To the University

Today I got up at 7, got ready and left at about 8:10 to catch the first of two buses to get to the university. A friend of Jannette's came with me to show me what buses to get on. The first is a red bus, about 5 minutes walk from where I stay. I had to cross several streets, feeling like frogger in the game dodging cars, taxis and buses. We got off the red bus, which cost 25 cents to ride, and crossed over to a green bus to take down to the valley and the university. The buses are very crowded and stinky, and you have to be very careful of anything you carry, because it is easy for things to get stolen in the crowd. The ride was about 35-40 minutes long. I met up with my group at the college by the central pond. The campus is very pretty, if all of Quito looked as it does, it would be a very nice city. We attended speeches on safety, health, Ecuadorian politics and ecology. I found the politics and ecology very interesting. Over about the last decade, Ecuador has gone through many presidents. One of the most umm, interesting president Lucio Gutierrez (officially calling himself "the Crazy One in Love") danced and sang to the Electric Slide with female strippers. Not only was it on one channel, he aired it on all channels. He was dismissed from office based on the decision that he was mentally unstable... Another decided that the Congress was in need of reform, so he fired all of them and installed
his family and friends instead. Some members had to be removed by the police because they refused to leave. Another escaped by Jeep to the Brazilian Embassy, using a helicopter that flew to the airport as a decoy to distract the protesters calling for his resignation. The president now, Rafael Correa, was a teacher at the university I will be going to, and the mentor of our program went to school with him. She says that power has gone to his head, and that he is no better than any other president. He is heading a group currently re-writing the constitution now.
After the long bus ride back, I walked around this part of the city with two friends whose host families live close to me. We attempted to find our way around, and did a huge loop. I got completely turned around, realized that I really dislike big cities, and got my friend to help me find my apartment again. The good thing though is that if I do happen to get lost and don't have anyone around, I can just flag a taxi, show them my address, and be taken back for only about 3 dollars. The taxis are very safe and are the recommended mode of travel at night.