ROBBERY!

Witnessed my first robbery last night. At about 1 am I'm standing with a group of friends at a bus stop in the center of town, a real popular spot where you wouldn't expect theft. My friend Katie is leaning against a lamp post, her back faced towards the road. What happens next passes in no more than fifteen seconds. A kid, no more than 15, sneaks up behind Katie with his hood up; he grabs her purse from behind and takes off running across the street into the darkness; I take one step to chase him and realize that there are about 15 other guys standing both right in front of me and across the street; I freeze and watch; they don't touch anyone else, and disperse within ten seconds; it's all over.

These thieves never work alone. Even smaller crime like snatch-and-run is highly coordinated. Many forces at work. It occurred to me after that if I had chased the thief (or "fleighte"--one who flees--as they say here) I would have at least gotten my ass kicked by the guys hanging behind, and there's a better chance than not that I would have been stabbed. Best to just let it go.

Katie lost some money, her cell phone, Chilean ID card and university ID. Not bad. All easily replaceable. No credit cards or passport. More than anything it's a shock. I was definitely scared for a minute when ten angry men were staring me in eye. But Katie and I had a laugh later on when we imagined what her assaulter would do when it came time to split her 20 bucks 15 ways.

Lesson: 1.) Think for a minute that you won't get robbed and you will. 2.) You'll get robbed in the center of town with a police officer standing less than a block away. 3.) Don't chase. Better to lose an i-pod than an eye.

About 5 kids from my program have been robbed in two months.