A Local Encounter that Changed my Perspective - Redemption, only a status update away

joelbalsam — Sat, 6 Apr 2013 01:43:21 GMT

On a bright morning in Salvador, Brazil, I hauled myself out of bed for a run because, well, cheap fried pastries throughout South America like salgados, empanadas and salteñas can seriously tax the waistline.
I was on the final leg of a four-month trip to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil without the slightest desire to return to my snowy homeland. I had scheduled a bus for later that afternoon, but it would have to wait.
When I got back from my run, my travel journalism lifelines a.k.a. my MacBook and Nikon digital camera containing photos from the last few months were gone!
I was so devastated I considered buying a ticket home. I was so confused as to how I was robbed, especially since my locker was locked.
I went to file a police report, but no one spoke English. Luckily, one officer spoke French, so we conversed in my second language.
“I’m hungry,” she told me as she filled out the report. “I’m going for lunch, how about you come back in two hours.” Ahem, wasn’t there a case to solve?
Meanwhile, a computer savvy couple was hired by a man named Rodrigo to wipe a Macbook hard drive clean. Sketchy, but civil, the couple trusted the man until they flipped open the computer to find my Facebook signed in with photos of me, not him.
Unbelievably they stood up for me, a stranger they had never met, and sent the guy packing. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save the camera.
With no clue that this had happened, I went to a nearby hostel to visit a friend named Pedro. Reluctantly, I told him the embarrassing news about my stuff being stolen.
“Dude!” Pedro exclaimed. “You didn’t see your Facebook status? Someone found it and they want to meet up!”
My first instinct was to laugh. Astonishingly, my Facebook status was updated with: “Hi there, Im trying to help joel. Ive found his laptop robeb. I want to give it back…”
I couldn’t believe it! With no phone or address, there was no way to contact me if not for Facebook.
Heartwarming comments and messages besieged my profile and inbox. “Well today officially became the ****iest day of the year,” read a friend’s status. “At least Joel Balsam’s story still gives me faith in the world!”
Two hours later, I found myself numbly sitting at the couple’s kitchen table. They told me about Rodrigo, my Facebook and the discovery that he was a thief. We laughed and shared maté before I went to the bus station, heading West towards my next destination.
All in a day’s travels!

Loving Travel. Loving Writing About It.

A Local Encounter that Changed my Perspective - Redemption, only a status update away