Almost Mugged, Twice

We weren't going to blog about this since Bert didn't want to worry his Mama.. but like all mammas everywhere have a way of doing, she found out about what he was trying to hide.

The first time we were together, and after Bert punched one of the three guys, they left us alone. The second time he was alone, and after he shoved one of the guys who was grabbing at him and cocked back his fist, they too left him alone.

We know that looking like we're not from here makes us targets since people assume we have extra money. Interestingly, none of the attempted robberies were by Ecuadorians, their skin was too dark for this region. The Ecuadorians in our classes all say that it's the neighboring countries and the people from the coast that make Quito dangerous. It seems like people everywhere typically blame the immigrants for the crime. Maybe it's true. Maybe immigrants are generally more desperate for resources, perhaps less protective of the atmosphere in the city they're inhabiting.

Because of all this, I've stopped working. I told my job I couldn't work nights anymore since I couldn't exactly fight off a group of males the same way Bert can. My employer let me know that they basically had zilch to offer me under my new requirements. That was followed by job offers that didn't pan out.. (employers tend to be pretty flaky around here) and a bout with illness on my part.

So now we're weighing our options, measuring our funds and considering how this unexpected time off of work needs to factor in with the rest of our trip. The uncertainty is teeming... But hey, ingenuity often comes out of uncertainty.