Blog Post 11: Changing of the Guard

1) I thought that the changing of the guard ceremony was very interesting, and while I have never been to a similar ceremony in the United States, I know that it is quite different. In the United States it is very difficult to get anywhere near as close to the president as we were today; you have to be an especially important person usually to get close to the president. Today's ceremony was open to the public; no bags were checked and although we did spot snipers and other officials stationed around the square and on roofs, security seemed sparse compared to the United States. I am not sure of the reason for this; it is possible that the Ecuadorian people are simply more trusted by their government, or are thought to be less likely to act in violence toward their president. 

2) I think these ceremonies are important to the Ecuadorian people because they make the president seem more accessible to every person. You don't have to be a VIP to see the president in Ecuador: anyone, from children to the elderly, the rich to the poor, can see the president just by congregating in one area once a week. Having a more publicly visible president likely makes the public, specifically those who are not considered "elite" (most of the population), feel more relevant within their own government. It likely makes people feel like they have more of a voice. These ceremonies also likely instill a level of patriotism. 

3) I think public transportation is similar to most large cities in the world although it does seem a bit more dangerous than some of the places I have experienced. The specific danger within Ecuadorian transportation lies not in the possibility of being robbed (as this is a concern in most big cities anyway) but rather in the way that they operate here in my opinion. Taxis and buses drive very rapidly, sometimes hardly stopping to let passengers in and out. The drivers seem very aggressive at times; many taxis and buses can be seen stopping mere inches from other cars and honking the second a light turns green. One of the particular dangers with buses is how full they seem to get. One morning while on our way to school Caitlin, Aaron and I found ourselves crammed in a bus standing on the steps because there was physically no room to get fully on the bus. The often times aggressive and sporadic driving habits of these buses combined with the sheer volume of passengers could spell disaster in the event of an accident.