Today the usual salsa/bachata mix on my bus to school was replaced by live coverage of the innauguration. Classes took a break at noon and about 100 students gathered around the TV in the main hallway to watch Obama take his oath of office. I spotted at least 6 different Obama t-shirts around Quito today.
I envy all of our friends who are celebrating in D.C. right now, but it's also exciting and inspiring to see what a transformative moment this is for the entire planet.
¡Si se puede!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Well…my eggs keep toppling, but I blame that on the fact that Quito is about 30 miles south of the Equator. The upside is that it’s technically summer here, and I have a good excuse to start my summer fitness plan. Since it kind of snuck up on me, I figured I could speed up the process with a steady diet of street food and tap water, and sure enough, after about 4 days here my body had violently expelled any remnants of the fatty American foods that plagued me throughout the fall. Now 15 pounds lighter and mostly adjusted to the altitude, I feel ready to tackle the excitement of Ecuador.
Stomach issues aside, Monique and I have really enjoyed our first week in Quito. We’re staying in a plush hotel near the center of the city. Here’s the view from the lounge on the top floor of the hotel, where we invited a few of Monique’s colleagues over to watch the Steelers dominate the AFC Divisional Playoffs. (that’s right…all you suckers who pay taxes are subsidizing this lifestyle.) I accidentally packed my terrible towel in the slow shipment, so I had to make due with a yellow dishcloth from the market. Third world living is tough.
Stomach issues aside, Monique and I have really enjoyed our first week in Quito. We’re staying in a plush hotel near the center of the city. Here’s the view from the lounge on the top floor of the hotel, where we invited a few of Monique’s colleagues over to watch the Steelers dominate the AFC Divisional Playoffs. (that’s right…all you suckers who pay taxes are subsidizing this lifestyle.) I accidentally packed my terrible towel in the slow shipment, so I had to make due with a yellow dishcloth from the market. Third world living is tough.
The hotel gives us easy access to the city’s excellent public transportation system, although the embassy gives Monique a shuttle to work. Quito is basically a long narrow city, and 3 dedicated electric bus lanes run the length of the city. The buses get crowded, but it’s hard to complain when you whiz by the otherwise messy traffic for $.25. Our hotel is also about a 10 minute walk to the bus stop to my university, which is about 20 kilometers outside of Quito in a beautiful green valley. The bus ride reminds me of the road out of my village in Guatemala, with about 30 switchbacks over the course of a few miles, and a stream tumbling down the valley below.
It’s a very exciting time to be in law school in Ecuador, because they are basically restructuring their entire system of government. In October a national referendum enacted a new constitution that calls for major changes throughout the government. It’s a little surreal taking a constitutional law class when nobody knows what the constitutional provisions actually mean. On its own terms, the new constitution is extremely progressive. It guarantees a host of affirmative rights, including a right to housing, health care, work, food, and education. It also provides a much wider range of constitutional protections than the U.S., including a right to be free from discrimination based on sexual orientation, migratory status, or prior criminal conviction, an explicit right to freedom in making reproductive health decisions, and a right for natural resources to not be unduly exploited, enforceable by any Ecuadorian citizen.
It remains to be seen if and how these constitutional provision will be enacted into law, and most people are skeptical that the government will be able to simultaneously fulfill promises of universal housing and nutrition while respecting natural resources and private property. It seems clear, however, that the constitution will give activists a legal basis from which to demand change. Already a large group of environmentalists and indigenous rights activists have begun to organize against what they see as an unconstitutional mining law, and I’m hoping similar efforts can be made regarding immigrants' rights.
My internship with ASELER, the Ecuadorian branch of Asylum Access, is also looking to be a great experience. It’s a very small and rapidly evolving office, and I think I will have lots of opportunities to help the organization grow. Right now, my job will be interviewing migrants seeking refugee status in Ecuador, helping refugees prepare for their status determination interviews in front of the Ecuadorian government, and writing appeals for people who were unfairly denied refugee status. Again, it remains to be seen what the new constitution means for refugees, because it contains provisions that declare “no human being is illegal” and all people within Ecuador’s borders have a right to work and education. For now, however, being officially recognized as a refugee is an important step in allowing displaced persons (overwhelmingly from Colombia) to begin to assert their fundamental rights and rebuild their lives.
OK…enough rambling. Monique and I have to go look for apartments so we have somewhere for you all to stay when you come visit.
Abrazos,
Dan y Monique
It’s a very exciting time to be in law school in Ecuador, because they are basically restructuring their entire system of government. In October a national referendum enacted a new constitution that calls for major changes throughout the government. It’s a little surreal taking a constitutional law class when nobody knows what the constitutional provisions actually mean. On its own terms, the new constitution is extremely progressive. It guarantees a host of affirmative rights, including a right to housing, health care, work, food, and education. It also provides a much wider range of constitutional protections than the U.S., including a right to be free from discrimination based on sexual orientation, migratory status, or prior criminal conviction, an explicit right to freedom in making reproductive health decisions, and a right for natural resources to not be unduly exploited, enforceable by any Ecuadorian citizen.
It remains to be seen if and how these constitutional provision will be enacted into law, and most people are skeptical that the government will be able to simultaneously fulfill promises of universal housing and nutrition while respecting natural resources and private property. It seems clear, however, that the constitution will give activists a legal basis from which to demand change. Already a large group of environmentalists and indigenous rights activists have begun to organize against what they see as an unconstitutional mining law, and I’m hoping similar efforts can be made regarding immigrants' rights.
My internship with ASELER, the Ecuadorian branch of Asylum Access, is also looking to be a great experience. It’s a very small and rapidly evolving office, and I think I will have lots of opportunities to help the organization grow. Right now, my job will be interviewing migrants seeking refugee status in Ecuador, helping refugees prepare for their status determination interviews in front of the Ecuadorian government, and writing appeals for people who were unfairly denied refugee status. Again, it remains to be seen what the new constitution means for refugees, because it contains provisions that declare “no human being is illegal” and all people within Ecuador’s borders have a right to work and education. For now, however, being officially recognized as a refugee is an important step in allowing displaced persons (overwhelmingly from Colombia) to begin to assert their fundamental rights and rebuild their lives.
OK…enough rambling. Monique and I have to go look for apartments so we have somewhere for you all to stay when you come visit.
Abrazos,
Dan y Monique
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