Monday started out fine. I got up, I was feeling good, the sun was out. I didn't have much to do, just a visit to the superintenden and a local NGO we work with. Things have slowed down considerably since the school year ended. I've helped out with some camps here and there and we are coordinating with an NGO in the city to think up how to start a recycling program, but things aren't quite as busy. So I was taking my time on Monday. I had some laundry to do, some lunch to make, some dishes to wash. Finally, once 2:45 rolled around, I I decided to head down and work a little. I went through the normal routine of closing doors and locking up. But I forgot my sweater in my room right as I was about to walk out of my house. So I went back into my house, puttered around my room a little. Once I was in the hallway again right outside my room, I heard someone come in my back door. I thought that it was the owner of my house, who has never entered before without knocking, but I of course wasn't thinking this at the time. I heard this mystery person walk to the door between my kitchen/living area and the hallway and put a key in the lock. Since I still thought this was the owner, I figured I would open the door, greet him and then head out (it would be awkward to just be standing in the hallway when he came in and not open the door for him). So I open the door and freeze. I don't exactly know what I saw because things moved so quickly and I froze. What I remember seeing is a kid running out the back door, which was open. He was probably about 4 foot 8, maybe between 12 and 14 years old, straight back hair (I of course didn't think of all these crazy details until everyone started asking me about them). I didn't get a super good look because my automatic reaction was to freeze and kind of deny to myself that this was happening. A few moments after opening the door and the kid running out I went to my back door and looked to see if I could see anyone, but the kid was long gone.
This was kind of an unexpected but also expected encounter. I mean, I knew something was wrong. About three weeks ago I had noticed some money missing. The doors were all locked, nothing else was misplaced, just the money was gone. So I just thought I was going crazy and misplacing stuff. I even entertained the thought that I was sleepwalking. I mean, I had been losing some sleep while applying to grad school, so this didn't seem too far-fetched. But then about five days later, I noticed that one of my USBs was missing and I knew that I had it after the money was gone because used it. Once again, I thought I was crazy. I didn't think much of it because the doors had all been locked, my computer and Kindle were still around. And then I found out exactly what was happening, something that didn't even enter my thoughts beforehand. Someone had the keys to my house, both the outside and inside doors. It wasn't breaking and entering, not really. This kid would sneak in, unlock the doors, take stuff from my room (which is where all of the stolen things were before he took them), lock up after himself, and slip out. I normally have my money hidden throughout my house, but on this one occasion, I had been saving up money to give to my host family so it was sitting on my dresser so I wouldn't forget it. I never thought that someone would break into my house because the two previous volunteers who lived in this house never had a problem and I hadn't either up until this point. This house has five good years behind it with no problems. Now, no one else from Peace Corps will be able to live here because of this incident. I'm just glad he didn't dig a little deeper into my things to find my passport because that would have caused even more headaches.
The next few days went by, lots of questions asked, skeptical looks all around. I thought it might be my neighbor's son, but he was acting nonchalant and actually opted to stay in the room and talk with me and his mom rather than hide in front of the tv, and I had seen him right after it happened and he didn't act worried or sketchy in any way. A few people from Peace Corps came to help me deal with talking with the neighbors. The kid left behind one of the keys he was using and we went to the owner to see if he was missing any keys (he is the only other person, supposedly, with keys to my house), and he was missing the one key we found. That seems a little suspicious. I had trusted everyone so much and I found myself not really knowing what to think. I also realized that the kid must have been watching me to know when to come into my house. Before leaving, I close the door between the kitchen and my hallway and lock it and then, shortly afterward, I head out. The day I caught the kid, I had waited around maybe ten-fifteen minutes more to take care of some stuff, get a sweater, etc. This is of course speculation because I can't question this kid, but it seems logical because I hadn't caught him beforehand. And of course no one say anything.
So now I'm moving out. My host family says they are happy to have me, and I have been spending more and more time with them lately, so it will be fine. It's just quite a pain to figure out what to do with furniture, trash left over from two generations of volunteers, my recyclables. Then there's the fact that I'm moving into my host sister's room. Since she died in September, the room has been empty. My host mom claims that they were trying to get my host grandmother to move in there (she didn't want to) so it's no problem. It will be a little weird living in her room and kind of becoming another daughter again (my host dad really does introduce me as his hija to people sometimes), especially when Christmas comes up and it's my family's first Christmas without her. But I will do what I can to lighten the mood and keep the kids happy. I already bought some stuffed animals for the kids to hang on the doorknobs. It will be difficult moving from my own pretty nice house to having a small room and not cooking my own meals. But I will enjoy having company, having access to a washing machine, not worrying about creepy security situations. I've been thinking of pro-con lists since to make myself feel a little better about the whole situation. I will hopefully finish moving, for the most part, by Wednesday. Until then I'm still sleeping in my house-I put extra locks on the inside of the doors so no one can get in. I just can't leave the house because I don't know if this kid has the key to the front door. But my valuables are moved out so no worries about a passport going missing or my computer being stolen. It will be sad to not buy from my favorite store up by my house, no more free guisquiles from the owner of my house, I won't see my favorite neighbors as often, I won't be able to bake as often or walk around my house in shorts with my legs unshaved. But I will beel more secure and won't lose anything more.
But really, this sucks. I just don't feel safe anymore and I feel like I can't trust any of my neighbors, which is not a great feeling. I really felt safe in my house, it was the one place where I felt 100% safe. I would always say hi to my neighbors and talk about the weather or life in the US with them. I would make cookies and drop them off with Dona Estela for her four kids. I would walk up the hill with the kids who would continuously ask me questions about words in English. Now I can't greet people without wondering if they know the kid or were involved in his crime. I know this is illogical, but my brain is kind of in overdrive with suspicions and all. And since no one has any idea who this kid is (how could no one have seen him-he was entering my house in daylight? I guess the back door hides most of what he was doing, but still you could see him go around the side of my house to get there.) The stress has led to me eating more than usual (that's what stress does to me) and not being able to sleep. This was further compounded by the fact that the night after finding this kid in my house, I went to listen to some music after lying awake for three hours and found that my MP3 player was also gone (item number three to be missing, which happened between Thursday and Monday because I last listened to it Thursday night). Benedryl works some of the time, but I don't like feeling drowsy the next day. Hopefully the sleep will improve once I move in with the host fam. And the next week will be full of moving my things little by little from my house and cleaning up after myself. My host mom will be out of town so I can't really move the majority of my stuff in until mid-next week (I took two trips today with clothes and books), so my planned trip over Thanksgiving and for my birthday will not happen, but I plan on treating myself to some Indian food to celebrate my favorite holiday and 25th birthday. And I am rewarding/comforting myself now with movies and popcorn. Tonight: While You Were Sleeping, an old favorite I haven't seen in years. Not to mention slowly making my way through a bottle of cheap wine.
All is well, but my life has taken a rather interesting turn and I will keep all updated on my new(ish) life with my host family. I'm just glad that the kid didn't kill me in my sleep or attack me when I found him. And that I am not going crazy and misplacing everything. Ariel, one of the Peace Corps safety and security officers, did mention that it did kind of make sense, finishing up my service where I started, with my host fam. And my Spanish will improve at a faster rate. It's sad that I feel violated and all, but I won't let this one crappy incident keep me from enjoying the end of my time here in Guatemala.
That sucks! My Peace Corps roommate had a Doberman, called Cusha, and nobody would come within 20 yards of our house.
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