No longer amused

Not like I was ever really amused by being in Manila anyway, but now I have a concrete reason for irritation: a woman slashed my bag last night right in front of my hotel WHILE I WAS CARRYING IT. It was raining, and we were both carrying umbrellas, which limited visibility. I'd noticed her a few blocks back, but didn't realize how close she was behind me until I could feel her touching my bag. I turned around and said "NO!" (really creative, right?) and she said "excuse me" and went on her way like nothing had happened. Naturally, this has freaked me out a bit, but I am grateful that the damage was actually about as minor as it could be, and I didn't lose a thing. She cut a small outside pocket that held pencils and hand wipes--the cheapest things I had in the bag--and nothing even fell out. I wasn't even sure if she'd done anything except touching it until I got inside and checked. With a little duct tape, the bag should be almost as good as new. My hotel people were sweet and fussed over me, but also said that I was really lucky. I prefer to use the word "blessed", but I totally agree that the situation could have been much worse. I will be looking over my shoulder constantly from now on!

Fortunately, that's not the only thing that's happened in the past day or so. I had a productive meeting with the dean of a college of nursing this morning (after going to the wrong place first!), and the vice president brought me back to my neighborhood, bought me coffee, and showed me her hospital and introduced me to the director. I have an open invitation to drop by and see the director again (if I can remember her name!) if I'm ever in the neighborhood. This evening I'm hoping to sit in on some MD-RN classes at a local hospital, and tomorrow I'll attend a talk on nurse migration at another university before heading out with my new friend Christina for a quiet afternoon at a museum and a birthday dinner! I also have tentative plans to visit with Duke friends on Sunday and a full day of meetings on Monday. So beyond the bag-slashing, I really can't complain too much. People have been friendly and helpful with my project, and I am learning a lot and making important connections. I am just learning to keep my eyes open while doing so!