Reality Check

Friday: After a nap from 730 - 1030 and dinner at 11, I went out with some friends to a close bar called Milión. It is an old mansion so its has 3 floors and all the bedrooms have been turned into private rooms in sofas and seats and things like that. It is really beautiful and in the summer they have a huge outdoor patio. There weren't too many people there, but we met 2 Argentine boys who we talked to for a while. They were nice, but not that cute..One of them looked totally Irish and the other one had a flavor savor beard and a lisp. Whatever. So we called it an early night and went back around 3. Slept until 12:30. When I woke up, my host mom apologized profusely for being loud and for waking me up so early...I said, early?? It's the middle of the day! I had a fine day, I walked around Recoleta again and saw the cemetery, gardens, and park a block away from my house. It was a really nice and it was a surprisingly warm and sunny day.
I took another nap Friday night and had dinner plans with 6 girls from the program at an amazing Argentine restaurant called La Cabrera. It's in a cool area called Palermo Viejo, a neighborhood where a lot people go out and eat and dance. We had reservations for 11 but were not seated until 12:30. We had AMAZING chorizo and filet...the rarest steak I have ever had..it was practically alive..but the lights were so dim I couldn't see it and it was one of the best things I have ever tasted. Don't tell anyone...:) So after a few bottles of red wine and lots od food later it was 2:45 AM and we were ready to party! We were going to a party nearby the restaurant hosted by a friend of a friend on the program. It was only about 5 blocks away, so we asked people if we could walk and they said that for sure we could walk. So we are 6 American girls, ready to go out, all of a sudden we find ourselves mostly out of sight from the bustling restaurant area. The street was dark and fairly empty. There were a few sketchy people around, but we held on tight to our purses and to each other because we knew we were almost close to the party. I was walking a few paces ahead of the group with another girl and I heard Amanda scream. Then I heard a man scream and saw him bolt away from us, laughing and screaming. At first I thought he molested her or something, but then I realized, as she did too, that he had stolen her Marc Jacobs clutch...which held her camera, credit cards, cell phone, drivers lisence, ATM/credit card, insurance card, and just 100 pesos. The worst part about it was that he probably would just throw the clutch away and sell the camera and cell phone..and what? 100 pesos? That is like $30. It was SO scary we were all SO shaken up..luckily just moments after he robbed her a Radio Taxi pulled up and we piled in, promising a big tip. We all came back to my apartment because my host mom is never here to discuss what happened. We realized not soon after the incident that we were being total idiots walking down a dark, empty street alone in a city we barely know, speaking loudly in English. We were such obvious targets and we are SO lucky that this asshole didn't pull out a knife or a gun and take everything from all of us. In the end we all learned from it -- never, ever walk anywhere alone at night, even in a group, and never carry all of your important things on you at one time. Always have your purse wrapped around a wrist or across the body...it was so easy for this guy to just rip her purse out of her hand. We talked in my room for about an hour about how different it is here and how much we realized that we're not in America and all those boring lectures in orientation about safety and everything are worth it and helpful. We were so stupid and extremely lucky that no one got hurt and that nothing violent happened.
As if I wasn't paranoid, now I am terrified. It was so easy for that man to come up to Amanda and we could not do anything about it. We were totally helpless. I'm even nervous walking alone during the day now. My host mom said that I don't have anything to worry about and that it was no surprise we got robbed on that street at 4 am. There is a difference between walking alone at 7 pm and 4 30 am. I will just have to take taxis whenever it is dark out now, which is fine since they are so cheap.
So we were all shaken up after that, but I think we learned a lot. We had a reality check - we thought we were in New York City and could do whatever we wanted. We're not, and we can't. It sucks to go about the day nervous and scared that I am going to get robbed or someone is going to cut my purse open with a knife (happened to my host mom) and take everything, but its reality here, especially for tourists. When poor thieves see American people all they see is dollars, which are very valuable to them. Amanda will be checking for her Marc Jacobs clutch on E-bay tomorrow.
I am home safe now and trying to figure out classes. Then I might meet up with some friends for tea or a movie, but I am so tired I just want to sleep and be safe in my bed!
Ready for another long week...
Oh a few more things -- Amanda' (host mom)'s friend has a cabin in the south of the country and said that me and 5 friends could rent it for like $1000-- split 6 ways is really cheap. It would be fun, but I don't know if we want to travel alone yet. Also, my friend Amanda's host mom invited us to her daughter's wedding this coming weekend so i think we are going to go :)
That's about it for now, I'll write again soon! oxo