Super Sunday

This is a big week. Bigger than I originally anticipated, actually. Sunday, April 26th is the big election. Initially, I thought it was just the election for mayor of Cuenca. Then I found out it's for the mayors of every city in the country, as well as the assembly members. And recently I've also been informed that it's also the election for president of the country. So basically, a lot is on the line for Sunday.

As happens with the elections down here, a ban on alcohol and consumption will go into effect this weekend and last until after the vote, probably to deter any alcohol-election-related violence and protests. Anyone seen with alcohol or drunk will be arrested. I'm thinking about leaving Cuenca for the weekend and going to a small town called Zaruma, about 6 hours away. It seems as though half of the friends I have here are actually from Zaruma, and I've heard good things. Especially about their traditional dish called "tigrillo," which is a plantain, egg, and cheese.

With so much on the line, it could be a really interesting weekend, if for nothing else than to see how the politics of another country play out. The last time there was an election here it was for the amendment of the constitution, which was passed with sweeping numbers. I'm not sure what people are really for on this election. But I know that everyone seems to have a side.

It's possible that there could be strikes or protests, but I'm really not too concerned about that. We're getting Friday and Monday off from the university because students need to travel back home so they can vote. Voting is compulsory for everyone over 18, except for the military. But a lot of students here are registered in other parts of the country and need to return home. So we get another 4 day weekend.

In the meantime, today is also a big day because the Boca Juniors from Argentina are playing Deportivo Cuenca here in Cuenca. I've already written about the process it was to get the tickets, and hopefully it will be a good game to remember. I'm not sure if the sale of alcohol will be banned before or after the game, but either way the ban will definitely make things interesting. It seems as though most people aren't going to the game in the hopes of seeing Cuenca win, but rather in seeing such a great team as Boca. Boca is, after all, one of the best soccer clubs in South America, and maybe the world.

The game is for a tournament that Cuenca somehow made its way into, and some people have told me that to lose by even 1 goal would be almost like a victory for Cuenca. An interesting state of mind. It's time to get ready for a big game.

Mayor McCheese

There's a mayoral election in Cuenca this month, and the supporters of the candidates have been getting more and more enthusiastic. It's also getting more and more annoying. Sometimes the politics down here just remind me of 19th century politics in the U.S. From what I've seen in movies, of course. I can't help but think of Boss Tweed in "Gangs of New York," handing out bread to the immigrants and putting out fires, all while saying, "Vote for me."

There are posters and flags all over the city. Some people have even repainted their cars entirely in the campaign poster of their favorite choice. A truck is usually driving around with a loud speaker rigged up. The audio plays something inaudible to me, but I imagine that it's the candidate saying why they are so much better than everyone else, and maybe even insulting the mothers of the other candidates.

Maybe the funniest part is the horrible photoshopping of candidates with President Correa. It's clear that the men have never posed for a picture together, and they just don't even look close in the campaign ads.

Somehow all of this just seems cheesy to me. I haven't really seen any debates or campaigns on TV. Instead it's just the advertisements around town and the occasional random concert on a street corner, like the one that kept us awake on Friday night. With no warning, a street was blocked off so a stage could be set up and music was played loudly. I have no idea what the issues are nor why each candidate thinks they will be the best choice, and I haven't heard anyone tell me what they think.

It seems like there are more candidates than people to vote, and as is usually the case, the runners are some of the most rich people in town. The election is coming up in just a couple of weeks, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. For the meantime, however, I'm going to have to continue dealing with the trucks driving by slowly with the loud speakers and people handing out fliers at every other corner. Ugh, politics.

Gringo Huntin' and the Dog Ate My Boxers Excuse

Last Saturday night we met some people at the club we were at, and I went on a quasi-date with one of the girls, Jennifer, on Tuesday. While we were having a beer I was explaining to her that I know everyone just looks at me and sees a gringo, but I wish there was a way for them to know that I'm not just a tourist, and that I'm here for a while. No later than 5 minutes later, 4 girls came up to me explaining that they're students at the University of Azuay and that they wanted to interview me about being a foreigner in Ecuador.

I obliged and let them ask away, since after all I majored in journalism and know that it can be hard to find people to talk. They actually filmed the interview and did it in English, which was pretty impressive.

Then today, after my class had got out, a girl came up to me and asked if I was Jon Brandt. I said yes, and she explained that she was a reporter for El Mercurio, one of the newspapers for Cuenca. The girl was looking to interview an American and she wanted to ask me about what I thought of the election in the United States. Once again, I obliged, though I was in a rush to get home. She even took a photo of me at my desk to show what a hard working teacher I am. I thought this was some student newspaper, but when I got home my host mother told me that it's a big newspaper, so tomorrow I can expect half of the city to read about my thoughts on the election.

I wasn't really looking for the attention, but it's kind of funny I guess. I just want to get by and live a normal life, but now, at least for the day, I might be known as "that gringo" around town.

I thought that would be the weirdest part of the day, but when I got home my host mom told me that the family dog, Lili, had torn through a pair of my boxers. Lili is a wiener dog, or a salchicha, as they call them in Spanish. She's actually got an "Ecua-whine" of her own and is always crying outside the door, begging to be let in. She's awfully cute, and when she's not jumping up to try to lick my hand she's clawing at my feet, trying to steal my sandals.

I like playing with her, but I gotta say, I'm pretty upset by this latest development. Those were a new pair of boxers, Joe Boxer brand to be exact, so they were nice too. My mom had gotten them for me before I left home, if that should add any sentiment to it at all. I have a bunch of older pairs that Lili could have destroyed if she'd liked, but instead she went after the new pair. Dammit.

My host mom has offered to buy me a new pair, but I haven't even paid my rent yet since I've been here because I have yet to be paid, and she hasn't once asked me for the money, so I don't think I'll be asking her for any money. Lili was already in the doghouse tonight, literally, for her actions.

But there is one good bit of news from all of this. If I can be getting upset from something as stupid as a wasted pair of boxers, than that means things can't be too bad. Things have to be looking up if little things like that get on your nerves. So at the end of it all, it's kind of a nice wake up call.

An Historic Election

The importance of yesterday's election went beyond the borders of the United States, and for that reason I'm taking a short break in the story telling of the Independence weekend in Cuenca.

For as long as I've been in Ecuador, people have asked me about the election and if I liked McCain or Obama. I have yet to meet an Ecuadorian who would prefer McCain as president, and though we consider this country by our standards to be 3rd world, they are up to date on the latest political news.

Yesterday I was hanging out with some new friends that I'd made Saturday night, and the first thing they wanted to talk about was the election and the fact that Obama's grandmother had died the day before. One of their issues was that most of the soldiers dying in Iraq were Latinos. I have no knowledge of the backgrounds of the soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, or anywhere else in the world, but I would have to agree that some of the people who join the military are those who have little economic option.

A lot of people in Cuenca are against the war for various reasons, but one is that a local woman from Cuenca had married a U.S. soldier and moved with him to the United States. Shortly after they were married, he was sent to Iraq and subsequently killed in action. The woman is now left alone in the United States with no family.

So in other words, this election was a big deal, not just for the citizens of the United States, but for all over the world. Casey was staying up in Cuenca another night, so we crowded around my laptop as the polls started to close and eagerly scanned nytimes.com and cnn.com, trying to see which was going faster.

It was a little annoying hitting refresh every few minutes, but it was worth it to keep up with what was going on. After finding a few other sites with projection information and exit polls, we could see the election was moving along steadily. As the east coast started to close, we'd heard that the same gringo bar where we'd watched the elections a few weeks earlier was showing CNN International.

We headed over and found a bunch of other ex-pats and travelers cheering loudly as Ohio was just being called for Obama. For the next hour or so only a few states slowly pulled in, and at times it was painful listening to the pundits saying the same things over and over again, but exciting to be waiting for the results. Everyone in the bar knew that this was important.

Will.I.Am. came on to talk to Wolf Blitzer via Hologram, maybe the wierdest thing I've ever seen on TV, and as we joked and made fun of the new technology, we wondered if it was actually for security, so that if Obama was elected president he would appear via Hologram to avoid any trouble.

Finally, CNN announced that Virginia had gone to Obama, and just a few minutes later they announced that Obama had won the election. At first we were a bit unsure, because after all, it's just a news station guessing that he'll win, and not official. But as the bar started to cheer, the scenes from Chicago were broadcast and it seemed unofficially official.

And just a few minutes after that, John McCain came on to speak to his supporters in Arizona, conceding the election to Barack Obama. It was a bit unreal, that now one of the most historic, if not the most historic elections in our nations' history was over. We were all exhausted but wanted to hear Obama speak, so we had to wait around until 12 a.m. our time.

The reception in Chicago seemed loud and on the verge of delerium, but contained as the president elect spoke. He looked tired and it must have been bittersweet, considering the recent loss of his grandmother, but at the same time must have been an overload of emtions that I can't imagine.

So the election is over and Barack Obama is now president of the United States of America. For now, the majority of ex-pats I know seem happy, as well as the Ecuadorians. Only time will tell how it plays out, but the buzz right now is that things are looking up. And that's always a good thing.