Screw me

So I went out with some people last night to celebrate the end of the trip. I took out my passport and carried it with me. I had no money, so I took some from the ATM for the trip home. It is strange here that it seems like you must be literally 25 to get into most places to dance, its sort of strange.

Anyway, I went back to the hostel, collapsed from exhaustion, and woke up at 7am to say goodbye to my friends. I noticed some police in the hostel, and I was confused. I went in my room to get something from my bag, and I noticed that it was missing. Then it hit me, someone had stolen my bag!!!!!!!!!!!! I went to the police to report it, and I filed a police report. Some other people had their things stolen as well. Apparently someone came in while we were sleeping and literally grabbde what he could in his hands and walked out the door, to the obliviousness of the reception. They got a lot of stuff. I only lost my camera, Ipod, retainer, some souvenirs (including the crosses I got in Bethlehem and Jerusalem) and some other things. The guy next to me lost 2000 Euro so I could not complain.

What made me mad more than anything was that if the asshole had taken a second to look at the contents of my bag, he would have seen that it was not worth the trouble trying to steal it. What is he going to do with a bunch of chargers, a camera that is half broken, a retainer, and an ipod that is about to die from lack of battery? He is retarded, that is my only solace. So now that I have lost almost everything except my clothes and randomly but thankfully my passport, I will go back to the US with much less than I started with.

It has made me realize that stuff doesnt matter that much. Sure I feel a bit naked, but the only thing I really really cared about were all my pictures that are of no use to him.

Another comment. How the heck did I make it through the entire Middle East for 6 weeks, only to lose everything to a thief on the last day. I traveled for weeks in Palestine, where GDP is 1,000 dollars a person, and only a couple of days in Israel, where income is like 20,000 dollars a person, and here is where I get my stuff stolen from me.

To be completely honest, I dont think I really want to come back to Israel. I have met nice people and seen great things, but most of the stuff that I enjoyed here was the land and ancient artifacts, both of which have nothing to do with the Israelis. I got my stuff stolen here, I get interrogated like I'm a criminal, I will probably get strip searched, the Israeli guy who was supposed to meet me never showed up, and everywhere I go there is at least one or two extremely rude people that make life unpleasant. My international friends agreed that the vibe they got here is one very unfriendly to tourists. They are ok with you if you're here for birthright or something like that, but if you just try and see the land, you're not treated well. This said, people are people everywhere, and we have also met very nice people. However, given a choice where to spend several months of my life, I would choose Palestine over Israel in a heartbeat because of the generosity of the Arab people towards guests. They literally will sleep on the floor so you can have the bed. I met a random family the other day, and they asked me to have dinner with them. This kind of random kindness is something sorely lacking in modern Western society.
I will let you know how my experience is getting home with what I have left. At least he didnt steal my phone which stops me from having to make one of those bothersome Facebook groups travis needs your numbers.