I think God
is trying to tell me something. Last
weekend I was excited to go out, and then I got sick. This weekend I was
looking forward to going out to make up for last weekend and I got mugged. Let me share with you what happened:
I had gone
out with Bruno and two of my Guinean friends, Valdir and Ronny. We went to a
club (discotecha) called Insomnia where all the foriegners seem to congregate
on weekend nights. The crowd is always the same, but the music is better then
most other clubs, which is why we keep going there. The night was normal. We were dancing and
having a good time, but by 2 am everyone had left to other clubs, so we though
we would too.
We were a
block away from Insomnia when we came to a crossroad. Ronny and Valdir wanted
to go to Tabanka, which was on the other side of the block and Bruno and I
wanted to go to Plack, which was a 7 minute walk away and much closer to my
house. With out coming to a compromise
together, we decided to split up.
Bruno and I
were walking and talking and suddenly I noticed Bruno wasn’t by my side
anymore. I turned around and found him in a headlock, a knife pointed at his
side, and someone digging through his pockets. In shock at what was happening, I begin to backing
away from them and then, once coming to consciousness, started running and
trying to call Valdir and Ronny on my cell.
Then I head
someone running behind me and calling for me to wait. I tried running faster
but there was no outrunning an almost 6ft man in my flip flops. I turned around
and saw his big athletic frame running towards me, as If he was the safety and
I the wide receiver running for a touch down.
And as a football player would, he tried to grab me from behind, but I
ducked and he passed over me. From the front he grabbed me and we struggled for
a few seconds before I fell. On the ground he continued to try to get the phone
from out of my hand. He hovered over me so I took the opportunity to kick him
in the face, hoping he would just back off after words. WRONG! I know I got him good because he stopped,
cursed me, and began to punch me. I resorted to the fetal position, using my
arms to cover my upper body as the blows continued to fall. One or two got through my arms and got me
right in the eye. I could feel my eye and nose throbbing and I prayed it wasn’t
going to be serious. After what seemed like hours, but was probably only 10
seconds he stopped, grabbed my phone and took off running with his accomplice.
It all
happened so FAST!! I got off the ground and couldn’t believe what had just
happened. I saw Bruno walking towards me and wondered where he was when all
that was happening. He asked if I was ok and said the second guy was holding
him off with the knife so he couldn’t come toward me. But it didn’t matter
really, it was all over and done with.
We walked
back to Insomnia and I could feel my eye swelling up. It felt oozy and puffy. My jeans were ripped, my entire side covered
with dirt and one of my earrings was missing. It was definitely a sight to see.
I rinsed out my eye and got some ice from the bar tender. I just wanted to go
home.
I was ready
to call a cab but Bruno convinced me to go back to his place. And he was right,
did I really want to go back to a house with no lights, no water, and be by my
self after an experience like this?
I showered at
his place and he lent me some clothes to change into. I couldn’t sleep, so we
stayed up talking while I iced my eye. At 4 am Emilio came home to make bread
in the morning for the cafe. Since he doesn’t sleep here we took over his room,
which has some extra mattresses. He surely wasn’t expecting to see us there, so
the expression on his face was priceless when he walked in the room. And his
face told us everything he was thinking. Bruno and I quickly explained what
happened to us before he begin to over think the situation he was walking
into.
I finally
fell asleep but got up early because I had work the following morning. As cool
as it is to have a friend hat lives on top of a bar/café, it’s not cool when
you are leaving his house early in the morning with a black eye and wearing his
clothes. On top of everything, now all the Portuguese guys that I’ve come to
know who eat breakfast at the bar think Bruno and I hooked up.
Greeeeeeeeeaaaat.
Fortunately
the swelling had gone down significantly and I was able to get by saying I had
a bad case of Pink eye to those who asked what happened. But for people like my
boss and step-dad, I couldn’t get away with that lie so I had to fess up about
what happened. I wore sunglasses throughout the day and by Monday my eye was
looking back to normal, just really red.
I finally
ran into Valdir and Ronny and told them what happened. Ronny said he saw I had
called and was trying to call me back, but he knew something wasn’t right when
the call kept getting disconnected everything he called. He figured it wasn’t
me because it was something out of my character. They felt bad because they
figured if they had been with us nothing would have happened. But no one could
have know what would have happened.
But what is crazy to me is how safe everyone
says they feel here. Since that day I keep hearing, “ I’ve never had a problem,
or I always walk around late at night.” I have my story to share now as a reminder to
other foreigners that even though it feels safe, anything can happen.
So what did I learn, you ask? Haha plenty!!
1)
Take a cab at night!! ( Even this part is tricky
because taxi drivers have been known to pull some shady stuff as well,
especially at night) Or walk in groups.
2)
Be aware of your surroundings. Had we noticed
then before they snuck up on us we probably could have avoid the whole
situation
3)
When getting robbed, just give them what they
want in order to avoid any physical harm. This is exactly what I didn’t do that
I will do if there is ever a next time.
4)
I learned my own vulnerability. I guess in my
mind I always thought of my self as a tough chick. But I learned that my
physical strength have their limits, especially when confronted with a grown
man twice my size.
5)
I think that
most importantly I’m walking away from this experience with new eyes. Having an
experience of this nature changes you. It’s a subtle change, but it’s deep and
lasting. When I’m walking around at night now, my whole demeanor has changed
from how it used to be. Not that I assume everyone is dangerous, but I’m much
more aware of the possibilities of violence and theft. My awareness of my surroundings has shifted
or heightened.
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