Driving in Quito…frightening. I mean, I’m not the one driving, but still, riding in Quito is an experience. I went with my host mom, her kids and her sister to go pick up their mom from their aunt’s house. First of all, I really had no idea where we were going and why, possibly because my Spanish is that bad, but I just think they didn’t mention it. All I know is that my madre’s sister said, “Vamos a la casa de mi tia en diez minutos,” (We leave to my aunt’s house in 10 minutes). Okay then. There was a bunch of running around and excitement, then we took off for the house. I had no idea what was going on and why we were going there. So, basically I just stared out the window the whole time and watched the traffic.
Watching the traffic sounds boring, and I guess that it is—if you don’t think your life depends on it. It was absolutely insane! Cars flying everywhere. They DO NOT stop for pedestrians. Motorcycles just weave in and out between the cars. People go about 45 mph in places that would surely be 25 mph zones in the United States. Also, some of the roads are really steep here, like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We drove up this really steep street today, and I wondered how endangered my life was at the moment. Plus, I kept worrying that we would hit someone. Besides all the swerving, not stopping at red lights or stop signs and the pedestrians coming from all directions, the kids in the back seat were totally unrestrained. No carseats, no seatbelts, nothing! The little boy, Gabriel, is four years old, he was sleeping in the car, laying down across the seat, and Melisa, the 2 year old, was standing up or laying on the lap of her aunt. I kept thinking about how that would go over in America.
I would never want to drive in a place like this…SCARY!
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