I feel like I have improved in taking a local perspective on the culture.  In my first week here I was shocked by various things, such as how fashionably dressed people were, how confusingly oriented the streets are, how slow the service was and the pace of life in general.  I would get really frustrated because to "run errands" in the United States I could got to just one store and get it all there, but here it is like a scavenger hunt and the food, clothes, post office, school supplies, and phone cards are all in different places.  With a local perspective, it is nice because you can walk to al these places and see the same people, and it is more accessible than I realized in the beginning.  Plus, it is not like in the US where you go shopping twice a month and get everything; many families do daily or every other day shopping because they like things fresh and they can't carry that much without a car.  I feel like taking a local perspective really helps to understand why things are different and relax and enjoy these differences while I am here.  Lately I have been using the local perspective without really noticing it.  First it was understanding the local values and ways of life, then it was examining the differences, and now I decide whether to conform or just accept differences.  Talking with local people and the intercultural class really sped up the understanding of foreign behaviors, and even understanding my own particular culture.  I feel that my attitude surrounding family, pace of life, and to a degree, my style of life has been affected.  Returning home I will probably still have these attitudes, such as slow-paced not hurrying around all the time and have adjustments to make on my return.