Shit Happens

Shit Happens

Sorry readers, but there are no photos for this blog, because this sort of occurrence does not lend itself easily to taking pictures.

Anyway, I was robbed. Monday. 6 pm-ish. Walking through Parque El Ejido (I have found out post-hoc that this park is dangerous and should always be avoided. Great to know now.) It was raining. I was late. On my way to salsa. I was taking the quickest route I knew. I’d taken it before. Rain, late-ness, busy-ness, excited for salsa = not thinking, stupid, letting my guard down, not keeping my wits about me. My fault. Avoidable.

I was walking through the park when suddenly a tall black man from Colombia (I think) quickly walked towards me so that by this time (earlier…different decisions could have been made leading to avoidance) I didn’t have time to avoid him. At first I thought he was a pan-handler, and I was like, “whoa dude. No. Leave me alone.” He continued to rattle off in Spanish and reached for his pocket, at which point I realized this wasn’t part of my daily routine with street beggars.

I looked around for help, but seeing as it was raining and I was in the park, there weren’t many people around (see the stupidity?). I looked left, and I saw one person yelling as he ran towards me. I thought, “Oh, maybe this person can help me.” But as I began to appeal for help, I realized he was a second thief. Chuta. I looked right. Two more people running at me yelling. I’m starting to get the idea, but still I start to ask for help. But no. Two more thieves. Chuta. Otra vez. Then I look behind me and I see another man. By now I understand and I don’t even bother asking for help. A fifth thief. I’m screwed. So I gave them what they wanted: my money ($5, haha), my phone (that part sucks), and my umbrella (it had just broken that day, but maybe it’ll keep them dry-er). I’m sure they were surprised. Here I was: a white man in nice shoes and a nice jacket, who probably looked loaded. They even asked me: “That’s it?”

I was lucky though. Credit cards: check. My nice shoes and the jacket which was a b-day gift from my bros: check. My safety, health, and physical well being: check. Aside from the annoyance of having to replace my phone contacts and maybe having a couple lost forever, nothing really bad happened. I wasn’t hurt, I wasn’t given any nightmare or paranoia material, and I didn’t lose that much.

Afterwards, I remember thinking: “Is that it? Was I just robbed?” It seemed kind of surreal and matter of fact and business-like. Almost as if I wasn’t too shocked. Well…I wasn’t. I expected it to happen eventually in my travels. I still went to my dance class and had a great time, and it gave me something to bond with my classmates about. I was shaken up and distracted for the first 30 minutes of class or so, but dancing is a great mental distraction. Now I’m not exactly rattled. I have some of the fear back in me of walking the streets of Quito. But I’m realistic. That situation was completely avoidable. I just can’t ever let my guard down. If I do, shit will happen again.

It got me thinking though about the idea of stealing, and how f*$ked up it all is. At first I wasn’t too angry at the thieves, because they looked poor, they were probably only looking for money so they could eat, and they didn’t hurt me. But they forcefully took something that was mine. I had worked for it. It was on my body. My property. Gone. Because they were five, I was one. Them reaching into my pockets to get my $2 in change. Violating my personal space. Think about it. Even though they needed to eat (or get high, something), with time, I have grown less and less sympathy for them. They took what I had earned.

On the positive side, to the credit of my Spanish, I was able to successfully negotiate the robbery in Spanish. I understood them, talked to them, and at first tried to refuse them in Spanish. Maybe the fact that it didn’t work is another testament to my skills. Haha.

My next entry was going to be titled: “Things are looking up” or something like that. Because life overall in Ecuador is good right now, and it is continuing to improve. Even being robbed, my new found enthusiasm for the country is not fading. But that is for an entry coming soon.