betsy from america

Quito is dangerous. Everyone has a story. Not to scare potential travellers to Quito, but you will hear stories of people simply being pick-pocketed to people being strangled until they pass out and then robbed. People may be robbed at gun-point and drugged. These things can happen everywhere…so be careful everywhere!

At the hostel there was an “American” woman named Betsy (all people from the Americas are Americans…I argue…nothing makes the United States of America more American than Ecuador of America). She was loud and from New Jersey.

Every time she entered the common room in the hostel she would ask, “English?” very loudly and enunciated. Everyone would look at each other debating if they should admit that we were all from Anglophone countries, knowing very well that if we did she would continue interrupting conversation. Finally, hesitating, everyone would answer back: “Yes, English.”

Then she would begin, speaking very slowly and loudly as if she were speaking to an ESL class. “I am Betsy from America.” She would pause between every sentence to make sure that the Canadians, the Brits, and the Australians all understood. “Two people just got robbed over on that corner.” She then continued to tell the details and what got robbed. “I don’t want to scare anyone. But be careful.”

I wanted to tell her that the story she just told is drops in a bucket compared to…everything! Instead I turned to the Australian dude I just met, “How long have you been here?”
“I arrived in South America about an hour ago.”
“Oh. Um…don’t be scared. Just be careful:”

The next day he left the hostel twice. Once to pick up lunch and bring it back to the hostel. And the second time was with me to buy some garlic for dinner. He then told me that he would just start running everywhere.