Pickpockets
When I first began this journey, everyone warned me of the dangers of pickpockets. Quite honestly, I didn't think much about it, because I have always been warned to be wary of pickpockets, but I have never had a problem in the past. But people said it was really bad in Rome, and they were right.
The problem with Rome, is that people have such a disregard for the laws. Everywhere we go, we see people breaking the law, sometimes directly in front of the police. As we walked down the streets, we saw vendors selling purses, belts, scarves and other little things. Apparently, this is illegal in some way, because one day we saw about 10 vendors all pick up their wares very quickly and cross to the other side of the street. When we stopped to see what all the commotion was, we saw a group of police officers walking towards the vendors. As soon as the officers were gone, the vendors began setting up shop in exactly the same place they had occupied before. The police had to have known that the vendors were doing this, but they did not care. They only needed to turn around and arrest them, but they kept on going.
Then when we went to the Colluseum, we had to go through metal detactors. After we got through we heard the beep, beep, beep from other people setting it off, but the guards didn't do anything. Again we saw the police and guards with a completely uncaring attitude about people obeying the law. So very strange.
All this breeds an atmosphere for thievery and pickpockets. So this brings me to the point. Yesterday, Tim and I were getting on an overly crowded bus, to go to the only park in this whole city. Everywhere is crowded, and there is hardly any green space to just sit down in. I think it is more crowded than Atlanta. So Tim pushes his way on and I am trying to stay behind him, but this group of three girls, probably about 13 or 14, pushes in front of me. When I finally, get on the bus. The girls turn around and get off. How strange. Who shoves their way onto a bus, only to get off before it leaves? As the doors are closing and the bus is pulling away, Tim looks at me and says, "They took my wallet."
"What, how is that possible?" I asked. His wallet was in a zippered pocket of his pants. Sure enough it was gone along with 50 Euros (about $75). Fortunatel, there were no credit cars or passports insied, only cash. We couldn't believe this had happened. We had been so careful to put a lock on the backpack and keep everything closed tightly and zipped up. But they did it. And they were good.
Tim handled the whole situation very well; I thought. A lot of people would have gotten really mad, but he stayed very calm. And wasn't really upset about the money, but the fact that he had been taken advantage of. Its really ironic, because just before that happened, we had been praying that God would help us to be content in any situation that He put us in. And that we could trust in Him no matter what, because we would still have His love. God always answers prayer, just not always in the way we expect it.
Needless to say, Rome is our least favorite city so far. And we are ready to leave.
The problem with Rome, is that people have such a disregard for the laws. Everywhere we go, we see people breaking the law, sometimes directly in front of the police. As we walked down the streets, we saw vendors selling purses, belts, scarves and other little things. Apparently, this is illegal in some way, because one day we saw about 10 vendors all pick up their wares very quickly and cross to the other side of the street. When we stopped to see what all the commotion was, we saw a group of police officers walking towards the vendors. As soon as the officers were gone, the vendors began setting up shop in exactly the same place they had occupied before. The police had to have known that the vendors were doing this, but they did not care. They only needed to turn around and arrest them, but they kept on going.
Then when we went to the Colluseum, we had to go through metal detactors. After we got through we heard the beep, beep, beep from other people setting it off, but the guards didn't do anything. Again we saw the police and guards with a completely uncaring attitude about people obeying the law. So very strange.
All this breeds an atmosphere for thievery and pickpockets. So this brings me to the point. Yesterday, Tim and I were getting on an overly crowded bus, to go to the only park in this whole city. Everywhere is crowded, and there is hardly any green space to just sit down in. I think it is more crowded than Atlanta. So Tim pushes his way on and I am trying to stay behind him, but this group of three girls, probably about 13 or 14, pushes in front of me. When I finally, get on the bus. The girls turn around and get off. How strange. Who shoves their way onto a bus, only to get off before it leaves? As the doors are closing and the bus is pulling away, Tim looks at me and says, "They took my wallet."
"What, how is that possible?" I asked. His wallet was in a zippered pocket of his pants. Sure enough it was gone along with 50 Euros (about $75). Fortunatel, there were no credit cars or passports insied, only cash. We couldn't believe this had happened. We had been so careful to put a lock on the backpack and keep everything closed tightly and zipped up. But they did it. And they were good.
Tim handled the whole situation very well; I thought. A lot of people would have gotten really mad, but he stayed very calm. And wasn't really upset about the money, but the fact that he had been taken advantage of. Its really ironic, because just before that happened, we had been praying that God would help us to be content in any situation that He put us in. And that we could trust in Him no matter what, because we would still have His love. God always answers prayer, just not always in the way we expect it.
Needless to say, Rome is our least favorite city so far. And we are ready to leave.
posted by Jennifer | 12:40 AM
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