street kid took my bag of chips ("mmmfff - hey!")
I was waiting at the bus stop in front of the school on Thursday, with one of the instructors (woman) and another student (guy), so that we (me and the other guy) could take the bus to the commercial center of the city to go to the place we've been volunteering. Because of our appointment I hadn't had time to get lunch, and so I'd stopped by a deli near the bus stop and gotten those kind of things you get for lunch when you have no time, little money, and little foresight for how you'll feel afterwards - ripples chips, a bag of cookies, and a soda.
Previously I'd had occasion to walk the street, mostly at night, eating something or other while I'm walking. I had the feeling, for no particular reason at all, that I was breaking some sort of unwritten rule. I think this was because I hadn't seen anyone else eating on the street in all the time I'd been here. Why do they sell stuff on the street but no one ever eats on the street? I'd been asking myself this, and now I think I know the answer.
I'd been busy stuffing my face, alternating between chips and cookies, and talking to the instructor, when probably 5 grubby street kids literally ran up to me and starting sticking their hands out. They were all talking at once in a chorus of high voices, and I, thinking I was used to this kind of thing, said no, no and started to tell them to go away. But then in a flash the bag was no longer in my hands and I was standing there as if there was now an invisible chip bag in my hands, because I hadn't had time to realize what had happened. I sort of just stood there with my mouth open with one or more potato chip shards hanging off the side of my face.
The guy I was with said "Why don't you chase him? He's right there." The kid had run off, and then come back with the bag of chips to gloat. The main reason I didn't chase him, at that moment, was that I had the bag of cookies and soda with me and I didn't think I could handle carrying that and chasing the kid at a high rate of speed, and if I'd handed it to either one of my companions I the kid would have been done eating by the time I'd done so. In retrospect I'm very, very glad that I didn't chase the kid down. I had no doubt I could have caught him, mostly because I am one fast mother fucker with huge pecs, as at least 4 people have pointed out in the past week. But then what was I going to do? Get my chips back and eat them? No thanks. Stomp on them so that he couldn't have them (someone suggested this afterwards)? They're my chips - who's the idiot in that situation? Beat the crap out of an 8 year old? That would be a great scene for the Salvador evening news - white tourist, on his way to do charitable work, kicks the crap out of poor black kid over a bag of chips.
I told the story to my language instructor the next day (the classes always start with "what did you do yesterday?" which in language class is fine but in real life is probably 50% of the reason I'm still single) and I asked her if she thought the kids were orphans or not. She said it was likely they had parents that were either drug addicts or alcoholics. There are kids like that here everywhere, who are on the streets barefoot with parents that are for all purposes completely absent from their lives. Many of the kids sniff glue or smoke crack. One of the other instructors told us that 15-20 years ago, before Salvador got caught up in its own drug epidemic, a woman could walk the streets at night without any concern at all. But with drugs came violence and street people in much worse shape and more dangerous to civilians than before.
Previously I'd had occasion to walk the street, mostly at night, eating something or other while I'm walking. I had the feeling, for no particular reason at all, that I was breaking some sort of unwritten rule. I think this was because I hadn't seen anyone else eating on the street in all the time I'd been here. Why do they sell stuff on the street but no one ever eats on the street? I'd been asking myself this, and now I think I know the answer.
I'd been busy stuffing my face, alternating between chips and cookies, and talking to the instructor, when probably 5 grubby street kids literally ran up to me and starting sticking their hands out. They were all talking at once in a chorus of high voices, and I, thinking I was used to this kind of thing, said no, no and started to tell them to go away. But then in a flash the bag was no longer in my hands and I was standing there as if there was now an invisible chip bag in my hands, because I hadn't had time to realize what had happened. I sort of just stood there with my mouth open with one or more potato chip shards hanging off the side of my face.
The guy I was with said "Why don't you chase him? He's right there." The kid had run off, and then come back with the bag of chips to gloat. The main reason I didn't chase him, at that moment, was that I had the bag of cookies and soda with me and I didn't think I could handle carrying that and chasing the kid at a high rate of speed, and if I'd handed it to either one of my companions I the kid would have been done eating by the time I'd done so. In retrospect I'm very, very glad that I didn't chase the kid down. I had no doubt I could have caught him, mostly because I am one fast mother fucker with huge pecs, as at least 4 people have pointed out in the past week. But then what was I going to do? Get my chips back and eat them? No thanks. Stomp on them so that he couldn't have them (someone suggested this afterwards)? They're my chips - who's the idiot in that situation? Beat the crap out of an 8 year old? That would be a great scene for the Salvador evening news - white tourist, on his way to do charitable work, kicks the crap out of poor black kid over a bag of chips.
I told the story to my language instructor the next day (the classes always start with "what did you do yesterday?" which in language class is fine but in real life is probably 50% of the reason I'm still single) and I asked her if she thought the kids were orphans or not. She said it was likely they had parents that were either drug addicts or alcoholics. There are kids like that here everywhere, who are on the streets barefoot with parents that are for all purposes completely absent from their lives. Many of the kids sniff glue or smoke crack. One of the other instructors told us that 15-20 years ago, before Salvador got caught up in its own drug epidemic, a woman could walk the streets at night without any concern at all. But with drugs came violence and street people in much worse shape and more dangerous to civilians than before.
posted by n10471 at 9:01 AM
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