"you will not believe this. i was in firenze waiting to leave for poland. it was heavy snow and freezing today in firenze very unusual. i wanted to stay inside so i went to the pizzeria across the street from the train station. 3 men came and took my back pack. I lost my passport, american student visa, student card, bus ticket for poland... fortunately the credit card with my wallet was in my pocket so i did not lose it. i went to the police office but they did not care much. they made me report the theft and that was it. i could not go to poland because the bus-travel office said that i needed my passport to cross the border."(personal email)

"i went to the korean consulate this morning. it was a long way by bus. i think it took almost over 2 hours. korean consulate officers were very nice to me. while i was explaining what happened in firenze, one lady asked my name and said that she got a call from firenze. they found my bag with my passport. s has my bag now in firenze. the police in firenze contaced to s and he took care of it."(email update)

:: note :: . . . thirty years ago the same thing happened to me in Italy . . . exactly . . . everything stolen & 24 hours later all returned . . . a student travelling alone can be dangerous . . . so focused on the studies one lets the guard down and . . . yet travelling without money means you have almost nothing others want . . .

11:55:27 PM     comment []   . . Google It!     - See Also:  dispatches  Open firefly