Now it's true that the past few days have been pleasantly free of rain (mostly), however this holds a double meaning this weekend.
It's census time in Ecuador friends, and for those of you familiar with what it means to partake in a census, you are about to be thrown for a loop. Whether it is the extreme need to count every human that happens to be on dry land this weekend or an extreme need to control every last detail of the entire affair, there are some strange things going on.
1st: Rather than hiring census workers, the government has opted to exploit the free labor that is it's High School students--it's 1oth, 11th and 12th graders to be exact. Not only does this seem a bit out of whack, but it has caused mass disruption in schools all across the country for the past month. The students had to be trained--which means the teachers had to be trained in order to train the students. As you might imagine, what this means is many missed days of school for the students. Three days here, a day or two there (what are they training them to do?!?) and it is finally time for these kids to show the country what they have learned.
2nd: The census will take place tomorrow: Sunday, November 28th. Since the kids will be out walking around counting heads for 9 hours, they have been given the day off on Monday (which conveniently coincides with the beginning of the biggest week long party in Quito: Fiestas de Quito. Hmmm. Beginning to wonder if I will see any of my students the rest of the week).
3rd: The country has literally been put on lock down for this occasion. All travel has been prohibited between the hours of 7am and 5pm on Sunday. I'm talking, domestic flights canceled, cruise ships (and people on them) held in ports, no one allowed to leave the airport, all auto traffic--nothing, nyet, nada. I mean, I guess it's important to be counted, but seriously?
And last but not least: from Midnight Friday, until 11am Monday morning, there will be NO ALCOHOL SOLD in all of Ecuador. That's right, a DRY weekend. I guess the government is worried that people will be so out of sorts due to drinking that they won't be able to... be counted? This is confusing. As people that might be attending post thanksgiving celebrations, this could prove interesting (read: party over at 8pm).
If you are doubting the craziness that apparently is census season in this little country (roughly the size of Colorado) please see below.
If you need me, I'll be home. ALL DAY.
http://ecuador.usembassy.gov/service.html (on the right hand side...)
