Time for a little update. Nothing new in my life, still going to school every day. My Espanol is slow going but that’s ok. Everyone in the house here English is doing well. That’s way cool.
The family in the USA is doing well. Next month the new addition should be showing up!! Way cool. Everyone in Ecuador is doing well also.
A couple of things going on in Ecuador itself that are interesting and disappointing.
Let’s start first with the political situation. Very similar to the way congress acted in the USA when Trump was president has happened here. Instead of working to take care of the country they have spent most of the time trying to get rid of president Lasso. He has 2 years left in office so instead of putting the countries needs first and biding their time, a couple of weeks ago they decided to take a vote to remove him which they did. The president is gone in a couple of months, and they have to hold a new election. The part that is interesting to me is that in the constitution here there is something called I believe the “black cross”. That states that if the president so declares he can fire all of congress which when they fired him, he fired them. So, everyone needs to be re-elected. What a waste of time and money hence the disappointing aspect. The above is what I understand of the situation and when my friends here correct me, I will change as needed. The one thing that I would add is, I wish that after they all got fired the same people could not run for office again for five years. I afraid that the same people will be re-elected, and the politics will not change.
Now here’s the real kicker to the above. While all of the above has been happening crime such as robberies, kidnappings, and also violent crime such as killings has gone up around 300% in the last two years. Ecuador from what I understand is now number 1 in violent crime in South America more so than Venezuela or Colombia. My friends have not said much to me about it, but they talk about it amongst themselves. The people are freaked out about it for it is something they are not used to. A friend did set me up on Instagram where I can follow the local news more. I have talked with a couple of my classmates about this, and they noticed the same. Seems like if you can afford it, you just leave the country. There are many small petty thieves but the most violent are the gangs. The gangs have been around for a while, but they were along the coast where it is very bad. To me it seemed that it was accepted along the coast (just my opinion) as long as it stayed there, now no. The violence has gotten out of hand. Now the gangs are increasing the size of their territory and moving inland starting with the capital Quito, the second largest city in the country. It is not a new problem but a problem that has been growing. Many of the judges and law enforcement are involved and not in a good way and I’m sure some politicians also. Violent crime happens most everywhere. Last week a friend’s arm was grazed by a bullet during a robbery in San Francisco, California. By the way guns laws here are very restrictive which does not help because only the criminals have guns. Of course, the police and military do but are very limited in their use from what I understand. (I say from what I understand quite a bit. I am in a country with limited language skills, and I am still learning how they look at things). So, the politicians have been playing politics and letting the above become a major problem, ugh. If the people around me think it is wiser just to leave, I’m not sure where that leaves me as far as building a future here. When the elections happen, we will know which way the country is leaning. I hope not socialist. Wait and see is all we can do.
Local crime has also increased. There have been neighborhood meetings about it. Again, I hear very little about it unless it is major like businesses being robbed or people walking being robbed also. I am sure there is a lot I miss. I know when I wanted to walk home (less than a mile) on a Tuesday night for some fresh air, a friend just asked for my wallet and watch which I happily gave up because I wouldn’t need them anyway. Another friend did not want me to walk alone. Personally, I don’t worry about it too much. Be aware of your surroundings and have faith. If crap happens it is what it is and handle it accordingly. We are more conscious here about locking the house and driveway gate also. Something that a couple of years ago was not important.
Cotapaxi volcano is still smoking a little.
So that’s it, no big news or travel, well I did spend 5 days in the USA on a super quick trip. I am still physically healing a little each day from last year’s accident, so that’s good. Mentally I have a lot on my mind, kind of in limbo. A project that I had wanted to work on is on hold because of the above. I have a different project in mind but haven’t proposed it so no one has put in any input as to whether it is a good or bad idea. Goes a different direction from the original project but could be very interesting and fun. I know “not right in the head” is normal for me. Not sure what’s next, a lot to figure out.
Pictures taken in the last few weeks below.
All my love to my Family and Friends!
