Ruminations of an Expatriate

5 Comments

• Dan
  January 22nd, 2008 at 5:00 pm

  Sorry to hear it! Hope it’s not too difficult to get your papers straightened out. In my experience, the biggest sense of loss after a theft, is because of the loss of time you have to invest in repairing your losses. Best regards.

• Gringo Loco
  January 22nd, 2008 at 6:09 pm

  Hi Dan,

  Thanks for your thoughts.
  I have plenty of time to deal with getting another visa and passport, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I won’t be able to leave the country until I get a new passport. Again, not a problem.

  And, I have benn thinking of buying a new laptop. I hav e decided to put my life on a portable hard drive and use internet cafes when traveling. It was my own fault for being inattentive and probably naive. That’s life. Regbards.

• Neil
  January 22nd, 2008 at 7:44 pm

  That sucks. You certainly have a good attitude about it, though.

  We’ve been enjoying your pictures and postings from Oaxaca. Thanks for your efforts to share!

• Verde
  January 23rd, 2008 at 8:09 am

  Well, I’m thinking that the schmuck who swiped your bag shares some of the blame…but whatever you say.

  On the bright side, here’s a chance to get some new stuff AND change your identity. - v

• Gringo Loco
  January 23rd, 2008 at 11:04 pm

  Neil and Verde,

  Thanks you for thoughts.

  The Sony fan, I think, was seizing up anyway. At least it was making some weird noise.

  I think I have taken care of all of the security stuff. I have changed my passwords and ordered a new credit card. Much of it I did yesterday using my WiFi enabled cell phone in the lobby of the Hotel Virginia in Oaxaca. I finished up this evening my apartment here in Xalapa on my old, slow Dell. I does have a much better keyboard, though.

  Tomorrow morning I will go to the immigration office, apologize profusely, and apply for a replacement FM 3 visa and email the State Dept. about my passport.

  I have always been very cafeful with my important bag, but I blew it yesterday morning after a 4 hour, early morning trip in a van with about 10 other folks from Ayutla, which I will write about in the next coupld of days, to Oaxaca.

  The more I think about it the more I think the lady and the young guy working at the restaurant in the “second class” (that’s what the taxi driver called it, though not derogatorily I think) were involved in the heist.

  I’m looking at it as another element of my foreign assistance program.

  I’m working through it and chalking it up to experience. My next trip I’ll hand cuff the important bag to my wrist.

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