Changing of the Guards

The biggest differences I noticed today were the publicity of the event and the lack of amount of security. I was surprised that a ceremony, that I perceived would be very intimate, was out and around all of the people of the city and everyone was allowed to watch. For security reasons, I was assuming that the changing of the guards would be much more intimate and private, much like how the Secret Service is kept secret at the White House. Additionally, while there were snipers, the president had a shield, and there was an increased amount of police in the area, I was shocked by how close we were able to get to the palace. In the United States, it would be impossible to be that close to the White House. Very few people in the United States are allowed to be as close to the White House as we were to the presidential palace.
I feel like this event is very important to the people of Ecuador because it allows them to feel involved with an important political event. They have the ceremony going on around them, while also being able to see the president himself. I also think this week was especially important to the Ecuadorian people because it was the second to last changing of the guards that Correa would be a part of. They are able to see Correa during his final days in office, and to see him in person, is something that would never be expected by the people in the United States of the president. I think being allowed to see the changing of the guards ultimately allows Ecuadorians to feel more connected with their government officials.
Public transportation in the United States is much less common than it is here in Ecuador. I personally have never been on public transportation until I arrived here. Here, it is very common to be up close and personal with the people next to you on the bus: Personal space does not exist on Ecuadorian public transportation. Also, only a few major cities in the United States have regular public transportation, like New York and Chicago. Also, being on a public bus is a very aggressive experience, as people shove and push their way on. Overall, I feel like the mode of public transportation using buses is unique to Ecuador, whereas in the United States, we have taxis as well, but buses are much more sparse.

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