I Got Robbed

Cuidado! Don't try this at home, folks. This weekend, from Thursday to Sunday, I spent my time in Santiago. Now, the entire weekend was absolutely amazing... except for one tiny little moment. Unfortunately I tremble as I write this, but that tiny little moment is the reason for my title: I was robbed. Before everyone begins to freak out, let me tell my story of how it happened:

My group of friends and I had just gotten back from a day of exploring Santiago, and were ready to get in our pajamas and relax. We were about to enter our atrocious hostel when Otisa and Michaela notice a man checking me out. This man happened to be an middle-aged man, probably in his mid forties to early fifties. We didn't really think anything of it, because being blatantly checked out in public is the norm here in Chile. However, there was one thing that man wanted- my U.S. cellphone. As the man began to walk by us, he decided to take the opportunity of us not paying attention and take off with my phone. As he began to take my phone, I realized what was happening and began to panic. As the phone was slipping out my pocket, I began to cry out, "My phone!" and started chasing after him down the street. I started to run and run, but my little legs couldn't catch up. Little did I know, I wasn't the only one running. My entire group had begun sprinting after this dirty thief, trying to catch up to him before he got away. I began screaming at him and the innocent bystanders at the top of my lungs, "Stop him, stop him!" but my yelling had worked in a different way. As he started to pull away from me, Dillon caught up to him and got in front of him so he had no way to escape. I showed up shortly after, and did what nobody should ever do in this sort of situation. I ran right up to my thief, screaming and spitting with anger; the fury is foaming out of me. When I arrived in front of him, my brain took over, knowing exactly what to say and how to say it. At this point, Dillon, hissing with anger, had taken a step back, not sure what the man took. This man was mine to handle, but Dillon was close by if anything were to happen. I scream at him, with so many profanities that I will not dare to mention, "Give me back my phone! Give it to me." The man, so shocked, spits back, "What? What do you want? Where is it, huh? Where is it?" At this point, I am too enraged to deal his asinine remarks and just spit back, "My phone. It's in your hand." I spit out more profanities to him, and he hesitantly puts his hand out towards me. I rip my phone out of his hand, and Dillon pulls me away. I spit at him more profanities, this time they are harder to choke out, as Dillon and I walk back to the rest of the group. We first catch up to Ruby, who was screaming at the man at the top of her lungs, and we continue to walk back to the group. We continue walking, and my body begins to tremble as the shock of what just happened is finally catching up to me. By the time we get back to the rest of the group, which now consisted of Michaela, Otisa, Allison and two bystanders of this scene we had created, I was sobbing. I felt violated. In order to take my phone from me, the man had to be close enough to touch me.

When we made it back to the hostel, we all were just in shock of what just happened. We tried to make sense of it, but I still am struggling to wrap my brain around what happened not so long ago. Six gringos sprinting down Avenida Brasil in the dark after a middle-aged man for justice? No wonder that man was so willing to give me back what he had taken. He must have been freaked out. We are a lucky group of kids to not only get back what was taken, but to walk away safely from an opportunist that left the situation probably as scared as we were.  Even though we were proactive, chasing after a thief is not something anybody should ever do. Nobody got physically hurt, but any situation like that is a traumatic experience for all involved. I have a brave group of friends and I am so thankful to have them. Unfortunately, my post doesn't give the story justice. But there is no explanation that is vivid enough to fully capture what the 6 of us went through last night. It is so surreal that this happened just 24 hours prior. And it is unfortunate that we had to experience it, but we have learned that even careful isn't careful enough. From here on, we just need to be more aware of our surroundings, and know that nobody is safe from this sort of problem. We all think that it won't happen to us. But we're so wrong. This experience won't hinder us, but provide us with a better understanding of the culture we have interrupted and help us have a safe, but still wonderful, time.