Eat, Pray, Don’t Get Robbed

The ultimate traveler’s nightmare came true for us in Santiago, Chile.

On a cold, cloud-covered night; in the middle of a crowded sidewalk in front of the local bus station — my purse, with both of our passports, my wallet, and my phone — was stolen.

It was an unpleasant experience, to say the least, but not as devastating as I had imagined. The ordeal cost us considerable time and money, but it also provided some interesting insights:

1. I rediscovered the pleasures of self-navigation. Without a smartphone, I had to rely on printed maps and (gasp) my own sense of direction when venturing out by myself. I was forced to pay attention to landmarks and street names so that I could find my way back to our accommodation. I soon realized that paying attention to my surroundings that intently, instead of burying my face in Google Maps, provided a deeper level of connection with each town and city I explored. I became more present and alert, taking in the sites, sounds, and smells around me.
2. I noticed what I had been missing while being digitally distracted. Being free of iMessage, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Instagram let me be closer to my thoughts and my experiences. I began observing more. Instead of looking at my phone when we stopped for a coffee or to sit in a park, I people watched. I had forgotten just how entertaining watching those around you could be (even more so then going down a YouTube black hole!)
3. I was reminded of how imperative it is not to let your guard down while traveling. Although the majority of people in this world mean no harm, there will always be people willing to take advantage of your unfamiliarity of a new place. There is something to be said for having a healthy dose of skeptical friendliness when strangers approach you.
4. I realized that things are just that — things. Yes, it sucks to lose things of both monetary and sentimental value. I won’t ever get the passport back that has all my stamps from the last 6 years of travel. I won’t be able to flip through it, as I often did, reliving the adventures and memories each stamp and visa held. However, those memories aren’t gone — just the stamps. Physical things can be taken from you, experiences cannot.
5. I fully appreciated the importance of making sure your personal information is secure and the need to be prepared for the worst. Although it still took a lot of time and effort to close out and secure all my accounts after the robbery took place, it would have been a lot more effort and taken even more time had I not done some pre-work — which, I admit, I grudgingly did after the insistence of my ever prepared husband — like setting up a password manager account, dual authentication, and backing up all important paperwork digitally. Most importantly, this pre-work gave me the peace of mind that although they had my wallet, they could not do too much further harm.

As the saying goes — each lemon life serves is an opportunity to make lemonade. This is my attempt at creating that sweet drink from our experience.