“Welcome” to Belgium ??

On Christmas Eve I had an 8 hour stop over in Brussels before my flight to London so I decided to go into the city for a few hours instead of staying at the airport. Taking some advice from a friend, I planned to go to the Grand Place, walk around, have some coffee and waffles and head back to the airport after 3-4 hours. The train into Brussels was easy to catch and short- about a 20 minute ride to town.

Unfortunately, my camera was stolen on the train ride.=(   Someone behind me asked me about a ticket so I turned around for a second to show my ticket (thinking it was a ticket collector) and the bag was gone.  I believe the person who was talking to me had a friend who took the bag. I didn’t even realize it was gone until I got into town.

Once I got off the train, a gentleman named Karim who I had earlier asked for directions told me he was going to Grand Place and he could show me the way so I started walking with him.  We walked into town and the tourist office was still closed so we sat down to get a hot chocolate. We were having a very nice conversation and I wanted to take a picture of him so I looked into my purse – and that is when I noticed the camera was gone.   It took a few seconds for me to realize it was stolen on the train and who had stolen it.

I was very upset- I had borrowed the camera from my brother and felt bad that I lost it.  Also, I was careful in Liberia but did not stop myself from taking any pictures – even going into crowded marketplaces – and nothing happened to the camera.  10 minutes on a train in Belgium and it was stolen! Luckily, I had uploaded most of my pictures from Liberia – the only pictures missing were the few I took my last day there.   And even luckier, they did not steal my purse, passport or other baggage. So in the end it was only the camera.

I should have been very relieved but unfortunately I tend to be very hard on myself so I started to get very upset that I let this happen. It’s strange how the mind works. I spent one month in Liberia and though there was so much going on -I had a lot of time to think and a lot to think about-I did not get upset with myself or mad at myself or berate myself once.  But one hour in Belgium and suddenly all the stupid things I have done in my life and mistakes I have made were racing through my head. I felt out-of-place and very uncomfortable in my skin.

Poor Karim – I know he could tell I was upset – and though he could not see these thoughts racing through my head, I am sure he could see that I felt lost. He walked me back to the train station where I filed a complaint (with his help since I don’t know French) and then he took me to a store to buy a disposable camera.  He was extremely kind and bought the camera for me, showed me a few places and even treated me to a delicious breakfast. I told him it was not necessary but he said that I just got back from volunteering and it wasn’t right that this one thing should ruin my day in Belgium and upset me on the last leg of my trip.

So many people welcomed me to Liberia and not once did I feel uncomfortable. 10 minutes into Belgium and I seemed to have lost the peace and calmness I had gained in Liberia and I was ready to head to the airport and wait for my flight– but because of Karim, I am so glad I made the trip.   He was great company and I had a nice time talking to him. But even more so, it’s rare to see people go out of their way for their friends, let alone a stranger.

Karim means generous in Arabic and he lived up to his name =) So thank you Karim – I ended up enjoying my few hours in Belgium and even though Grand Place was nice to see, and the story of the Manneken Pis (Little Pee Boy in Dutch) was quite funny, it’s the memory of your kindness to me, a complete stranger, that won’t fade.

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