I’m not sure if it was more frightening to be pulled into a dark alley at night by my hair in a mug attempt, or almost falling out of a “hop-on-hop-off” bus after jumping into it as it was moving toward downtown Quito on a three-lane highway.

Quito is a big city, and so it is important to be safe and think street smarts, especially at night. Getting mugged threw me out of my comfort zone and was an adrenaline rush. I have gotten mugged in Europe, and was expecting it to happen at least once in Ecuador because it is such a common thing here. It is so common that some Ecuadorians are accustomed to getting robbed at gunpoint in taxis or on the streets. People will even ask for their SIM card when a robber takes their cell phone so that they don’t lose all of their numbers. Fortunately, the mugger was not armed with a gun, and the mug was unsuccessful. I don’t want this column to give off the perception that Ecuador is a scary place filled with nasty criminals because it is almost the opposite. There are so many kind, generous and friendly locals here who have positively impacted my experience in Ecuador thus far. A few days ago, I ate lunch at an open-air market with a local family I met wandering the streets. It was an amazing $1.50 plate of fresh fruits, sliced avocados and tomatoes, meat dishes and rice. They helped me work through my Spanish, told me that their home was open to me if I needed a place to live and gave me insight on the best places to visit in Ecuador. It was a nice to be in a country where people are hospitable to one another even in a big city, unlike the United States where it is almost impossible to find a friendly big city.

Quito is surrounded by the Andes mountain range, making it a paradise for outdoors explorers like myself. Last week, I climbed to the top of Pichincha Volcano with some friends, which has a vertical altitude of more than 15,000 feet. At the top, I felt like I was on top of the world when I looked out toward the sprawling mega city with the clouds hovering around me. I thought about how amazing this trip has been so far, and how much I have learned about myself and the world around me because I was pushed outside of my comfort zone to explore these areas – this is why I love traveling.

I will continue to have an open-mind about the exciting possibilities that could happen on the rest of my trip. I am so excited that I have two more months to spend in Ecuador because I know that there will be more good times and eye-opening experiences in the future.

My plans for today is a relaxing and recuperating day filled with salsa lessons, a sunset yoga session with a British gal and an awesome $3 dinner at the rooftop restaurant overlooking the city just up the hill from my hostel. All of these are things I would never do back home. Traveling really shoves you out of your comfort zone. You find yourself having lunch with a random family in an open-air market, doing sunset yoga on the top of a city building and scaling up the side of an active volcano. I encourage anyone that has ever thought about studying abroad or backpacking to go for it. Don’t worry about the money or the fear of not meeting people, because those worries will disappear once you land on foreign grounds. I promise you that it will be the best experience of your life.