My favorite part of the city tour today was the last cathedral we went to, because I was able to gain an insight into the culture of Ecuador through stories Diego told. I trusty enjoyed the story he told us about how his grandmother believed in the power of the saints watching over the city. The saints prediction of the city of Quito may seem silly as an outsider, and actually this is something I want to work on because for me I am not a religious person and I truly struggle with accepting the supernatural beliefs of natives. I question how they can believe certain things without challenging them with science or other explanations. Being able to move beyond my accepted beliefs, which are not religious, and understand how others can hold beliefs that may seem silly to me is something I want to work on.
I was very surprised that the city of Quito has never had an explosion from one of the seven volcanoes and have damage done to their city! Living in this sort of environment would appear to be dangerous, which would result in nervous people. However, no one seems to be worried that a volcano will become active and that they would die from the eruption. I also envy the peace Diego spoke about when he said his family saw the volcano erupt. In that moment you know nothing you do will change your fate but they have a sense of serenity about them which I admire. I was very surprised too by the fact that the road up to the virgin statue had no railings, was twisty and people drove fast. I would be interested in looking into how many accidents occur yearly from diving in Quito, since it is not very organized. Lastly, I was completely suprised by the fact that Ecuador will be getting a Metr system in just a few years! The advancementsbeing made here are impressive. It makes me wonder how a developing country gets to move up in their status to a developed country. Today was a great day for beinging to understand Quito and how people here have lived throughout history.
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