I remember 7 years ago traveling through mexico, taking pictures every chance I could get, and sending emails to my friends and family via aol to talk about my adventures. I wrote about the good, the bad (well PG13 bad) and the ugly. Remember when I was so sick and the doctor who gave me a shot of penicillin in the butt turned out to be a taxi driver and not really a doctor? How about almost getting my entire backpack filled with clothes stolen by the Mexican laundry mat owner who answered the door to us in his underwear? They are stories like these that need to be told, and I am happy to share the tales of my European Adventure.
Day #1: I was told to b
e at the James Hardie office around 9:00am, as things don't generally start earlier than that. They offered to send a car for me, but I thought it would be nice to walk through the city so I could get to know the shops, cafes, and just have a general feel of the neighborhood. I mapquested the walking directions and I was on my way. I believe I have a good sense of direction, but the walk that was supposed to take me 40 minutes, took me 2 hours as I got lost on every turn. I can blame it on construction and roads being closed, I can blame it on mapquest being semi-incorrect, or I can blame it on the faint scent of marijuana floating from the coffee shops, but the fact of the matter is I couldn't recognize the streetnames right away and each Van der sloot type road made the image of Natalie Holloway pop into my mind.
e at the James Hardie office around 9:00am, as things don't generally start earlier than that. They offered to send a car for me, but I thought it would be nice to walk through the city so I could get to know the shops, cafes, and just have a general feel of the neighborhood. I mapquested the walking directions and I was on my way. I believe I have a good sense of direction, but the walk that was supposed to take me 40 minutes, took me 2 hours as I got lost on every turn. I can blame it on construction and roads being closed, I can blame it on mapquest being semi-incorrect, or I can blame it on the faint scent of marijuana floating from the coffee shops, but the fact of the matter is I couldn't recognize the streetnames right away and each Van der sloot type road made the image of Natalie Holloway pop into my mind.
After arriving the the office 2 hours late, I was welcomed by an amazing gro
up of co-workers. They were very welcoming and kind. I was invited to a French bakery by the two french marketing guys. We walked 15 minutes to have fresh baguettes with cheese and procuitto. As I reached for my wallet in my pocket...IT WAS GONE!! Yes, on my first day in Europe I was pickpocketed. My drivers license, my debit card, my personal Amex, my corporate amex, my blue amex, 2 pairs of earings, 40 euros, and 4 american dollars were taken from my pocket. I walked back to the office and cancelled my cards, luckily nobody had used them but then I started thinking...what the heck am I going to do for money? No cash, no debit cards, no credit? Hello???
up of co-workers. They were very welcoming and kind. I was invited to a French bakery by the two french marketing guys. We walked 15 minutes to have fresh baguettes with cheese and procuitto. As I reached for my wallet in my pocket...IT WAS GONE!! Yes, on my first day in Europe I was pickpocketed. My drivers license, my debit card, my personal Amex, my corporate amex, my blue amex, 2 pairs of earings, 40 euros, and 4 american dollars were taken from my pocket. I walked back to the office and cancelled my cards, luckily nobody had used them but then I started thinking...what the heck am I going to do for money? No cash, no debit cards, no credit? Hello???
My first day and all I could imagine was everyone in the european office whispering sterotypes about americans like "stupid gringa" and I was embarassed. Remko, the nice IT guy walked me to a cash machine and took out 200 euros for me untill my cards arrive. On our way back to the office I received a phone call from American Express saying someone had located my wallet. Big deal I thought, a wallet full of useless creditcards, no cash, missing earings...que bueno. What am I going to do with that? But to my surprise the American Express operator explained to me my wallet was found on a street by a lawyer walking into a courthouse, and they wanted to meet with me to return it!! I did not get pickpocketed afterall....I was STUPID and literally dropped my wallet on the way to the bakery.
I learned an important lesson. Sterostypes always exist for a reason. Stupid Gringa? Yup. I mastered that one.
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