I have been meaning to update for a week, it just keeps slipping my mind. Things are going really well here, I am getting used to Quito and feel more at home every day.

I believe the last time I updated was soon after getting home from the beach. I was sick, and that pretty much wasted a good week of my time here. Luckily I am feeling much better now.

Last Friday was the first day I felt up to doing anything really. I went to a Shwarma place with Tania, an ecuadorian girl I work with, and her friend Mario. For some reason Shwarma is huge here. It is basically some sort of meat (pork?) in a pita with loads of stuff on it. Quite tasty actually. You can get a pretty good one for a buck, which makes it a great deal as well. After the Shwarma place we went to a bar that sells this drink that is really popular here. It is some sort of fruit juice and alcohol warmed up so it is hot. Two for 1.80, also a great deal. We then went to a club that was free before 11. I love how Ecuadorians know how to have a good night for under 5 bucks (we had a couple of beers). It was also really nice to have to talk spanish all night, and learn more about the area. They were telling me how the nearby volcano erupted when they were in high school, and everyone thought the Cotapaxi, another volcano nearby, was going to erupt as well. I guess if that one ever erupts it will be the end of Quito. Luckily scientists say it will probably not erupt, the magma from it is forming another volcano nearby.

Saturday I wandered around for a bit. It was a really nice day, so I walked to a nearby park. I also stopped at a bookstore that had an English section and stayed for awhile reading English magazines. They are 8 bucks each, so I did not want to buy one, but it was nice to look through them for awhile. Saturday night Paul, the new guy who is actually from Minnesota, and his fiance had everyone over to their house for a fiesta. They live in this great apartment with a huge deck, and it was really nice to sit outside and talk with my coworkers. Katie, Paul's fiance, lived here four years ago and lived with a family. Her 'brother' came over and I talked to him and his friend for awhile. I get really frustrated with my spanish sometimes, but I enjoy talking in it as much as possible. Practice is necessary, even though sometimes I feel like a total idiot when I talk.

Actually Monday night I went to a movie with Caroline, another intern, thinking it was in English. As soon as we sat down I realized nope this is in Spanish. However, I actually understood the movie, and really enjoyed it. It was called Madeinusa and was about a girl in a village in Peru, very interesting and well made.

Work has been going well, even though it is at times exhausting. I am really excited about a lot of the projects we are doing, and it feels great to be able to help make things happen and have input in how things are going to turn out.

I might be moving soon, Caroline and I are thinking of finding a furnished apartment. Which might be nice, I like the hostel but it would feel more homey to be in an apartment. We will see.

I will try to update again this weekend with some random Ecuadorian tidbits. Chao!