Día 92 | Miércoles, el 1 de Abril | 2009

Tomebamba...

In Cuenca, it is about 70 degrees everyday with practically no humidity.  Cuenca lies at about 8,000 ft. above sea level and has a population of about 300,000.  Picture a city that is about 2 miles above Athens!  The air here is thin and it is sometimes difficult to breath after walking up a staircase.  

Today was pretty great.  The weather was nice and it was perfect to walk to class and back.  

Last night was really surreal.  Billy and I went to see Rafael Correa speak.  Correa is the current President of Ecaudor and he is up for re-election on April 26.  At first, Billy and I were unable to enter the Coliseum where Correa was to speak.  The police had guarded off the gates and wouldn't allow anyone to have further admission.  After we found this out, Billy and I were a little bummed out, so we just stood outside the Coliseum in order to hear Correa's speech.  A group of about 40 people, however, seemed to organize among themselves and decided to storm the gate.  All of a sudden, Billy and I could hear slamming on the metal gates, shouting and a the sound of a whole lot of commotion.  We looked over at the gates and noticed that the swarm of people appeared to be dissolving into the Coliseum like sand dissolving into the bottom of an hour glass.  Realizing that this could be our chance, Billy and I jogged over and joined the mob that was rushing the gates.  Billy and I lost ourselves for a moment -- we could see each other about 10 feet away in the mob -- because we had no control over the 40 people or so that were moving as one giant mass.  As we passed through the gates, I noticed the policemen who had guarded the gates and I'll never forget the look on their face.  On their face was the look of concession, a retreat, and ultimately an understanding that they just could not stand up to the crowd.

Quite different than in the U.S.