From Texan to Quiteño: Orientation, the Basilica, and the Mariscal

It's been a while since I've updated, so there's probably a lot I've forgotten already, but I'll do my best to do the last few days justice. On Friday I got up at 6:30 to eat an early breakfast and walk down to the Estacion Rio Coca (which is basically my portal to the rest of Quito) and take the bus to Cumbaya and USFQ. On the ride down (Cumbaya is in a valley below Quito) we were treated to a stunning view of Cotopaxi, a massive, snow capped volcano visible on clear days from Quito. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture, but I'll include one from Wikipedia for good measure. As Lula and I entered through the school's gates, I was astounded by how unlike any American university USFQ is. There's a large lagoon in the middle of the university accompanied by a zen buddhist-style temple. The buildings are well maintained and are all painted bright colors. After meeting up with some of the Americans I had met on my flight from Houston and some of my fellow Hoyas, we all headed into the theater in the "casa blanca" for orientation.

Cotopaxi

The orientation consisted of several talks about safety, health, politics, and culture. The general theme was summed up by Daniel from the Office of International Programs (OIP) with these words: "You are not in Kansas anymore." We were ensured that in our time in Quito we will have gastrointestinal distress (in great detail, I might add), and the representative from the US Embassy in Quito did his best to scare the living bejeezus out of everyone with his safety talk.

What was most interesting to me about the orientation, was the overt political bias held by both the president of the university (a graduate of Notre Dame) and many of his administrative officials. Four of the six speakers that presented during our orientation were overtly anti-Correa (the current president of Ecuador and a former economics professor at USFQ). Although I am no huge fan of Correa myself, the overt political stance struck me as strange, because the vast majority of my college professors have obviously put a lot of effort in remaining objective in political discourse (of course, some more than others). That Correa openly talks about his disdain for USFQ and private education, and that the staff of USFQ makes no qualms about their view of the president reminds me that I really am living in what Samuel Huntington would call a "Praetorian Society" (sorry to go all SFS on you, but I couldn't resist). The behavior of both the president and the university administration is indicative of the "naked political forces" and uninstitutionalized political discourse that characterize a "Praetorian Society."

On Saturday morning I met up with Alex Honjiyo, a fellow Hoya with whom I shared my "Latin American Government and Politics" class with last semester, Jamie Finch, an American student from Connecticut being hosted by Lula's daughter, and John Rosenberger, a senior at UNC. We made our way down the Ecovía bus line with Lula, and she showed us where we could grab a taxi and make our way up a hill to Ichimbía, a large park with a nice view of the Centro Histórico. From Ichimbia we headed down the hill to the massive Basílica del Voto Nacional, paid two dollars for entrance and climbed up a couple of the Basilica's towers for some stunning views of the city.

Quito from Ichimbía

The Basílica from Ichimbía

El Pichincha from the Basílica

By the time we left the Basilica it was 1:30, and we were all craving some almuerzo (which is the biggest meal of the day in Ecuador). We walked down calle Venezuela until we found a little shop advertising almuerzos. We were helped by a lady and her young son, who brought us cream of chicken soup with popcorn to add to the soup (which is apparently common practice in Ecuador). Our second course consisted of rice with either chicken or beef and fresh-squeezed orange juice. The best part about all of this is that lunch for four came out to $5.50.

Crema de Pollo with popcorn

After lunch we walked around the Centro Historico (of which you've already heard the details) and then we all headed back home for dinner. In the evening I caught a cab with Alex and Jamie and we headed down to the Mariscal to meet a couple fellow Hoyas at a pub called Finn McCool's. It was there where I had my first (probably of many) Pilsener (the primary Ecuadorian beer). After an hour or two at the pub we decided to head towards the center of the Mariscal to check out some of the other bars. These bars ended up being absurdly expensive ($6.50 for a cuba libre, even though the same drink at the pub had been $2.50), so we decided to catch taxis and head home. We all thought our night had gone without any major hitches, that is until I got a call from Jamie around noon today asking if I had seen her cell phone. Apparently it had gone missing sometime the night before, so the prospects of her finding it are close to none. Thus is life in Quito, I guess. Tomorrow I start classes at USFQ.