Ecuador 5

Hey Everyone,

My last weekend was a three day weekend. I had plans to travel but they didn´t go through. Instead I walked around Quito a little while and went to a few museums. I have a few pictures of my time in the Government Palace but I wasn´t allowed to take photos in the others because (they sell postcards).

This is me in my costume (I was Cortez for a presentation in my Indigenous Literature class)

This is Tita (our maid)

This is the most evil dog in the world (Titina)

And following are some more pictures of the Centro Historico

Above is the entrance to the government palace

This is the garden inside

Above is a brief history of Quito

The translation of which reads something like:

Quito March 1541 The origen of our destiny

The epic of Francisco of Orellana.

The sacrifice of three million aborigenes glorifies

(something I can´t read) of Ecuador in the Amazon River.

The route is marked with their blood in our spirit

Atlantic August 1542

This is our guide showing us gifts to the president of Ecuador from many different nations

This is the meeting room of the president

This is what he looks at during the meeting

Below are statues of famous people in Ecuadorian history

I know what some of the names are, but I can´t tell you which is which so I won´t bother

Eugenio Espejo (this one I know)

Following are more gifts (I had to switch sizes because I need to save space in my blog, I am now using 15%, however if you click on the pictures you can see them much larger)

This is where the preseident is recieved into office and where they eat lunch. It has almost all of the presidents that have served in office (I say almost because some of them only served for a day before the people protested their existence and therefore they don´t have a painting)

However the gentleman in the center of this photo managed to get his painting although he was absolutely crazy (Bucheram is his name if you want to look him up; you tube has the program that he demanded be put in all of the channels in the television, it was him dancing with strippers) Ecuador has had 8 presidents in 10 years. The most recent has been in office since 2006.

This is the ribbon the president wears

The Ecuadorian flag

This is the Ecuadorian shield

This is a well made model of the San Francisco Plaza in front of the palace

This is the plaza

This is a plaque that says:

Here arrived Bolivar (Simon) for the first time

June 6th 1822(the year of their independence)

The Ecuadorian Academy of Beautiful Art

XVII-XII-MCMXXX (December 17th 1930)

This is the Scripture Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...(this part is very important but is not included in the photo)...and of the abundance of his peace there will be no end."

This is a brief history of French Geodesic Mission which marked a very important change in Ecuadorian thought and later society:

June 4th 1736, La Condamine (A famous french person) arrived as part of the French Geodesic Mission, which decisively marked the development of the sciences in the Real Audiencia (which was the government at the time). It was located in the Jesuit school, for what La Condamine recieved with gratitude: "during more than seven years in Spanish America (Latin America), I have not had a more enjoyable time than that which I was treated in this house."
He drew a line of the meridian in the roof and in a column of lime (the chemical) and brick he placed a sun dial. Also he gave the fathers a column of marbel that contained the main results of the measurements of the meridian in Ecuador, and above all, the exact extent of the oscilation of a pendulum which counts seconds in the center of the world.

The following pictures are fireworks that went off right outside my bedroom window

The pictures that follow demonstrate another part of Quito, but not all

You have seen the Centro Historico, and this is one of the many valley provinces that surround Quito.

This is right next to a store in the little community that my Ecuadorian great aunt lives in

(I had three family reunions this weekend all of which lasted 8 hours or more)

My Ecuamom is the one with the dark hair on the right and the girl in the blue is my other sister Maria Jose

I thought you all might be interested to see my university, so the following are of San Francisco de Quito.

The inside of the building DaVinci

The plaza in front of the building Davinci

With a mermaid

another view of the plaza

This is to the right of the plaza and is the main hall and the university resaurants

This is the side of the building DaVinci (Where almost all of my classes are)

Statue

Obolisk (The art of the university is very diverse, there is art which is Roman Catholic, but also simply Roman, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, Japonese, and more) I tried to take pictures of examples

This is the Plaza in front of the building Michaelangelo (All of the buildings are named after famous men whose professions were in the areas of study to which the building is applied)

Michealangelo

The interior of the Dome in the previous picture

The stairwell of the same

This is the internation programs building Rec-hall and tutoring center (It´s called the Tomatoe House because in Ecuador the tomatoes are that color)

The interior of Isaac Newton and Galileo (They´re the same)

Greco-Roman Statue

Hindu Statue

The Virgen Panecillo de Quito

A painting with allusion to Guernica (but it isn´t trying to be a replica)

Three masks outside of the theatre (all of which are scared)

A Chinese Vase

A modern child with an umbrella and cherubum below

That is the bookstore and the building of image design (it has a name i´m sure)

This the lake next to the Japenese building where there are Yoga classes and classes of Tae Kwan Doe and dance

It´s a beautiful place to study

There is a little statue (I don´t know which culture it´s from)

I think this is the Taiwanese version of the Buddha

Another view of the lake with the Suishi bar and the building Galileo

Japanese building

Buddha on fish (Chinese)

This tower is also a clock, it has references to Babylonia and Egypt

Students playing Fútbol

The following are modern art pieces

This is Laotse who was a central figue in Daoism (Though he looks like an old version of JFK)


This is the building of Architectural Design

This is the view from above

I hope you enjoyed the photos I didn´t have very much to say about my week, but I am still looking forward to hearing from many of you.

I love and miss you all,

Spencer