Do you ever watch those old movies and see all the magic of Christmas and wish that is the way the world is? Me too. Unfortunately, happy ever after doesn't always get to happen. Sometimes the bad guys win, the good guys lose, and we are left wanting an explanation for the outcome.
Well, I am happy to report that this tale I am about to tell has a very happy ending.
Imagine yourself in a foreign place. You don't speak the language, and you can't tell how the people feel about you because they hide their emotions like professional poker players. What do you do when you need help? Well, you tend to panic because you don't know who can help.
Prague is very much like a US city. In fact, it reminds me a lot of New Orleans, LA. The major difference, however, is that if something horrible happens to you, you do not get to simply walk into a police station and explain your circumstances, unless you speak Czech, which I don't.
So, on to what happened.
I forgot something at home the other day so I made my way back to my apartment and picked up what was missing. On the way back to the bus stop, I saw that the bus had already arrived. Since I did not want to wait another seven minutes for the next bus, I decided to sprint to get on the bus. Narrowly making it, I took a moment to catch my breath and revel in the fact that I had the speed still left in my legs to make the occasional mad dash.
Once on the bus, I did my usual check of my pockets to make sure that I had everything. Gloves, check. Phone, check. Wallet....Wallet.....Wallet....NO CHECK. Panic hit me as I realized I was on the bus without my paperwork, or my bus pass. I immediately requested a stop at the next stop, which is about 1 kilometer from my apartment. I ran back up the hill to the last stop, terrified that my wallet had fallen out at the stop. It was not there. I ran to my apartment. It was not there. My wallet had the following contents at the time of its disappearence: Open Card (bus passes), credit card, bank card, 200 crowns (10 dollars), my US driver's license, Tonya's US license, Tonya's Open Card, and our insurance cards.
It was nowhere. I looked and looked and looked. I cried out to God to help me find it. I was humiliated at the thought of having to tell everyone (read: Tonya) about losing all these things. What a disaster. Open Cards are expensive and the thought of having to trouble a colleague or student to help me communicate with the authorities was overwhelming. I did not even have a way to ride the bus, since my open card was missing.
Here is where it was darkest. but then things began to change. I reached into my pocket and found some money.
To Be Continued.
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