Sex, Drugs, and Castles?

Puerto Rico day 2 ...  Edgardo knocked on my door early this morning and woke me up.  He took me to Ponce early, we had breakfast and then he left me there cause he had to go to work.  So I found my way to San Juan in the back of a car.  In the car there was a girl I met named Zoe.  She was going to go back to school after the weekend in Ponce.  Well she started talking and asking questions.... and well we became friends and it was all her fault.    The driver turned up the radio, it was playing something about a kid from spain died trying to smuggle drugs in the DR while his parents thought he was going to medical school.  I dozed off and woke up in Rio Piedras, it's a zone near san juan.  So Zoe decided that she wanted to hang out with me, she I helped her carry her bags to her apartment.  On the way there she asked me if I was a serial killer to which I laughed and said no.  "what a way to break the ice :)"  I said smiling.  Anyways she took me to the post office to mail off some postcards and then showed me around the subway and bus system.

We went to a stop called corazon sagrada and then took a bus into old san juan where we saw the first casino on the island which is now closed and then we wandered into a national park!.  Or national something.... anyway its this giant fort/castle built by the spaniards to defend Puerto Rico.  So Puerto rico was pretty much a great place for ships to sail to from Europe, get fresh water etc, take things from the americas and then go back to Europe.  There were many battles fought over it and it was even an outpost during WWII.  I took tons of great pictures of the place so I'll let them do the talking.  Well at 2 PM Zoe had to go to class so I rode the bus with her to her college and then I was on my own.

I went back to the castle which is divided into two parts.  Well I saw part one and to get to part two you have to walk along the main road.  Well of course I didn't walk along the main road I took a little diversion.... worst thing I could have ever done!  So I walk down this cobblestone road into a place I now know as "el ollo" or "the hole"  as I crossed through an archway I was approached by 4 black guys all holding fishing tackle containers filled with drugs.  Pills, weed, and coke.  They surrounded me asking what I wanted and didn't seem like they were gonna let me go unless I bought something.... haha.... scary stuff.... and random car to my rescue!  A car drove down the same street and the guys scattered.  I started walking away slowly and when they saw it wasn't a police officer they surrounded the car and sold drugs to the people in the car.  At that point I was gone.... walking further down the road.  I ran into a plaza filled with people lighting up so I just kept walking.  Finally I  found a staircase to get me out of "el ollo" and luckily I'm safe!  Not even a scratch ;)

After that experience in el ollo I decided to just get on a bus to get out of the rain.  Trouble finds me I swear!  So I am sitting on the back of the bus freezing cold because I am wet and the AC is on.  I was checking my facebook on my iphone when I felt someone sit next to me.  I looked to the side and there was a girl 2 inches from my face.  She asked me who I was, where I was from, etc.  I told her I was Roble and that I lived in California.  "California Estados Unidos?  Siempre he querido novio de los estados unidos"  She said that so fast that I could not understand though.  I seriously had to have her repeat herself 5 or 6 times every time she spoke so I could understand.  Let me give you a jist of the things she said.  I would even repeat them back to her to make sure I was hearing her right.  Oh her name was Yahaira.  :)

Topics of the day with Yahaira:
1.  You're American?  I have always wanted a boyfriend from the United States.
2.  Do you want to have kids ever?  Because I want to have your kids.  "Excuse me?"  Yes, kind of scary for me but I have always wanted a United States baby.  (haha  this was crazy!  You see my brother  lived in the Dominican Republic for 2 years serving a mission and he always told me that girls from the DR were pretty... but that they picked their nose right in front of you and they just wanted to make babies and move to the US.  Ok... so I know this is just a stereotype.... but he also talked about dental hygiene... and she was definitely lacking.)

3.  I love you,  I miss you, I want to be with you, I want you to take me with you to california.  (This came because I sent her a pic of us via text and she called my number about 20 times tonight.  So I started thinking to myself... maybe I'm hearing her wrong.  So I called my friend Lucas on the phone and conference called because he learned in venezuela where they talk similarly and he also learned maracucho... so I knew if anyone could understand her it would be him or my brother.)  When she hung up the phone he burst out laughing saying "do you know what she was saying to you?"  and then he verified everything I previously told you.

So Zoe offered to let me stay the night at her house and I almost did, but she has two cats and I'm allergic to Cats.  I figured that the 14$  I paid for a hostel was worth not getting sick.  Usually with allergies my nose will run the whole night, inflame my throat and get worse and worse and worse.  So I am happy to be where I am now, but we are going to hang out tomorrow morning.

Today all in all was just weird.  Weird experiences plus rain.  It was a good day but could have been better. :)   Ooooh but my breakfast was like an egg mcmuffin in a scone it was pretty delish!   I thought of one other thing when I was looking at pictures.  Just like the red and black fire house yesterday... when firefighters would retire the city would build them a red and black house.  Cool eh?