Sunday February 28th 2010,

I’m skipping a few days because everyone keeps asking me about this story. If you are already worried about me please don’t read this.

I’m so sad and trying not to cry. I’m on the bus to the airport and had to say goodbye to Elena. I don’t like this.

I am not looking forward to going back to Italy. It is so much more comforting here in Germany.

It’s so windy, the bus is rocking and we are on a huge bridge in the lane closest to the edge. I may die today and if I do just know I died doing what I love.

Oh p.s. to anyone who thinks they are the shit because they have a Mercedes, get over yourself, garbage trucks here are made by Mercedes.

Its so windy, we’re gonna die.

Ahh, I just looked at all the pictures from this week, it was such a good trip.

Ok, we are really gonna die. We keep getting hit by huge gusts of wind and the driver breaks and everyone gasps. If we tip over, I’m on the up side so I’ll smash into the window on my right.

Elena’s B-Day was the 20^th so I got her this sweet coffee mug she wanted and a thank you card for both her family and her boyfriend’s family for taking me in. When I was doing that she was getting my b-day present from her and her family. We hugged each other starting to tear up, but we managed to keep it together. Her dad packed me a huge lunch entirely wrapped in tinfoil.

So I just about had a heart attach, I got my flight time confused and thought I missed it. I will never get used to Military time.

This wind is freaking me out. I’m in the airport and I can still hear it and even feel it beat on the walls.

So I met some cool Germans in the airport but one is not so cool. He is kind of annoying and won’t stop talking to me even though his flight is about to leave, ok sweet he is gone now.

So they just had a PA announcement telling about heavy storms and warning people not to leave the building. Sweet, I am not only about to leave the building, I am about to get into a plane that is supposed to fly. My life is over.

So now I’m on the plane and it’s rocking like crazy in the wind and I can’t pee because the guy in the aisle seat is already sleeping, crap…

I think there is something dripping from my overhead compartment….

I asked the flight attendant about it and he said it was probably just the air conditioning, then he checked and it was my water bottle dripping all over the old guys head sitting in front of me.

So I just dropped a chunk of my sandwich on the cabin floor. Am I still gonna eat it? Yep.

Before I got off the plane I had an urge to double-check my area. I looked under my seat and thought I saw something, but I wasn’t sure. So I grabbed it, it was my passport… that was close.

I make it to Pescara ok and now I just have to get to the train station. I have no idea where it is our how to get a bus pass there or what stop I need to get off at. Thank goodness there were some drunk Italians who helped me.

The train station feel so empty, it’s only 8:00 p.m. This is weird. The ticket places are closed so I ask for help and find a self-serve one.

This is bad. There are no more trains to Macerata until 5 in the morning. I am not worried. I don’t know where I am and there is no way of getting home. I keep trying the machine.

I call my friend Matteo, no answer. I call Francesco and he picks up. I tell him what was going on and he tells me where I am and how far I am from home. I thank him for the help and proceed to type the same stuff into the machine hoping for a different solution. Nothing.

I try to find a bancromat at the train station because I only have one euro in my pocket but I can’t find one.  I go back to the machine and see it only takes cards when three young scruffy looking Italians came up to me asking me questions in Italian. I slip my card back into my pocket. They are trying to get to Verona and need my help. I don’t understand. They speak Italian, I am the foreign one here. They are three. I am one. I have my own problems. But I guess they just don’t understand how to use the machine. They look pretty rough. So I help them and Francesco calls back so I talk to him but they keep asking me stuff and pulling be back to the machine. Finally I just tell them I don’t know. I'm sorry; trains are done today and good luck. I was outside looking for a bus. But there isn’t one and the guy tells me I need to get a hotel. I’d rather sleep in the station.

Francesco calls again and tells me there is a train at 23:50 so I return to the ticket machines. The guys are still there, more of them now, but this time they have tickets because another guy helped them. They surround me again showing me their tickets before leaving.

I go to get my debit card out of my pocket and it is gone. Of coarse I think I misplaced it, I look around and can’t find it. I retrace my steps then realize what happened. It makes perfect sense now. Those guys were just playing me. They didn’t really need my help, it was just their way of distraction me. So easy, I am young, foreign, female, lost, confused and it’s late with not any people around. I am the perfect target

I am so pissed I am not about to be played. The whole situation was disgustingly obvious now. The way they treated me when they got their tickets, rubbing it in my face. The was they said goodbye with mocking kisses. I’m fuming, but I know what train they are taking and the platform they are leaving from. I am storming up there right now and completely ready to confront them. I bet it will throw them off guard. My adrenalin is pumping so much I feel like I could take out all of them if they tried to hurt me.

I reach the platform and look everywhere. I can’t find them but I see a police station. I don’t really want to go to them but this is my only chance. If my card is gone. I have no access to money for the next four months, no way to get home, nothing... So I do it. They are all laughing and joking, smoking cigarettes and watching soccer. They talk to me seriously though. Only one speaks a little English and I can’t get the German out of my head so my Italian is useless. I try to describe the guys to them. This is so complicated, playing cerades with Italian policemen, in an empty train station, ten at night, in a city I have never been.

We then go looking for them on foot. I think I see one of them so I follow down this dark sidewalk. He knows I’m behind him. I feel like he is leading me into a trap, but I don’t care. I’m so pissed and the cops are watching. I yell for him to wait. He doesn’t stop. I keep yelling then finally I catch up to him. He turns to face me aggravated, it isn't him. I go back to the police standing outside and they tell me to look around the parking lot.  I do but I don’t see them. They whistle at me to come back, I do, we go back up stairs to the station, they try to communicate with me but it just isn’t working today.

I go into the station where they are watching soccer and try to talk with them and tell them I like soccer. They talk to me in Italian but I have no idea what they are saying, then two of them yell at me to come with them to get into their undercover police care. I do. I'm still trying to be friendly, but it's not getting me anywhere. We drive around and they tell me to look. I am

Then there is a small kebob place in the back of the parking lot and we slow down.  I’m pretty sure I see one of the guys. They ask me if I am positive. Of coarse I am not positive. I am never positive, so they talk to each other, I'm so confused.

I get out to see if it’s them. I approach and they recognize me and are weird. I cant really think but I say, oh fame, (I’m hungry). They ask me what I want so I pretend to look for my money to see their reaction when I realize my card is gone, but before that happens one offers to buy me a coffee. Probably laughing at the fact he knows I don’t have any money. I tell him one minute and go to the police and have an awkward moment trying to discreetly get into the car because I can’t open the door.

In the car we then try to figure out what to do. They get out, I freak out, then police from all over, like ten of them just surround this little kebob stand. It reminds me of a huge drug bust.

Everyone froze and the police started frisking them and going threw their stuff. Now I feel horrible, what if they didn’t take it, what if I just lost it. This is so bad. Not good. I feel horrible I can’t take it anymore, they ask me who the three guys are but I can’t see that far. I don’t want to have to confront them but I have no choice. I get out of the car and walk up to them, they were all frozen and looked confused and like they were about to cry. My heart sank, as I said mi dispiece (I'm sorry)  touching each of their hands. I felt like Judas selling out Jesus.

I didn’t feel hatred though I felt confusion and pain. I want it to end. I want the police to go away. I want the whole situation to go away. I told the police just to forget it but they said they couldn't. If they took my card and got away with it this time they would never stop. I slumped back into the cop car, I can’t watch. I call Francesco; he reassures me I hadn’t overreacted. The situation was too sketchy

The police wont leave them alone. There are about 10 guys being searched and questioned. There are so many police and they are all taking with each other and on phones and radios, they have all of the men’s documents. I have no idea what time it is. I really don’t want them to miss their train. Why isn’t this ending? What if I check my stuff again and I find my card. Or what if it's just laying on the ground somewhere. I started this whole mess for nothing.

One of the officers asked me if I had been drinking. Of coarse not, I was pretty offended.

They just let all the guys go and waved them off nicely. I feel better about that, but now what am I supposed to do? I have no way to get home. They get in the car and say niente (nothing) to me and completely ignore me and talk and joke with each other. They know I'm alone with no money and I have to get to Macerata. Of coarse the will help me. We get back and I get out and follow them to the station to fill out a report. But the just looked at me and said ciao, buon viaggia (see ya, have a nice journey) and literally shooed me away.

I am petrified there are about seven foreign guys in this train station who are pissed at me and here I am scared and alone. I don’t know what to do. I should hid but I cave to look for my card. Right now my priority is getting home, not worrying about what they think.

As soon as I head down the stairs there they are, coming around the corner. I don’t panic. I am not going to run. I’m going to confront them. They see me and stop. They still look shook up. I apologize for everything. A few of them walk away but three stay behind. They genuinely forgive me.

I try to explain why I thought they stole my card but it was so difficult, They didn’t seem to be understanding my Italian. We drew pictures and they seemed really concerned about another guy they were with when they realized about my card. Perhaps they didn’t really know the other guy and he took it without them knowing. I call Francesco back so he can translate for me and they talk with him and give me back the phone. Francesco says they are not Italian and they speak really bad Italian. Then I start to understand, their language wasn’t an option on the machine and English was. That is why they needed my help. The one guy left but the other two stayed with me and helped me look all over the station for my card. Even when I ditched them to check the parking lot for 10 minutes they waited for me. I really don’t think these two did it. They are just to nice and look really concerned for me. I really don’t care what happened any more. We are trying to talk when an African lady walks by and takes me away from them thinking they are harassing me. She takes me to the platform. I have no ticket.

That was the last I saw of those guys…

I can’t believe how nice the train guy is, he looked in a really bad mood so I didn’t want to ask him what to do about not having a ticket, but he was the only one around. I explained to him what happened and he told me just to get on the train, so I did. I wanted to hug him.

So I'm on the train, Brain cancelled my card. They will have to wire money to me somehow.

The same train guy just came by asking for tickets, thank goodness it was he. He starts talking to me about the next stop and I feel nauseous because I think he is going to tell me I have to get off at the next stop, like that sucks for you. But instead he told me I had two stops to go. He asked me for my card number (my mom gave me hers), he looked at it. I told him it was my moms; he fake entered it into his computer. I really don’t want a freebee, I told him I wanted to pay but he just looked at me saying no it's ok. He just pretended to take my number so others would know I was riding for free. I guess I'm not the only one who gives out freebees. He asked me if I was English. I should have just left it at that, but no, I told him I was American. Go figures, stupid American stereotype. Way to go grace.

I get off the train in Civitanova at 1:30 a.m. I am prepared to spend the rest of the night here and have a really long day tomorrow. Then my phone rings and it's my friend Matteo asking what I'm doing. He and some friends just got out of the cinema. I tell him a little about what happened and without hesitation he says, give me 30 minutes; we are coming to get you. I am so relieved I almost cry.

I really need to use a bathroom but everything is closed. I have needed to pee since Germany. I find myself a nice little bush in the parking lot and hope no one is watching.

Matteo, Samuele, Luca and Roberto came to get me and take me home. It was great to see them. Matteo is my neighbor and took me home and made sure I was ok and safe.

I lay down in my bed and take in all the events of the night.  I can’t believe it worked out or how forgiving and generous the would was to me today. It is beautiful. I learned so much today and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.