It is crazy how fast things can change in the matter of seconds, minutes, and even days. Before we came to China, we had a training with ILP down in Provo. At this training we learned about the ILP teaching method, and how we would live once we were in China. I remember the Director telling us that every single semester, someone in each group is robbed of their personal belongings. I told myself that this would never happen to me. I wouldn't let this happen to me. I have been living in China for almost three months, and so far so good. No one had anything stolen from them and we all had been safe. This is no longer the case. Yesterday, I was robbed. Yeah me! The girl who promised herself that this wouldn't happen to her. In a matter of seconds, my wallet had been stolen. Everything in my purse... gone. This is how it all happened...
We were all out and about getting ready to buy our train tickets to Beijing. We went to the train station and we were told that we couldn't buy our train tickets yet and that we had to wait until the next day. So instead of buying train tickets, we decided that we were going to go shopping on "walking street". Six of us girls hopped on a bus and we were on our way. We got to "walking street" and found ourselves shopping in a little mall. The mall had vendors up and down the sides of the small building. We had previously found these leather belts there that we all really liked. I was at the vendor's shop who had these belts for sale. I found two belts that I really liked, went to buy the belts, reached to grab my wallet from inside my purse and it was gone. My purse was empty. It had just been there seconds before. Someone had unzipped my bag, and had stolen MY wallet. My stomach dropped and I have never felt anything like what I felt at that moment. I was completely shocked and frantically started searching everywhere. I was trying to talk to all of the vendors, wishing that they knew where it may have gone. However, because of the language barrier, they had no idea what I was trying to tell them. All of us started searching the mall. While we were searching, Katie and Sara had met some girls who spoke a little English. They led us to a security guard who called the police. The police showed up and we were told to follow an officer to the police station. By this time my heart was pounding, my hands were trembling and the tears started to form. Why had this happened to me?? We were led to a neighborhood where the police station was hidden between houses. Eventually we made it to the police station where we were told to sit on a bench and wait. The officer who had led us there had left us alone. After waiting for probably 15 minutes, a teacher walked through the doors of the police station. We asked him if he could help us and fortunately he was an English teacher. He talked with the officers and told me to follow him. I was lead to a desk where I had to give my report to an officer. The officer spoke very little English. It took a while for me to give my report and for him to understand what I was saying. He then had me sign my report and he took my finger prints. I couldn't believe that I had had my wallet stolen, had to give a report to an officer, and give them MY fingerprints. The whole ordeal made me feel violated. I was a complete mess by the time we got back to our apartments. I knew that I needed to talk to my parents as soon as possible because I needed to cancel my debit card. I didn't know if my parents would answer because it was 3 AM back home. I crossed my fingers and prayed that someone would answer. Alissa, in our group, let me use her Skype credit and I was able to call my family through our computer. I called our house phone, my mom's phone and Jesse's phone. They all usually have their phones next to their beds and so I thought it might be my best luck. Lastly, I decided to call my Dad. He never sleeps with his phone by the bed and so I didn't think he would answer. The phone rang a couple of times, and then I heard, "Hello?" My dad had answered! I told him to get on Skype and that I really needed to talk to him. I was really upset and he could tell that something was wrong. Immediately, both my parents were on Skype and they were there willing to help me. Right then, my dad called and canceled my card. By this morning, my dad had called my bank, the school, the DMV and had notified them of what had happened. My mom called ILP and asked them what needed to be done. They both made sure that I was taken care of. I am so grateful for my parents and for their willingness to help me fix this huge mess. I love them both very much!
So even though, this horrible thing had to happen, I have come to the conclusion that even though a lot was taken away, I am grateful that they didn't steal the things that were most important to me. I am safe, my family is safe back at home, my whole group is safe, and I still have my passport!
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