that. I stole a book from the library today on travel in South America.