Robbed...don't expect pictures anytime soon....

A blog post by Adam. Robbery is a problem in the DR. Just about everyone we've talked to has been robbed or knows someone who has been robbed. Sometimes during day time, sometimes at night. It is an unfortunate part of living in a country with poverty and high unemployment.  We therefore figured it was just a matter of time before we were targeted. We try to be careful about where we go and what we carry. But at the end of the day it's kind of hard to deny the obvious - we don't really look like we're from around here.

Well, as expected, it happened. Except that it wasn't exactly as expected. We were not held up on the street. And nobody broke into our house. Instead, someone opened Melissa's bag somewhere during her flights between L.A. and Punta Cana. They went through her jewelry (none of which they took) and pocketed her camera. It seems that it most likely happened either in L.A. after she checked in or in Atlanta while changing planes. In other words, we were probably robbed in the U.S.

For us (and this rambling blog) it means we will have a lot fewer pictures over the coming weeks. It also forces us to look at how we usually view the US (safe) as compared to how we see the DR (dangerous). The strange thing is that people here in the DR have gone above and beyond to help us out when we've left valuables behind. Once Melissa's phone slipped out of her pocket in a decrepit shared taxi. Despite the fact that every Dominican we spoke to said it was likely the driver who stole it, the driver in fact kept the misplaced phone under lock and key until we were able to retrieve it and prove that it was indeed our phone. Another time I left my keys hanging from the cabinet lock where I store my computer at the Clinic for a full night. When I returned to retrieve the keys the following morning the computer and keys were still there. It's true that theft is more common here than in the US, but as we have seen time and again during our travels, things are rarely as black and white as we imagine them to be.