Oh dear I can´t believe it´s been such a long time since I´ve updated this. Since then Ecuador has inaugurated a new president and I have survived a week in the jungle. The new president Correa has been received very positively so far - no mass demonstrations, riots or anything like that. He´s young and left wing, and there seems to be a general feeling that his policies will be positive for the country, although my host father (who works for a minister) is a little more pesimistic. He says he´s heard this so many times before. Ecuador has had 7 presidents in the last 10 years. But it was an excuse for a national holiday, and we went to the Parliament square to see some of the dignitaries arriving for the ceremony which on television looked and sounded like a party - clapping and cheering throughout. Definitely more vibrant that the restrained grumblings of the House of Commons. Going to the jungle, and also visiting several indigenous markets has made me realise what luxury I have had living in Quito. I wouldn´t say my family are very well off but there´s no comparison to the rural communities who often trade goods rather than with money, and not always by choice. That is the tradition of the indigenous people though and we visited a market where guinea pigs were being swapped for maize and struggling chickens were dropped into brown paper bags soon to become lunch.
Sorry, it would have been an opportunity missed so I did try some of the guinea pig - but never again! It is Ecuador´s national dish after all. It´s not only really difficult to eat because the meat is a much tougher version of chicken, but it´s very difficult to remove from the skin and the bone. Not to mention the fact that it is smiling at you while you try and eat it. Next time I´ll stick to the pink bananas they sell here (one of about 20 banana varieties).
Oh dear I can´t believe it´s been such a long time since I´ve updated this. Since then Ecuador has inaugurated a new president and I have survived a week in the jungle. The new president Correa has been received very positively so far - no mass demonstrations, riots or anything like that. He´s young and left wing, and there seems to be a general feeling that his policies will be positive for the country, although my host father (who works for a minister) is a little more pesimistic. He says he´s heard this so many times before. Ecuador has had 7 presidents in the last 10 years. But it was an excuse for a national holiday, and we went to the Parliament square to see some of the dignitaries arriving for the ceremony which on television looked and sounded like a party - clapping and cheering throughout. Definitely more vibrant that the restrained grumblings of the House of Commons. Going to the jungle, and also visiting several indigenous markets has made me realise what luxury I have had living in Quito. I wouldn´t say my family are very well off but there´s no comparison to the rural communities who often trade goods rather than with money, and not always by choice. That is the tradition of the indigenous people though and we visited a market where guinea pigs were being swapped for maize and struggling chickens were dropped into brown paper bags soon to become lunch.
Sorry, it would have been an opportunity missed so I did try some of the guinea pig - but never again! It is Ecuador´s national dish after all. It´s not only really difficult to eat because the meat is a much tougher version of chicken, but it´s very difficult to remove from the skin and the bone. Not to mention the fact that it is smiling at you while you try and eat it. Next time I´ll stick to the pink bananas they sell here (one of about 20 banana varieties).
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