Inherently Good

Sometimes, after a certain series of events, we can't help but have faith in those around us. 

This morning I was trying to contact my program coordinator in Ecuador but my phone wasn't working so I asked a man at our hotel for help and his immediate reaction was to reach into his pocket, dial the number on his phone and hand it to me so I could make my phone call.

On our way into Quito, the lady who was driving our taxi graciously stopped at a safe bank where we could use and atm and walked us into the area, watching our backs as we went in. Her car broke down as we were leaving and her husband came to our rescue and picked us up to bring us to our hotel in the city. 

After a last-minute hotel booking, we were a bit nervous of the place we were staying because of its location in a more notoriously crime ridden area. Our fears were immediately dissolved when we opened the big wooden door from the busting street and met the two owners of this quaint bed and breakfast. This couple was so incredibly nice to us and extremely helpful and accommodating. It's so lovely to meet such kind and happy people when you're traveling I can't even describe how grateful I was for the generosity.

Later, we went to the teleférico, a trolley car to the top of a mountain on the north side of the city. It was beautiful to hike around up there at 13,500 feet and see the snowy volcanoes of Ecuador. We saw the sun set and watched as the lights of the city came to life in the valley below. 

We came down the trolley when it was beginning to get dark and started to get a bit nervous when there were no taxis. We saw a large group of people all wearing the same black leather jackets and dozens of police officers so we were curious as to what was happening. Being the only white people at night in a large city with hundreds of people on the sidewalks wearing the same clothes can be a little intimidating. Anyways, to the point... I asked a man where we could find a taxi and he politely told us down the road. He began walking with us all the way down and talking with me the whole way as we navigated through the crowd. Apparently he was a police officer in Quito and wanted to make sure we made it safely to a taxi. Once we found an available one, the man helped me tell the driver where we were going and how to get there.

We went to dinner at a really neat restaurant called Zazu and met several other groups of travelers like ourselves. All were so friendly and very open to suggesting places to visit and gave me great travel tips and well wishes.

For the week that we've been here so far, I've felt really tense and uneasy in the city. So many people have told me terrible stories of the awful things that have happened to them while traveling and as a result, I wasn't giving people the benefit of the doubt. I was having terrible nightmares of bad things that may happen and I was walking through the city, not trusting anyone around me.

Although these actions and deeds may seem insignificant to most, the willingness of other people to lend us a helping hand without hesitation helped boost my faith in humanity. As my mom reminded me in our taxi ride home - only a small percentage of people actually have malicious intentions. 

I think I had simply forgotten about the other (larger) percentage of the population.