Street life

I know, I know - it's been awhile since I've posted anything. For everyone that has been checking and has been disappointed, I'm sorry. But thank you for continuing to be interested. I'll try to catch you up to speed on what has happened in the last week.

Last Saturday morning (June 3), I had my first bad experience on the street. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and I had just stepped out of my apartment at 10 am. I was going to catch a taxi at a nearby corner to head to a meeting with some people across town. I noticed a shabby looking guy carrying a beer bottle in one hand walking down the sidewalk toward me. I thought that it might be a wise choice to cross the street, but as I tried to cross there were several cars in the road that made it impossible. I also noticed that the man mirrored my movements in the street. When we finally met, he wouldn't let me pass and kept asking me for money (although his speech was slurred and I didn't really understand what exactly he was saying, I'm pretty sure it was something to the extent of "give me a dollar"). It was obvious that he was drunk, but I got the impression that he wasn't too dangerous. I kept saying "No, I'm sorry, No", and as I tried to pass him, he grabbed my shirt. At that point I gave him a firm shove away and briskly crossed the street and walked in the other direction. He only followed for about 10 meters, and then gave up. Although I just believe that he was too drunk to really think about what he was doing and probably didn't have any truly evil intentions, the experience kind of shook me up for a couple of reasons. I know that street violence and muggings are a part of big city life, and that it is not unlikely that during my time here it was bound to happen. What bothered me was the unexpectedness and audacity of the confrontation. It wasn't like I was out alone in a dark alley late at night. I was on a busy street, right in front of my apartment, in broad morning daylight with many people around. Perhaps it was a good experience to remind me to never let my guard down, no matter when, where, or who I am with. I know that I should always be cautious and mindful of my surroundings, but it wears on me. I return home to my apartment at night and am exhausted after spending a day in the city, and I think that a major reason is because of the constant mindfulness and caution that it requires. Mom, don't worry too much about this. I've spent many days now in the city and this minor incident is the worst that I have experienced or have heard any of my other classmates experience. In general I feel pretty safe, as much as I would in any big city, for example Chicago or New York. Relax.

After the encounter, I hailed what I believe to be the first real taxi cab of my life. After some brief confusion due to my terrible Spanish, I finally made it to my meeting with a missionary couple that has lived in Quito for about 30 years. They work with HCJB, a Christian missionary radio station that was started in Quito and now has stations and broadcasts all over the world. There is also a very nice and prestigious hospital in Quito that was started and is run in association with HCJB, called Hospital Vozandes Quito. This missionary couple has strong connections with the people throughout the radio station, hospital, and city of Quito and I was very grateful for being connected with them - thanks Peggy! They were very helpful and set up a meeting for me with some people in the hospital to see if I could volunteer and/or shadow there in the afternoons. After several days of trying to find time to meet with the busy staff, it was finally decided that I would be able to shadow in the ER three days a week, Mon-Wed-Fri, from 2 - 6 pm. I started on Friday. More on that later - first things first, chronologically speaking.