Eye-opening lecture

Steve Wille, the director and dean of CEDEI hosts meetings/lectures on a weekly basis. This week marked the first of the 12 in his series. Today's subject was regarding the tumultuous history of Ecuadorian presidencies.
If I may, allow me to share some fascinating information gained from this lecture.
- Ecuador just elected and inaugrated a new president two weeks ago, Rafael Correa.
-Correa is anti-U.S. and anti-U.S./Ecuadorian relations
-Correa is good allies with Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez
-Ecuador returned to a Democracy in 1980
-65% of Ecuadorians live in poverty
-30% of Ecuadorians live without running water
-Rafeal Correa, is a socialist and his campaign platform was to remove power and wealth from the elite, he is claimed to a warrior of the poor
-In Ecuador there is no checks and balances over the military, the military has a limitless budget
-Jaime Roldo the president of Ecuador from 1978-1981 was a socialist, it was his presidency that marked the end of military rule over Ecuador and a return to Democracy.
-He was assassinated in 1981, his death was largely coordinated and supported by the US government and CIA
-Ecuadorians do not vote for someone, Ecuadorians vote against the person, instituition, or ideology they are against
-the thesis of Steve Wille's lecture was based in the notion that political tension is caused by disparities and differences in top and the bottom NOT tension between the right and left....something to ponder, political tension caused more by class and economics...
-the constituition has changed 30 times since 1980!
-corruption of banks, Treasurer, and governmental financial offices led to the end the currency of the sucre and the beginning of U.S. dollar--at this time the sucre was valued at 25,000 sucre to 1.00--extremely devalued---causing the current state of poverty in Ecuador

...so yeah, some interesting factoids about Ecuadorian political history!

I begin my internship tomorrow afternoon. After much deliberation and investigation into several agencies, I resolved to working at an orphanage quite near my school as well as my house. The orphanage, Miguel Leon, serves 50 girls between the ages of 6-18 whose placement in the orphanage has been caused by multiple reasons ranging from sexual abuse, parents' death, parental abondonment and crime. The orphange is operated by a group of 20 nuns. I, along with two other students from my group will be tutoring the girls 3 afternoons a week for two hours each day. I am so pumped!
Tonight, being Wednesday evening is "Ladies Night" at the Eucalyptus Cafe 6 blocks from my house. Our group will meet there for a few hours for "hang out" time.