The weeks seem to be going faster and faster here, I can't beleve it is already Wednesday!

On Sunday I went with a few people to a photography exhibit one of the boys that lives here had in the old town. He is from France and had spent the year traveling taking pictures of Indigenous people. It was a really neat exhibit, not only had he taken pictures but had also recorded people telling stories and songs. He is part of a program that wants to promote awareness about the lives of the people of Latin America. That is one of the things I love most about being here, it is so amazing to feel more aware of the world. It is so easy to get stuck in my safe little Minnesota bubble and forget that there is a whole world out there, full of people that are so different than me and yet the same.

After the exhibit we went to get some food then sat around talking at a coffee shop for awhile. Most of this group goes to school in Beloit Wisconsin. They are all really cool and fun to be around, each one of them reminds me of one of my friends from home in a certain way. I like that I am starting to develop groups of friends here, even though it makes me a little sad knowing that after May I probably won't see some of them again.

Monday was pretty low key. I worked all day, then came home ate supper and Lindsey and I watched a movie. Oh I guess I got a cell phone, that was pretty exciting. I now have a lovely blue Nokia phone, nothing fancy, but I like it. It was only 35 bucks, and I can get phone cards for it anywhere. I mostly got it to be able to text people, and for a little sense of security.

I almost typed that last sentence in Spanish. I am finding myself thinking in Spanish more and talking Spanglish a lot. I am slowly becoming more confident with my Spanish, and am able to understand more. I can even watch TV is spanish and get most of it.

Last night was nice, a few of the people from Beloit came over and we bought some beers and sat around with some other people from the hostal. Beers are ridiculously cheap here. Pat and I went to the store and bought 4 big ones (I think they are 2.5 normal beers or so) and the total was a little over 4 dollars. Plus when you take the bottles back you get a refund, I think it may be a quarter a bottle. They have a very limited selection of beer types here though, Pilsner is the main beer, you can be Brahma, which is Brazilian, sometimes, and every once in awhile you see Heinekin, but that is pretty expensive.

That is the strange things about here, some things are so cheap, like food and beer, but others are incredibly expensive. I was at MegaMaxi today looking for sunscreen and it was 12 bucks a bottle. Then I glanced at the makeup and it was 10 bucks for a bottle of cover girl foundation, crazy.

My Valentines Day has been good. I got a card yesterday from my Dad, which was really nice. Then tonight some of the girls here and I went and bought some icecream, always good. I was not sure if Valentines day would be a big holiday here, but everywhere I looked there were flowers and balloons and teddy bears. Yesterday when I went to the bakery to get some bread the woman was trying to convince me to buy a cake for my novio (boyfriend), I tried to tell her I did not have one, which was not a good enough answer for her. I think she said something along the lines of maybe by tommorrow you will have one. Right. Oh another nice thing about today was when I went to the tienda by my house to get some water and a pop the owners little kids waited on me and were trying to practice their english. They were so proud of the words they knew, one of them told me my total in English with a huge smile on his face. It was the cutest thing ever.

Tommorrow after work Paula, Tania and I are going to Katie's house (she is the woman from Minnesota) for supper. Then Friday I am probably just going to prepare for leaving on Saturday. Me, three of the boys from work, John, George and Andres, and George's friend Fernanda are going to the beach for Carnival. It is not quite as huge as a celebration here as in Brazil, but I guess everyone leave Quito and goes to the beach. We are going to Playa Escondida, which I am told is a less crowded beach. Luis, my spanish teacher, tried to convince me it is a nudist beach, but I think he was just messing with me since he didn't tell John the same thing. I hope that it will be a good time and I don't get too sunburt or bitten by too many bugs. It will be nice to be out of Quito for a few days. Also we get Monday and Tuesday off of work, which I am excited for. I love my job, but a break is never a bad thing.

Well i have written a lot. I should do my spanish homework, but I might watch a movie instead.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!