heartbreak

One thing that I commonly see on the streets here in Quito is children selling things to make money. They will stand on street corners and wash car windshields, or carry trays of cigarettes, gum, and matches to sell. It's not considered begging, but it's a way for the kids to help their families out. Most of them do go to school, at least in the morning, and the money they make working in the afternoons often goes to help pay for school uniforms and such.

Thursday night, my friends and I went to dinner in the Mariscal district. We went to this great hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, which is so small that the majority of the seating is at tables outside in front of the restaurant. We were wrapping up our meals when a small girl approached us trying to sell us something from her basket. We said no, and then she pointed to the remainder of the chicken quesadilla on my plate. My friend Carrie (who is pretty fluent in Spanish) said that the girl was saying that she wanted the rest of my meal. As I was finished, I grabbed a smaller plate and scraped the rest of my quesadilla onto it for her. She stood at the end of our table and ate it, picking the red peppers out of it and dumping them onto Carrie's plate, as she said she didn't like pimientos. She told us she was seven, and that she liked school, liked to read, and liked math. Jenny decided to buy two packs of gum from her, and gave her a little extra. After finishing her food, she wandered over to the next table to make an attempt there. She later returned to our table, offering to sell Carrie matches as she pulled out a cigarette. She then asked if we would give her any change larger than a 50 cent piece. It was very sad to see this girl so programmed to sell, who wasn't afraid to ask for food or money.