So, everything was taken care of. I had just turned in the keys to my place in Torremolinos. I had said goodbye to my friends. All was set for my trip to London (another workshop for my college). I had a 2 hours to kill so I figured I'd go get 'tapas' since I'd never had tapas in Spain before. The thought occurred to me, why carry my suitcase around if I didn't have to. Just leave it in this 'perfect', quiet corner of my building where NO ONE ever goes, etc.! I dropped off my suitcase in this 'no-man's land' corner and went and got my tapas. After an hour and a half I came back for my bag, turned the corner and....NOTHING! It was GONE! I looked again...I felt like my eyes were playing a trick on me....I looked again....STILL NOTHING! That is one of the craziest feelings ever....EVERYTHING was gone! (Now, mercifully I had my money and passport on me...) I had NOTHING! No shirts, no pants, no socks, no nothing! After a minute or two of 'ethereal' contemplation (I honestly felt like I wasn't in 'reality' and I know understand, to a degree, why people who are shown on TV that go through catastrophes and lose their homes or belongings have this 'dazed/lost' look - that is exactly how I felt! Albeit to a much smaller degree) I decided that maybe whoever stole it, would've ransacked it, realizing that there was nothing of value, then maybe had left it on another floor...so floor, by floor, by floor....nothing! I followed what I thought were my bag's 'tracks' to an apartment. I heard sounds before I knocked and then nothing after I knocked. I went downstairs and to make a long story short: the porter had found the bag downstairs (NOT where I left it). It had been ransacked and clothes strewn all over the floor. He had taken it for trash and had thrown it away! WHAT?! I asked him where and went to looking in the dumpsters....the garbage men came, emptied them, NOTHING! Everything was gone! Then a 'feeling' impressed me about the time...I had 20 minutes before I had to catch my train...and then it was in this moment that I felt this 'odd' feeling again....I had nothing. I literally had the clothes on my back and my backpack! Nothing else! I headed to the airport, caught my plane and went to London....
Such an odd feeling and to think that here I thought I wasn't so attached to material things...but I am, in a way....at least the 'idea' of safety that comes with them....at least some things....anyway, such an odd and enlightening experience.
Went to London, managed to miss my meeting with my professor (UGH! :) and to get sick enough to miss church...hmm....but was blessed to find cheap-o stuff in London at an outdoors market, i.e. a charger for my phone (was in my suitcase), garments at the temple....I don't even have glasses anymore!
Such an interesting experience....anyway, now I am back in Austria....and I am thankful I am headed to the States in March so I can 'resupply' ;)
