Taxi?

May 2nd, 2009: Out at a bar the other night, my friends wanted to go to a dance club let alone stand up straight so I decided it was time for me to head back to the hostel. Even here I have been maintaining my 2 drink limit per night making it a bit difficult when you hang out with the Scottish and English, since I don’t think they believe in limits. I left the bar around 1am, it was only about a 20 minute walk and feeling safer here than in Bogota, I deferred the $1.50 taxi ride and headed home.

While walking I ran into a man arguing with his girlfriend as she stood there crying. Right as I passed, this guy spun her around slamming her into a rolling metal gate of a closed shop. I thought at that moment…why did my parents raise me so well? Stopping I turned around, not knowing what to say in words that I have not yet learned. This guy was much larger than me…but I was much larger than the woman. Standing there about 15 feet away I did nothing but stare at him thinking about what I am going to do if he did something again – should I scratch his eyes out, pull his hair or do the unstoppable Tyson bite? I just stood there for her to know it was okay to leave and for him to know that I was watching. They guy could not look at me in the eyes but he knew I was there by how he kept glancing over. After about 10 minutes, everything seemed it was going to be okay…did I even help at all? I don’t really know, but at least I would like to think I gave him a moment to calm down.

I continued my stroll home. Passing a homeless man in a park, he got up and began to follow me. Turn after turn we seemed to be on the same course - a coincidence? I had to laugh…why didn’t I get a cab? Not wanting to know his intensions and perhaps just a bit paranoid on what happened in Bogota, after turning a corner I did a full out sprint the last few blocks not looking back. I had so much speed, I might have even broken an elementary school track record. When will I learn…they tell you to take a cab at night for a reason.