i had a real setback moment the other day, the kind that makes you feel like even though you've spent over 7 months in beijing overall, you're still a total idiot foreigner. actually, being from new york, it really just made me feel like a total idiot. i got pickpocketed.
i was waiting for a friend in a popular tourist area that i'm fairly familiar with, as last summer the place where i interned was right near by. i found out that he wasn't going to be able to make it (which already put me in a bad mood), so i turned on my ipod and strolled on to eat alone. at some point i noticed that my shadow was bigger than it should be, and on turning around, i noticed that a small man/boy was standing close behind me. i would guess that he was maybe 13 or 14, as he was fairly small but his face looked somewhat mature. anyway, after i noticed this guy, i noticed that my bag was hanging open. i looked inside, and noticed that all my cash was missing. luckily i don't carry a wallet, so the only thing i lost was cash. after i noticed the cash was gone, i turned back to look at the boy. in retrospect, obviously, obviously this guy was the culprit. no one else was around, and i saw him standing right behind me. but if you've ever had to accuse someone of robbing you that you didn't actually see taking your money, it's tough. i just felt too bad to say to him, "you took my money." because i really hate to accuse people of things. and at the time, i was still sort of shocked, and i wasn't entirely sure that it was him. so i sort of turned to him a few times, and then kept turning away. then i noticed that a westerned was sitting sort of near us talking on his phone. i looked at him, thinking that if he had seen this guy pick my pocket, he would motion to me that that was the guy. but he didn't do anything. so i got more insecure and just walked away.
so basically, i am an idiot. i was stupid enough to let myself get pickpocketed, and stupid enough to see the guy and not get my money back. and i lost $100 dollars. that's 800 yuan. that's like, enough money to last maybe two months if you're a street urchin. this guy is now rolling in the dough. but there's nothing i can do about it now, so at least i can be thankful i didn't lose my atm card or my driver's license or anything. live and learn.
i was waiting for a friend in a popular tourist area that i'm fairly familiar with, as last summer the place where i interned was right near by. i found out that he wasn't going to be able to make it (which already put me in a bad mood), so i turned on my ipod and strolled on to eat alone. at some point i noticed that my shadow was bigger than it should be, and on turning around, i noticed that a small man/boy was standing close behind me. i would guess that he was maybe 13 or 14, as he was fairly small but his face looked somewhat mature. anyway, after i noticed this guy, i noticed that my bag was hanging open. i looked inside, and noticed that all my cash was missing. luckily i don't carry a wallet, so the only thing i lost was cash. after i noticed the cash was gone, i turned back to look at the boy. in retrospect, obviously, obviously this guy was the culprit. no one else was around, and i saw him standing right behind me. but if you've ever had to accuse someone of robbing you that you didn't actually see taking your money, it's tough. i just felt too bad to say to him, "you took my money." because i really hate to accuse people of things. and at the time, i was still sort of shocked, and i wasn't entirely sure that it was him. so i sort of turned to him a few times, and then kept turning away. then i noticed that a westerned was sitting sort of near us talking on his phone. i looked at him, thinking that if he had seen this guy pick my pocket, he would motion to me that that was the guy. but he didn't do anything. so i got more insecure and just walked away.
so basically, i am an idiot. i was stupid enough to let myself get pickpocketed, and stupid enough to see the guy and not get my money back. and i lost $100 dollars. that's 800 yuan. that's like, enough money to last maybe two months if you're a street urchin. this guy is now rolling in the dough. but there's nothing i can do about it now, so at least i can be thankful i didn't lose my atm card or my driver's license or anything. live and learn.
posted by Amanda at 11:03 AM
1 Comments:
You don't carry a wallet? Brilliant! That's like carrying a sandwich in a ziploc, instead of a badass transformers lunchbox, or a beverage in like a paper coffee cup instead of a badass, uhhh, transformers thermos. Anyway. Now that kid/man creature is gonna go buy some badass lunchboxes and thermoses, so you can rest easy. You should get a money clip. A transformers money clip.
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