Follow Me Mr. President

Every day between 6:45-7:15am, the President drives by. I have heard that he is taking his child to school. I have heard he’s on his way to work. Who knows. All I do know is that when he drives by, it is with a full motorcade of about 4-6 motorcycles and 3-5 tinted out black SUVs. I also know that a week and a half ago, I became part of that motorcade.

If you've ever seen a motorcade or even any TV show or movie set in Washington D.C, you know the drill. A scout vehicle rides up ahead and stops traffic so the rest of the convoy can go forward. The President naturally gets precedent. This is no different in Ecuador. Also, the implication is that if you mess with the motorcade, you will be shot or thrown in jail with quickness. This is also no different in Ecuador.

So to set the scene, we live about 10 minutes away from school by foot. It’s a smoggy uphill walk but a nice one most days. On this particular day, I was running late and also planned on going to the grocery store after school. Shannon was sick and I was planning on picking up some stuff for her to make soup. As a result, I took the car to work.

At the top of the hill, where we normally turn right, I was yielding like a good citizen when traffic stopped coming. I figured it was a day like any other and it would be my time to dart into the road and merge while there was a momentary lapse in traffic. Traffic is terrible in Quito and you have to take every opportunity you can to get on to the road you desire. I did not see that the reason for the break in traffic was the Presidential motorcade scout motorcycle. As I made my turn I quickly realized that I had merged directly into the motorcade. There were scout motorcycles in front of me and black SUVs behind me. I was terrified for my life and for my prospects as a new character in the Ecuadorian vision of Shawshank Redemption. Luckily for me, we cruised along for about five minutes without anyone stopping me. I made my right hand turn into the school parking lot and no one bothered me once. I effectively had the President escort me through traffic to get to school quicker with no consequences.

Just another day in the life of an ignorant American abroad.