Carly V.- Blog Post #11


There were some similarities and many differences that I noticed between El Cambio de la Guardia and the United States. Some of the similarities included the various forms of security measures that were taken. There were police, military personal, and snipers present that we could see. This is much like in the United States. Another similarity was that you saw not only the president, but also many other members of either the government or even family. I have never actually been to a presidential ceremony in the United States so I am unsure whether having a band is something that is customary. Some differences that did stick out to me however was that the president was really not well guarded once he stepped out on to the balcony. There were guards near him but not really actively guarding him. In the United States there are generally many guards within an arms lengths away ready to act if necessary. Another thing that was also very different was the fact that we were able to get so close to the president and guards. In the United States it is nearly impossible to get that close unless you are specifically invited to do so. As I said before, I am unsure what really happens at a presidential ceremony in the United States, but in Ecuador I found it really amazing that they had some guards on horses. That was by far my favorite part of the ceremony. Training horses for that type of environment is not something that is easy to do by no means. It was really cool to see that they made this a priority in order to include them into the ceremony. 

I think this ceremony is important to Ecuadorians because it is allowing them a chance to get to see the man who is in power. It truly is ceremonial in my eyes. They are seeing the man who represents their country as whole. Although they are not able to directly speak to the government officials or president, they still voice their opinion. I think this ceremony is great to really have people get a chance to see their government officials. Because voting is mandatory in Ecuador it is amazing to see how many people truly are interested and involved in this ceremony. 

Public transportation in Ecuador is something that was an extremely new experience to me. Living in a small town, I have never actually had any experience with public transportation in the United States. In Ecuador however, I learned that when the bus stops you have to jump in and hope they don't drive off before both feet are on the steps. It is also interesting to me that a person stands on the bus and collects change instead of say depositing it into a machine or container of some sort. I also thought it was crazy how truly cheap it was to ride the bus. If we had taken a taxi the distance that we took the bus we would have spent much more money than just 25 cents. I think because public transportation is such a large part of the lifestyle here that is why we are seeing these differences from what you may think is "normal". 

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