Niños

Today's is going to be a short post, I'm packing up to head to Extremadura this weekend, so I don't have time to write much, but I thought I'd share a general warning.  When scruffy- or dirty-looking people that don't look like they're going anywhere approach you to ask you a generic question: grab your bag, don't make eye contact, and walk away fast.

A friend and I were walking to the train after class this evening when two dirty children came up to us.  Had I been alone, I would have immediately known their agenda and kept walking, but unfortunately they got to my friend first and asked her the time.  I moved to put myself between her bag and them, and put my hand on my own bag as she reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone.  Almost before the time left her mouth, the boy asked for a euro.  She said no, and as we sped up our pace to get away from them, the boy pulled back his arm and hit me as hard as he could with the heavy stick he was holding, and out of the corner of my eye I saw the girl throw a bottle at us that luckily landed short.  Shocked and hurt, I admit I shouted ugly American words at them as they ran away.

The whole experience was so bizarre to me.  As someone who is from a city that is known to be dangerous, the last place I expected to be physically attacked was in a suburb of Madrid, and by children nonetheless.  Coincidentally, during class I had been thinking of the times that I had been harassed on the metro and wishing that I could put those people in a position in which they felt threatened by someone bigger and stronger than they.  Turns out, when it comes to harassing people, size doesn't matter.

I wish there was a magic shield I could carry to avoid these situations, but it helps to remember that so far I've been lucky (knocking on wood!) and have not been pick-pocketed as of yet.  And, hey, next time I need a story to make myself sound tough, I can mention the time that I was hit because I didn't want to part with a euro (though I'll probably have to leave out that the person who hit me was about ten years old).

Un beso.