We have Ecuadorian Friends

Well Pete and I achieved one of our goals this weekend....making some Ecuadorian friends! Actually we met one of them; her name is Fanny, last Sunday at church. She speaks English well and even spent time going to school in Minnesota for undergrad. We decided to meet up this last weekend at a mall in Quito called Qui Centro. It's about as modern as you can get for malls, they even have L'Occitane. Fanny brought her sister, Ivet, and her boyfriend, David. They were all so nice! We only spoke Spanish the whole night which was great not only for practicing but I think it did wonders for our confidence as well. They took us to a great little Ecuadorian restaurant and then we went cosmic bowling.

Throughout the night, we were able to learn some very interesting facts and opinions about Ecuador. This is all through the perspectives of well-educated, 20-something-year olds. It was a very eye-opening night for Pete and me so I'm going to share their thoughts with you with a disclaimer: I am not saying these are my opinions and I'm not saying this is the whole story on all matters.

Presidents: We talked about their new president, Rafael Correa, and what they thought about him, his relationship to Hugo Chavez and his relationship with the US government. Here's their opinion: Rafael Correa is the first president in a long time that actually ran for office and won fairly and conventionally. They say that it gives them hope that he will actually make good on his promises to help end corruption and give more to the lower classes. They say that he is not like Hugo Chavez, and that actually they are having some difficulties with Chavez right now because Correa is trying to control the Columbian guerrillas and terrorism that occurs on the border between Ecuador and Columbia. Finally, they said that one of the reasons the US doesn't feel supported by Correa is because he did not want to make a deal with President Bush to take up arms against Columbia. According to them, President Bush approached President Correa and asked him to help the US fight Columbia to get rid of its terrorism and drug problems. Correa said that he is interested in protecting Ecuador, but not unnecessarily making war with other countries.

Elections: Today Ecuador had elections to vote on whether or not to start an assembly to take the place of its current Congress. According to Fanny, the Congress is very corrupt and they are hoping that making a new assembly will help control corruption. An interesting thing about Ecuadorian voting is that everyone is mandated to vote. Everyone has these official voting cards they have to carry with them at all times. It's like the equivalent of our drivers' licenses (although they have those too). When they leave the country they have to show their current voting cards to the authorities. Their voting percentage is above 70% (much better than the US). Another interesting thing about Ecuadorian elections is that 2 days before an election, no one is allowed to drink alcohol. They are not allowed to sell it at restaurants, stores and people aren't supposed to drink it in their homes. From what I understand this is for two reasons: So that everyone voting has a clear mind, and also out of respect for the country.

Wow, so that was a lot and it was only a fraction of the conversations we had. Last night was like a crash course in Ecuadorian history, politics and culture.

Fanny and I are going to get together possibly next week at her Mom's house so they can show me how to cook more receipts from the coast (her mom is from the coast). I'm excited.