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Well better late than never... I am a little late on my weekly update.  I hope I haven't left my family/friends in any distress wondering what happened. :o)  (kidding)  I guess time is just flying by, days are running into each other and turning into weeks, weeks are running into each other and are turning into months, etc.... Ok so that is a little bit dramatic, but you get the point.  I guess things aren't as new and exciting as when I first got here, so everything is blending together a little more.  That just means I am in more of a routine and following the same patterns day after day, which is what happens when you have a job.  It would be pretty sweet if I could just wonder from park to park each day and learn more about the culture, but reality is I have to pay rent among other things.

The job is still going really well.  It is always exciting, sometimes crazy, yet able to be handled at your own pace and on your own accord.  I enjoy the independence of the job and the fact that how hard I work determines how well I do.  I also work with some pretty great folks.  We all went out for a little celebration one night after work last week to celebrate my first sales.  It was fun to spend a little time with everyone outside of the office.  We had a lot of laughs, some good food, and a couple drinks.  I've always had really good relationships with my coworkers at pretty much all of my jobs.  I think this makes life more enjoyable, I mean you spend a minimum of 40 hours a week with these people - you might as well enjoy their company and spend a little more!

Oh Julio - I try not to write too much about him in this blog.  I'm not sure how much he appreciates all these aspects of his life being shared with all my family/friends.  Not that he minds, but maybe the idea is a little strange being he has never met any of you.  I tell him that probably the whole town of Storden knows everything about him, probably even more than I know!  I love to tell him stories about life in MN and how wonderful it is.  Living here has really made me appreciate all the wonderful things about living in the country.  Hopefully someday I can bring Julio back with me and you all can show him just how wonderful of a place southwest MN is!  Julio has been so great to me this week.  Not that he wasn't nice before, but I think he is starting to get maybe a little more sweet on me than he thought he would.  ( I hope he doesn't read this ) We learn so much from each other and about each other every day.  It's funny how you go from just wanting a chance to be in the same country, to in the same area of the city, to in the same room, to having them by your side. I really like to have my own space, but I think it's okay if Julio wants to be in that space.

I'm moving!  This is both exciting and a little sad, but more exciting.  I will be moving to a really nice area of the city, and it is walking distance from my job.  Goodbye taxis, goodbye combis, goodbye headache from the traffic every morning - you will not be missed!  I will be moving in with another American girl who has been living here in Peru for a while.  She teaches English and also has a Peruvian boyfriend.  We've got a lot in common and I think it will be a great living situation.  My lease starts on the first of April, but I can start moving next Sunday.  I am excited to do a little shopping.  My new house is not completely furnished like the one I have now, so I will need to buy a few things.  It will be nice to have my own things in my house, it makes it more comfortable and homey. 

This past weekend I was a little sick.  Not really sure with what, but I stayed home for a pretty quiet weekend and I now feel much better.  I did get out a little bit over the weekend though.  I went to the Fuentes show here in Lima.  It is a beautiful park with lots of Fountains and a featured show with lights, music, water, etc... We sell this at my job, and everyone talked about how great it was, so I wanted to see for myself.  It only costs about a $1.50 to get into the park, and it was well worth it.  I went with Julio and my roommate, Mario.  I think we were all pretty impressed and surprised at  how beautiful everything was at night.  Even Julio had never been to this show.  On Sunday Julio and I went to a beach here in Lima.  The beaches here in the city aren't really that pretty, and are mostly rocky.  It was still nice to enjoy some sun and just have a little time to talk.  The highlight really was this poor man who took our picture.  He had one of those really old camera's that prints your picture right away and then you wait a few minutes for the picture to show up.  It was such a great idea and I will cherish the picture forever.  For 5 soles I have the most beautiful picture of Julio and I by the ocean.  I wish I could share it with you all, it kind of looks like an antique! 

I had wanted to write something a little different this week.  Something more personal about myself and what life is really like when you move to another country.  It is surprising the little things that start to matter to you or no longer matter to you.  I guess I'll wait and go into detail about this in another post.  Right now I am feeling a little tired and hungry for ice cream.  Ice cream is like home to me here.  When I was little, I ate ice cream as my bedtime snack, then of course there was the Shady, a 7-foot ice-cream cone I constructed, boxes upon boxes of ice cream in college, and now more ice cream in Peru.  I guess ice cream is a big part of my life.  It is what I always want to eat when I want to feel good or be reminded of home.  Pretty much every day I get an ice cream.  Here in Peru, there are vendors for different ice cream brands that ride around on bikes ( 3 wheeled contraptions ) with a cooler selling ice cream treats.  They ride around there section blowing there horn alerting people that they are coming by.  It really is just like having an ice cream truck drive around with its little music playing.  Everyone knows that sound that signifies the ice cream vendor and everyone here loves to run out and have an ice cream treat.  ( People definitely eat more desserts here, yet they are still skinny - it isn't fair )

I should have an exciting next couple of weeks with some upcoming plans.  I look forward to sharing more soon!  Good night!