Lost But Not Found

Well friends, today I learned a valuable lesson about living in an unfamiliar country. Never let your guard down completely. What do I mean with this? Always be aware of your surroundings and your belongings. I've heard lots of stories since I've been in the Dominican Republic about people being robbed but I never thought anything of it. Today I was with one of my roommates making a purchase at a store. I placed the cell phone on the counter momentarily while we made for the purchase. And that's all it took for the cell phone to disappear. What bothered me was that the cell phone was not mine. I had asked my roommate moments earlier to borrow his phone. Now, I feel obligated to replace the phone because I feel horrible about it. Fortunately, this was a mild incident. Two of my roommates, who are Dominican citizens, have been robbed at gun point. One of them was getting out of a public transport when she was asked to handover the contents of her wallet. My second roommate was walking home from class when a man on a motorcycle robbed him of his phone at gunpoint. My experience up to this point have been good and for the most part I feel safe. However, it is always important to be cautious.