I am in Ecuador! I am only several days into my AFS experience and my preception of America, Spanish speaking countries, education and life in general have significantly changed. I am writing this e-mail on my new friend's laptop. His name is Adrian and were are incredibly similar, it is as if we have know each other our entire lives. I have observed that the AFS experience attracts people of the same kind, no matter what language they speak or their country of origin. Since I arrived in Quito, I have been living in a small hostel located around ten miles from the airport, in the middle of the city. There are twelve other kids from AFS: two from America, three from Sweden, five from Belgium, one from Denmark, and one from Norway. Incredibly, all the kids from Europe speak relatively good English, they are all very friendly and we have become somewhat of a small family. In the hostel, three meals are served a day. Breakfast is nearly non-existent, however, lunch and dinner both consist of: fresh juice, soup, some kind of meat accompanied by a vegetable, and a desert. All meals are prepared with fresh ingredients, on daily basis, and portioned at a healthy size. Beginning on Monday of this week, I have received eight hours of Spanish instruction a day, at a local school know as Cristobal Colon. In only three days my Spanish has improved at rate incomparable to Spanish class in the United States. On Friday, Spanish class ends and on Saturday I will fly to Guayaquil to meet my family.