Good Morning Salvador: Security incident!

Yep, I had my first (and hopefully only) one. Last Friday, I was working at the plastic table in the main room of my house, which I put under a window for the sunlight. Sitting next to me on the table was my wallet, which I had just used to buy something from the store across the street.

Suddenly, some of the youth group paid a visit, and I ran out to entertain and make posters with them on my porch, leaving the window open. I didn't think twice because I was still in sight range and I didn't realize my wallet was still on the table...

Meanwhile, it was getting dark, and the usual loafing and drunk teenagers and men began showing up to hang out outside my house (which is right in the center of town and therefore a popular hangout spot.) The youth group and I, distracted by our posters, didn't notice when one of them reached through my window and took the wallet...

A half hour later, I came back inside, closed up the house and started to make dinner. I went to bed that night not knowing my wallet was gone. At about 10:30 the next morning, some kids from my English class found it lying outside next to the window. All the money inside it -- $40, which is a good deal here -- was gone, but thank God the bank cards were still inside. You can't really use plastic anywhere in my rural site, so the thief probably didn't even care for them.

Although I got off lucky, and leaving things on that table by the open window is stupid and will never be repeated, the whole thing did make me upset and disappointed. Peace Corps volunteers give up a lot to move to places where life is hard and our only goal is to improve the communities we live in. And my robber would have had to be someone from the community. Talk about not feeling welcome, even after 6 months.

Granted, a lot of other community members have been very sympathetic, as have the Peace Corps people I had to report this to. The security officer came out to visit my house and make sure everything was OK, the nurse called to make sure I hadn't been hurt physically or too scarred emotionally, and the director of all Peace Corps El Salvador even called to chat about it. It felt a bit like overkill for a $40 robbery in which no one was harmed and which does not impede my safety in the long run, but it's nice to know these things are taken seriously.

The day I found out I was robbed was not a good day overall, I have to admit. We were supposed to have the first meeting of the community development organization that my counterpart and I have been devoting our energies to over the past month, and only 2 people showed up. People in the community have been shaking their heads sadly at me as I try to organize, informing me that the community just doesn't like to work or make commitments. It's one thing to try and fail because of all the hardships in your life, but it's another thing entirely to just say "No," flat-out. If the community isn't going to work with me, how can they expect me to help them?

English and environmental classes, thank God, are my bright spots. I have a captive audience of kids who are happy and tell me I'm awesome as long as we play lots of games in class. Our school nursery project, however, is failing because no parents have volunteered to donate land and materials...

The youth group is also good right now. We organized a beach trip for Sunday. Maybe I'll just say, "Screw you, old people" and spend two years working with kids and youth.

Here are some pictures of the school Earth Day celebration, where we decorated the community center with environmental drawings and played environmental games...