Blog #2 - City Tour

My favorite part of the city tour today was probably Loma El Panecillo. Not only is the view from the top of the mountain Loma El Panecillo is located atop of, but the story behind the statue itself is incredible. How Loma El Panecillo watches over Quito, protecting it from evil, is really cool. I also enjoyed our visit to Loma El Panecillo because earlier in the morning my host father showed me a painting of Quito and the valley it lies in, including the Loma El Panecillo, which he pointed out. It was cool to actually see something that my host family had talked to me about prior to the start of the school day.

During the city tour, I learned a lot about the past and present people of Ecuador. I learned how determined they were in declaring their independence. I saw how stubborn they could be (in a productive way). I learned how important art is to their culture and their history. As for the present people of Ecuador, I learned that they are friendly. They are always there with exactly what you need when you need it. (Like an umbrella.) I also learned that although not all Ecuadorians practice religion or Catholicism, religion has strongly shaped the history of Ecuador and thus, remains important to the study of the culture.

I think I was surprised the most that we could go down to the graves of those who are viewed as the heroes of the 1809 Ecuadorian Declaration of Independence at St. Augustine’s Monastery. In the United States, places like that in historically significant locations aren’t typically open to the public. Perhaps the fact that we were in a religious building helps keep people from being destructive or exploiting an opportunity to be more intimate with history like that. Or maybe there’s an overall greater feeling of trust amongst Ecuadorians unlike the distinct lack of trust Americans have in each other. Nevertheless, it was incredible to be able to travel down that ladder and into the darkness. It was an incredible experience.