Fiestas, politics and adventures

teaching team w/gifts from students

Dancing is an integral part of their culture and it was fun to partake in it with them. I’m learning a lot, but still am not the most graceful participant. But at least the people I was with were good dancers and strong leads so I did my best to follow along. During a salsa/techno song we had an energy ball improv dancing game around the circle. It was hilarious—some of my friends have sweet moves (though I would not put myself in that category).

This weekend in Ecuador is the vote on the new constitution. Since voting is mandatory for all Ecuadorians 18+, it is serious business. A lot of things are closed down because some Ecuadorians must travel great lengths to vote in their original hometown. There is almost no way to re-register so if you move away from where you lived growing up, you’ve got to travel to vote. Also, due to the vote, there is la ley seca which means that from noon on Friday until noon on Monday, no alcohol sales are permitted. If you are seen drinking alcohol during this time, purchasing or selling alcohol, or even just suspected of partaking in such spirits, you can be fined or thrown in jail. It’s serious business. La ley seca means that all the bars are closed for the weekend and stores with alcohol have those sections closed off. The ban on alcohol is supposed to make sure that all citizens make conscious decisions when voting on Sunday.

This whole month has been crazy with talk of the new constitution. I am no expert, but I know a little. There are so many changes going into the new constitution and this makes it very controversial; there are both good and bad things in it and many people are conflicted in making a decision. While they might agree with many changes, they are afraid of others that will take hold if it passes—and vice versa. The population is split. Tension is high and propoganda all around the city continues. Graffiti everywhere promoting sí or no, banners hanging from private homes, spray paint on walls and city buses, even rap songs telling of the artist’s opinions on the vote. There have also been some marches so try to rally support for either side. This has been going on all month and now tomorrow, it will all be decided. I don’t know enough to speculate which way to the vote will go, but I am curious about the outcome.

With the US presidential debate yesterday, we had originally planned to watch it at the Irish pub, a favorite of my Irish friend Felim. However, with la ley seca, this was a no go. Instead USers from all over Quito piled into the few restaurants with cable tv. I went out with my fellow USers to watch the debate downtown at Uncle Ho’s, an Asian restaurant that was designated as a viewing spot by the Obama campaign here in Quito. Every seat was taken. Many people were standing at the back, while the others covered every spare inch of floor space. It created quite a mess for the waitresses and cooks trying to get food to everyone. We shared a table with a man from the US Embassy in Peru, in Quito on vacation. The poor guy had no clue what he was getting himself into when he responded to his hankering for Asian food by going to that restaurant. He was really interesting though and we talked a lot about the current situation down in Bolivia and how he’s dealing with that down in Lima.

Though the tv was at an awkward angle from where we were sitting, I could see almost all of what was going on, but most of my group could only hear. Before the debate started, it was a loud mess in the restaurant, but once Jim Lehrer gave his introductory words, the place nearly fell silent for the duration of the debate. I was glad to have the opportunity to watch the debate. Being so busy and with minimal access to the internet this past month, it’s been hard to keep up. Though I feel both candidates could have actually addressed the issues better, instead of doing the usual political dance around them, I was still glad to see the two facing off.

After the debate, we went back to my friend Jenny’s place and talked about the debate with some Ecuadorian friends who’d also watched the debate. We also talked about the politics in Ecuador. It was great to be able to have such discussions, alternating between English and Spanish. I must say my political vocabulary in Spanish is pitiful.

Right now I write to you from my new apartment into which I moved this morning. Though everything is unpacked, I still have a bit of organizing and decorating to do—make it my own. But it’s really nice. I live in a house with 2 others (at the moment). I have my own large room with lots of natural sunlight, a huge walk-in closet and also giant bathroom with a view of Pichincha (the mountain to the west of the city). While I used to lived pretty far north in the city, now I am centrally located which is awesome. I’m so glad I’ll be taking far fewer cabs now.

Cabs in Quito are plentiful and reasonably priced during the day. Of course, you must be careful to take only registered cabs and watch the meter to make sure it’s not fast (there are many tricks some cabbies try to pull to increase the fare). But at night it’s a different story. Once daylight is gone, the meters are turned off and you must bargain for your fare. Being gringa, cabbies almost always offer an extremely high price, hoping I won’t know any better. Too bad for them. I know my prices and have gotten pretty good at arguing my fare down to what I consider reasonable. Driving at night is also an experience. While traffic rules are followed for the most part during the day, this is not the case at night. Traffic lights are merely a suggestion. As long as you honk you horn while you’re going through the intersection, you’re fine. Drivers here take many more risks than I am used to. Even the bus drivers shock me at times, fitting these giant city buses through the tiny spaces between cars in traffic, or merging without regard to others who might be in the lane. Crazy.

Anyway, that’s just a little update on what’s going on with me. Now that I’m done my TESOL course, I have 2 weeks off until I start working. Tomorrow night I’ll take an 11-hour overnight bus to Puerto Lopez, a small fishing village/beach town, with Phil and Laura. I’m excited to relax for a few days. There are also some day trips in that area we can do during our time in the south. I'm especially looking forward to visiting La Isla de Plata. We’ll book it back to Quito near the end of the week to grab some clean clothes and go with the rest of our group on a weekend trip to Baños, a natural and adventure haven for travelers in Ecuador. I´m very excited and will be sure to let you know how it all works out when I return. =)

written by  Theresa on September 27, 2008 from Quito, Ecuador
from the travel blog: Adventures in Teaching and Living in Ecuador
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