March 3, 2015

The next day we were up bright and early around 8am. We learned that Hotel Quito was originally built in 1959 for a Pan-American conference but no one attended because of the Cuban Revolution with the U.S. Rent is also very high in Quito, Ecuador. Paychecks are distributed monthly not biweekly. I can’t even imagine! The economy in Ecuador is based off of: oil, bananas, tourism, chocolate, flowers. Public Transportation is also widely used due to the license plates of cars being heavily monitored. Often people have a car, moped, motorcycle, bike or a combination of two. Ecuador is attempting to make a metro but it’s a difficult task due to the volcanos and the Andes. The Ecuadorian Flag contains yellow, blue, and red. Yellow represents the country’s wealth, while blue symbolizes the sky, rivers, and ocean, red is a reminder of the country’s victories. Throughout the day Kailey, Nathan, Erik, and I discussed ideas for our projects. A highlight of discussion was on Rafael Correa, the Ecuadorian President. The people of Ecuador love their president. I wondered why he was so adored and whether or not it had something to do with the size of the country. While we were enjoying lunch we noticed several city workers in the plaza cutting grass in between the bricks, a very tedious job; however, the plaza looked beautiful. It appears that not only is Quito keen on preserving its beauty but in order to do so it has also allowed for more jobs to be created. We visited the museum, Casa del Alabado in Quito and learned about the Aryana tree. This tree can be used for several medicinal purposes. It can even whiten your teeth if you make it into a tea and drink it. We returned to the hotel later than night to listen to a seminar given by Mr. Diego Quiroga.