Unfortunately, I'm not the only one whose inventory is decreasing as time ticks by. Tias, other volunteers, employees...losing not only clothes, but ipods and cameras.
The camera I bought when I went home to visit was stolen a few weeks ago when we took a trip to the north coast with some of the young adults that I work with, who take part in a photo project with another volunteer from Austria.. We were staying in a Gaurifuna village right on the beach, in a decent hotel. We left for the day Saturday to go to some other villages nearby to take some photos. Sunday morning, a gal that works for the hotel came up to me and had a camera bag in her hand. She asks, "is this one of yours?". My mouth drops open as I realize it's my camera pouch, just minus the camera. She said the owner had found it on the beach the night before.
Well, I had never taken my camera out of our room, as the battery had died while we were in El Salvador, and I didn't have my charger with me, and didn't have a chance between the two trips to get back to the Ranch to grab it. My camera was useless to me on the beach trip, which is why it was just left in the room. Looks like somebody got in while we were out on Saturday, and found themselves a nice $300 camera. If they were only smart enough, they would've grabbed my passport that was right next to it...could've sold that for big bucks here.
So, after losing my camera, and some t-shirts i had left out drying after that trip, two days later I'm in Teguc (the capital), walking through the center, and i feel somebody open my backpack. Me, already hating the fact that you have to be on your toes at all times, knowing somebody wants to steal something from you, I turned around, probably gave him a pretty hilarious glare, and not thinking, but just acting on pure emotion, pushed the 18ish year old dude off the curb and said "disculpe?" (excuse me) in an angry tone. Luckily for him (and me) there were no cars or motorcycles coming. Luckily for me, the kid didn't have a knife or anything else on him.
Ok, so a couple weeks ago we had our Christmas dinner in the clinic. I had run back to my room to grab some ingredients to make my dish, and when i returned to the clinic, i had just thrown my keys on one of the benches. When I went back to grab them, ta dah!!! they were missing. Imagine...keys to my room, casa personal (volunteer house), the clinic, the internet shack, ect ect...in the hands of an "interno". So, the following day I ran around like crazy trying to get a new lock put on my door, to give me some sense of safety for my things (mainly ipod, laptop, and new camera that was shipped for a christmas gift). So, for now, my room has a padlock on it, until we're able to put a new doorknob on. Pretty classy.
Well, a couple days later, a volunteer had his bike stolen out of their house, and another volunteer had the tire stolen off of his.
A visiting priest several days later found my keys thrown at the base of the altar in our church. Apparently somebody felt bad enough about what they had done, had gone to a little personal confession at the church, and left me keys as a little peace offering? Who knows...
Well, all of these things over the course of the year have worn me out. I hate the feeling of always being paranoid that somebody is going to steal something from you. What i would do to be able to walk around the central park, without having to be thinking about my bag constantly, without people constantly staring like they've never seen a white girl before, without the creepy men whispering nastyness into your ears as you pass. It's also wearing on me that even while here on the Ranch, you are just expected to give, and give, and give, until you have nothing more to give. Not only in your job, but with the kids, and even employees, asking you for things, as though we're made of money. They are just so used to visitors and volunteers giving them gifts, it's just EXPECTED now. It's especially bad now that the end of our year draws near. A common thing you hear on the ranch, "cuando te vayas, que me regalas tu sweater, tus jeans, tu carterra, tu laptop, tu ipod, tu....cualquier cosa!!!" (when you leave, give me your sweater, your jeans, your purse, your laptop, your ipod...anything!!) Haha, does it occur to them that we can't go home naked??
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