Ever since moving to China, I have had a false sense of security that it’s really safe. There are cameras everywhere and you hear little about crime. In late-October, I was on the Metro with my headphones on to block out the noise. As any work morning, it was packed. This time, a group of guys came in and it gave me a weird vibe. One of them looked at me and reached out to grab my arm. I looked at him and then he let go and walked away. I thought that was really strange. A moment later, I noticed that the music had died and reached to my pocket to turn the music back on. There was no phone! I looked down and the headphones were dangling and connected to nothing. I then realized I had just gotten mugged. And there was nothing I could do on the metro! By then, these guys were gone and I didn’t have good enough Chinese to say anything. It was pretty amazing because during the exchange, I did not feel any movement in my pocket nor yank from my headphones. I now realize the distraction caused by the guy grabbing my arm tricked my mind to not feel what was actually going on. I felt pretty violated and from now on, keep my phone in the inner pocket of my jacket. Fortunately, we have USAA insurance and they covered about 90% of the cost of the new phone. So now I have a iPhone 5S, which is really nice but I was also very happy with my 4S.
One of the drawbacks to China is getting sick a lot. Not only are the strains different from those in the West, they’re also a lot stronger! So many of my expat friends have expressed never being so sick in their lives. Recently, I caught a stomach bug that made me run for the bathroom at least every hour. Eventually, I went to our Embassy doctor, who prescribed Cipro, a very strong anti-biotic. Fortunately, it worked. In the end, I lost 6 pounds…I guess it may be a good thing because Matt and I plan to do an U.S./Italy/Spain trip at the end of 2013/beginning of 2014, which means LOTS of good Vietnamese, Mexican, American, Italian and Spanish food!
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