Quito days 2 and 3

Hello,

We are still here in Quito and we have barely had a free moment.

Yesterday we went to the National Museum and to the Old City to learn about the history of the region, and observe Ecuadorian culture. Old City is an extremely old and colonial part of town, which contrasts with the modernizing parts of Quito. However, globalization is present in both the old and new parts of Quito. We enjoyed the 4 free hours in the Old City as we explored the cobble-stoned streets and took pictures of the majestic buildings. We finished the day by driving to the top of the closest hill to the Panecillo, which is a 100 foot tall statue of the virgin angel, and we watched the sunset over the gigantic city of Quito.

Today was our academic day because we went to the wealthiest private university in Quito called San Francisco and had two intellectual lectures. The first lecture was about Economics and the speaker is The economic advisor to the President of the Republic, hence a super high caliber professional. The second lecture given by a professor from San Francisco University explored Latin American issues and Ecuador’s role within these countries that have recently elected leaders that have leftist mentalities. Even though the day was long and we were overwhelmed with information, we learned so much about history, politics, economics and possible futures for Ecuador. The current president is Rafael Correa and he is looking to align Ecuador with Chavez (Venezuela) and opening the economic markets towards Asia.

Tonight we are going to the folkloric ballet.