Shoe-shine pimps

On the first day of school, los estudiantes nuevos take a placement test. I was able to put my name. Oh, and the date ... but that was only because I overheard someone else ask. Gotta love learning the easy way. I also took a shot at the "el/la" section, but that was only because I was too embarrassed to finish the exam in 25 seconds.

Afterward, we were taken on a tour of the old city. It reflects Quito's colonial past and was quite charming. Save for all the bloody Jesuses -- see the photo section once I have one. Anyhow, given that I understood (or thought I did) only every tenth word the tour guide said, my eyes and mind couldn't help but wander.

This is one of the things I noticed:

Shoe shiners were everywhere and there was a clear hierarchy. At the top were the ones with permanent chairs set up near the shops (and out of the sun). Next were the ones with chairs they set up like temporary kiosks. The best had umbrellas to shade the customer. At the bottom of the heap were the kids. And when I say kids, I mean small kids.

I asked one to shine my shoes. (Actually, I just said the infinitive of "to help" and pointed at my feet ... but it worked.) He couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 years old. His clothes were dirty and ragged, his teeth were in terrible shape, and he -- like the other shoe shiners -- did half the work with his bare hands, so they were black.

A fellow child shoe shiner came to sit with him as he worked. When he finished, I gave each of them a dollar. The kid followed me around the rest of the tour saying things I couldn't understand, but clearly wanting more money. It was then that I remembered the man I'd seen lurking about, like he was keeping an eye on the boys. I assumed he was their dad. Dad or not, I now realize, he was their shoe shine pimp. And what an idiot gringa I was to give $2 for a 20-cent job.

Though I'm sure my pasty whiteness, big smile, and obvious curiosity were plenty to give me away as a soft target. That doesn't bother me nearly as much as the lingering suspicion that those boys didn't benefit at all from that money.