Rhianna Banana

kick ass

While I was on the bus today, some dude pickpocketed my phone but I managed to steal it back! Here´s the story: I left my house early this morning to meet Pierre at the airport. I was pretty exhausted because some people decided to play music at 3am last night. I´m not sure if this was a weird Christmas thing because the big Christmas mass is tomorrow for some people, or it was just some drunken idiots. Anyway, even with my earplugs in, I could still hear the music. Plus I was really mad, so it took me awhile to fall back asleep again. So, I get on the bus leaving my town carrying my smaller backpack and a rice sack with my large guanabana. The bus looks pretty full, but I get on anyway because I was worried about today being a big travel day with the holidays, and I thought the earlier I left, the better. I end up standing in the aisle with my bags at my feet. I was also carrying my purse, but I was wearing my pants with those cargo pockets. I usually put my cell phone in one of those pockets because it takes me forever to rummage through my purse to find it when someone is calling me. Also, I thought it would be harder for pickpockets to get it.

Standing in the aisle on a crowded bus sucks, but is tolerable. People were able to squeeze by me and my stuff to get off the bus. Then my stop is approaching, so I start making my way to the front of the bus. I´ve got both bags in one hand and am trying to move as fast as I can. Then I see that my leg seems to be stuck and this guy sitting down won´t let me pass. I keep struggling and then I realize he is fiddling with my pocket! I look down and I realize that he is trying to steal my phone! So I reach down into his lap, grab my phone, say ¨Mi telefonó!¨ and then get off the bus. I realize I could have come up with something better to say, like stupid thief or something. He looked like an innocent enough guy, older, maybe in his 50s. But it just shows that you really can´t trust anyone. I told one of friends this story, and she said I should have punched the guy in the face. But I was holding on to my backpack, a rice sack, and my phone, and I think it would have been pretty difficult to sock someone while holding all those things, even if the thought had occurred to me. I know this story would be better if I had karate chopped the guy, or booted him in the head, but I am proud of myself for being able to get my phone back from him while also still holding all my stuff. I was pretty shaken when I got off the bus. I felt the need to check to see that the phone was really mine. I looked at the address book, and saw my cousin´s number, Alex, which was so reassuring, because obviously no one else would have her number. My adrenaline was pumping, my hands were super shaky, and my heart was pumping. I can´t remember the last time I felt like that, so the experience was also physiologically interesting.

I have to admit, it´s things like that that make me excited about finishing my Peace Corps service and returning to the U.S., where I don´t have to be constantly vigilant about thieves and pickpockets. As my friend Cindy says, let the advent of Ariana begin! For those who are counting (Pierre and Cindy), only 93 days until my return =)

On a completely unrelated note, the question of the hour for all telenovela fans is: Are you a Divina or a Popular? All the kids are now into the telenovela Patito Feo, so I have to watch it too, so that I can relate to them =) The Divinas and the Populares are the two rival cliques at the high school in Patito Feo. Patito Feo is the main character, and she and her friends are the Populares. They´re the nice girls. Then there´s Antonella and her crew, the Divinas. They´re always scheming and doing mean things. I, of course, am a Divina, because it is always more fun to be bad. I am continuing my dance exchange (under goals 2 and 3 of the Peace Corps, we are supposed to participate in cultural exhange, and I think learning and teaching different dances counts) by learning the Divina and Popular dances. Belkis was showing us the moves yesterday. It was pretty fun, dancing around in Leonor´s kitchen with Belkis, Leonor, and Nayeli. Maybe I can make Pierre join the Divinas with me! If anyone asks what I am doing in the Peace Corps, the answer is simply that I am dancing and trying to avoid having anything else stolen from me.

posted by Unknown @ Saturday, December 22, 2007