Humiliation

I have been humiliated, my self-esteem has been reduced to next to nothing. To be cocky led me nowhere but to grief. I guess you can say I learned the hard way to never stray from what you preach… I am humble, but not broken… just about ready to build my confidence back up to the level it used to be.

Last weekend I was in Barcelona along with the staff at my school. 120 coworkers travelled together to a big city for a workshop on classroom management and to get challenged on social bonding. The school has 200 employees, and it is hard to get to know one another. On a trip like this we are forced to interact on a different level than we do on an everyday basis and I have to say it really lifts the spirit and the motivation. To know your coworkers on a more personal level makes cooperation easier and more… we just consider cooperation more of a commitment towards one another when we get to know each other. Just like we do in any other aspects of life.

So, what is the humiliating part in all this? My handbag was stolen in a skating park/playground. It seems so unfair, and yet I have no one to blame but myself; I knew we were in a big city, I knew that a lot of theft occure and I know about all the precautions you have to take in order to protect yourself from being robbed.

I even told my roommate not to bring any valuables with her: “Bring a credit card, if you have to, and cash. Everything else you put in the safe and lock it”.

So.... instead of doing what I preach and taking the time to put everything in the safe in the room; I chuck everything in my bag and ran off... I was planning to return to the room shortly anyway, and it was stolen.

 We were 8 coworkers sitting on a bench working. That is what the hurry was all about: I had to get there on time, you see. (Feels good to come up with an excuse, no matter how dumb.) I had my hand on my handbag.... turned to my coworker to discuss what we were going to do.... put my hand back on my bag and hit empty air

None of us even noticed anybody. That is: we were approached by a guy on a bicycle who asked us where we came from and if we spoke English (Very classic, I know; one person distracts the group, and a second person steals the stuff.)

It is very annoying and I could kick myself for falling for the trick. On the other hand you really have to admire the skills. So clever. Imagine what they could do if they used their skills to something constructive.

They are so fast as well, I didn’t even notice a shadow or anything. A guy sitting on a bench behind us said I was looking for a very young child, so young he was not even in school, but…

I don't know if he was in on it or not, but the essence is: my handbag was gone.

The outcome from this loot, apart from making me feel like an idiot (and to some of you this might be an interesting insight in a woman’s handbag) was:

-       A very nice handbag

-       A jacket

-       A great purse containing:

o   Cash:

§  140 Euros,-

§  $ 40,-

§  Nok 100,-

- Visa credit card
- Visa Cash card
o   Proof of travel insurance
o   Register id for my dog

o   And a couple of discount cards to different stores.

-       My lunch (prepared by the hotel: a baguette, a sandwich, a youghurt, an apple, a bottle of water and a juice with a straw)

-       A printout of my ticket

-       My passport

-       A mini flask of Wunderberg (caughmedicine…ehm…)

-       Make up (a couple of lip sticks, hand lotion, concealer and a mascara)

-       My mobile phone

I have been criss crossing the Middle East, travelled around Europe to quite a few cities and places, been to the US and this was the first time ever for me... but I had a clear thought of what I had to do, so basically they got nothing from it other than cash, which, to be honest, I think is what they were after.

At the end of the day they didn’t get anything really valuable to anyone else but me, but it is just so humiliating knowing some stranger has been going through my stuff, I don’t know how they treated it all, i.e. what they did to my mobile phone with pictures of my kids in it.

Talking about pictures: they saw the picture of me in my passport… a picture I have refused to show anyone (for reasons known to everybody who curl up inside with shame every time they have to present their passport). I am not sure a theft can be more personal than that.