Saturday morning I got up bright and early to ride my bike downtown to work at a part-time job in a company called Lil’ Giants. I had been told the day before that I would be helping a Chinese English teacher with a class of 5-year-olds for an hour. However, when I got there I was informed that I would be the head teacher of the class. I was not thrilled or amused. Since they said I was just going to be helping, I had not prepared anything to keep an entire class of tots entertained for an hour. Needless to say, the class did not go well as I hastily tried to think of activities to do: ABC’s, numbers, colors, Ring Around The Rosie, Duck Duck Goose, Jack and the Beanstalk . . . It was the longest hour I had had in a while. My TA, a surly teenager who didn’t want to be there and could barely speak English herself, hardly helped at all and said that “maybe I should do better next time.” I biked home feeling very annoyed and discouraged about the lack of communication and honesty in some of the business here and the terror involved with attempting to control a group of energetic children who don’t speak your language.
The afternoon was ok. Sean and I went running and worked on some lesson plans for the next week. Then I taught a group of engineers English at their company. I walked back to my apartment and got a message from Sean that he, Peter, and Jordan had gone out to a bar in town for the night. I picked up some Chinese food and put in a movie and planned to have a relaxing night at home. Someone knocked at the door and it was Ken who came by with a beer in hand to chat. I was happy about that because anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big fan of living alone, especially when it is nighttime. It helps out that Sean, Ken and Steve live next door and are over all the time. We ended up chatting for a few hours but at around 1:30 am I thought I heard a noise at the door. When I heard another noise a few seconds later I told Ken to check it out. I heard a loud yell from the kitchen and I thought Ken was just trying to scare me, but it turns out that there was a man in my house. I had probably forgotten to lock the door and he had walked in, looked through my bag on the table and ran out of my house with my wallet and ipod just as Ken had walked into the kitchen and seen him.
Although violent crime isn’t common in China (you can’t own a gun and punishment for crimes is most often death) petty crime and theft happens quite a bit. Many students have had their cell phone or wallet taken usually in crowded areas. Needless to say, this incident shook me up quite a bit. Since he took my keys too, I had to have my locks changed and Teddy had to take me to cancel my salary card and make a new one. I was pretty disappointed about the ipod; even though it was really old I used it all the time to listen to podcasts while working out and traveling. Ken called the police and they came over and he explained what happened. They were surprised that the thief would enter my house when there were obviously people there and all the lights were on. The experience really bummed me out and freaked me out. I have lived in a lot more dangerous cities and nothing has ever happened to me – this is the first time I have ever been robbed. I guess in the future I will be much more conscientious about locking my door and the gate around my door and never get too comfortable with my safety. Changzhou isn’t dangerous, but since there are so many people and many with very low wages, if an opportunity arises the high risk of the crime is probably well-worth the reward of an ipod, cell phone or wallet. I hope the thief, whoever he is, is enjoying his new tattered, hot pink ipod with lots of Jack Johnson and NPR along with a green Vera Bradley paisley printed wallet. Sigh.
Aw, I'm sorry, Sarah. That really sucks. I hope things go better for you soon. :(
That's frustrating in China. Don't worry because we are all here with you in Changzhou.
We love you, Sarah! At least you can end your post with a joke, right? Sometimes, all you can do is laugh (after you've cried for about an hour, that is!).
Sarah, wow, that is really scary. I would be totally unnerved, also. I hope you can get back into the groove and feel comfortable again. It helps to have friends down the hall.
This creeps me out. Does your door open to the outside like an apartment, or into a hallway like a dorm room? (going off Kate's comment.) Either way that's incredibly scary but I'm glad you're safe and sound. My credit card was stolen the other month and immediately used for a $500 purchase at Target. That made me feel violated enough, I can only imagine how you feel now.