Betty is originally from Bogota, Colombia in South America. One of her earliest memories from her childhood is traveling by airplane without her parents to visit her grandmother in another town in Colombia. Betty and her sister were just 4 and 5 years old at the time, but made the solo airplane ride safely! Betty fondly remembers how friendly everyone in her neighborhood in Colombia was—you never needed to call up to see if you could come for a visit, you just always had an invitation to stop in. It was a “my house, is your house” or in Spanish, “mi cases, es su casa” mentality.
Betty moved from Colombia to the United States with her family in the 1960s. As a teenager living in New York City, she saw a TV special about Seattle and fell in love with Seattle’s mountains, oceans, and rivers since it reminded her so much of Colombia. At the time, Betty never imagined she would find a way to end up in Seattle, but the thought always stayed with her.
Betty married a man in the military and his service allowed them to live in many different places—including Spain, England, and Japan! While living in Japan, Betty and her husband traveled to San Diego for a family birthday party. At the party, they found out that her husband had an uncle that lived in Seattle. It was great timing because their time in Japan was ending and they needed to decide on a new place to settle down. Betty remembered the TV special and her thought of one day being in Seattle—so they decided after the party to move to Seattle; Betty has been in Seattle since 1992.
Betty loves the weather in Seattle and her favorite activities here are hiking and camping. She and her husband just purchased a camper and are looking forward to exploring the outdoors even more with some upcoming camping trips!
Betty has been coming to SPSC since the beginning of 2022. She heard about the Center from a friend that mentioned the Center has exercise classes; she loves staying active, so she decided to come check it out. Betty enjoys the fitness classes and the wonderful dinners and all of the different cuisines she gets to try!
A Fun Fact About Betty
Betty worked in Seattle elementary schools for over 20 years! She started as an English as a Second Language teacher and most recently was a Reading Specialist. The elementary school where she taught was very diverse and had a large African community. She got to learn a lot about the different African cultures of her students and was even invited over to enjoy dinner with the community. Although she retired from teaching in June 2021, Betty was quickly back as a substitute for the 2021 to 2022 school year!