There is smoke over Quito:

I remember when I came in with the bus to Quito; suddenly it was just there, like a flower that just bloomed up in the middle of the asphalt. I especially saw the thick layer of clouds which covered the city; however, it was not only clouds, I later realized.
I had been met by protests and demonstrations already at the border, and it happened one more time, some days ago. The family and me drives in the city, when we suddenly have to stop, because some young rebels are burning wood and tires on the road. The family didn’t seem as surprised at me, to see police and the military everywhere is a part of everyday Life here. The most interesting part is that no-one knows (or cares) about Ecuador in Denmark. We hear about it neighboring countries, Peru, Bolivia and Columbia, but Ecuador has managed to stay very anomalous behind the high Andes Mountains. It is mostly the young students demonstrating; about the bus prices, international companies etc., it is like the old “south American rebel” like Che is still in most of them.

Another reason for the “clouds” over Quito, is the huge amounts of cars that one sees here. The small narrow streets and the few parking spaces make the mess even more chaotic. The old city in Quito is defiantly not build to cars – and especially not that many! They are everywhere, and they create a carpet of pollution in the end of the day.
The reason for all the cars (which is a new phenomenon), is because of the economical crisis that the country has had. When Ecuador went from the Sucre to dollars in 2000, many people lost the money that they had in the banks. Therefore, no one trusts the banks anymore, and keep the money at home. Nevertheless, they can’t keep all the money at home, so they invest them in cars, not one, or two, but three. A car is the safest place to have your money here. Furthermore, the cars are getting cheaper and cheaper, and the companies make it easier to buy a car, additionally the gasoline is extremely cheap here, but not at all as cheap as in Venezuela, were water was more expensive!
The economical problems has also made it more difficult to get a job here, therefore it is very common to meet taxi drivers with master degrees; and many people immigrate to Spain or Canada, so they can send money home to their families (people who knows south Americans, knows that the family means more than everything else).

As I wrote earlier, the security is difficult for me to get used to. You will see an armed man in front of every shop; when I mention my observations to David and Maria Sol, they were very surprised, even more when I told them about the city bikes that we have in my town. It was very complicated for them to understand why no one stole the bikes.
Another aspect of Latin America which is very different for me, are the malls. In Ecuador and Venezuela the malls were for the cool and the rich people, a place where they could hang around, eat, socialize or just been seen. In Denmark, the malls are more for the good cheap offers; it is not really a place where you enjoy going, but it will be cheap there.

Yesterday I went with Pablo’s grandparents to Mitad del Mundo, the place where the 0-line is – the equator. The grandparents only speaks Spanish, but I had a great day with them. I have been on the Artic Circle, the 0 longitudes, and now also the 0 latitude.
A way for me to check if I really had cross the equator was to flush the toilet when we were in the north, and then again when we were back home in the house. I saw that the “currents” were different, depending if I were north or south of the equator. Hurray for e-systems!

Talking about the IB, I went to The American School today, Pablo’s former school, and I did a UWC presentation there. Not many people showed up (they are busy doing their exams!), but the people who showed up were very interested, and we had a good talk. It would be soooo awesome if I could be the one, who got the next Ecuadorian to RCN.

I realized yesterday that I have to apply for university before 15th of March, or else I have to wait one more year, so the plan is that I will go home around the 10th of March. Then I would find a job (I hope I can get one on the ferries going between Denmark and Norway), so I can earn some money and rent a room somewhere.

My next destination is Lima; however, I don’t want to spend the 70 dollars that it cost with a bus directly from Quito to Lima, so the family has helped me a lot trying to find some busses which will take me there, in one way or another. I am everyday surprised by the hospitality that I meet in the families I have visited until now, they don’t even know me, and still they do so much for me. Thanks to Pedro and Pablo.