We looked at each other in shock and confusion. Mary went to her purse and her cash was also missing. Sadly, she had just visited the ATM the day before. The only thing left to do was call our supervisors who lived in the next apartment building over. They of course came right away and called my landlord to come also.
When my landlord arrived, he began to tell me that I should have locked the window, even though I had repeatedly told him that it was locked when we went to bed. He began to question and lecture me so rudely. I finally couldn't take it and told him that I would not speak with him about it again. In the moment that I needed comfort and compassion, he gave me advice. It took me a long time to forgive him for that. His response was so rude that we speculated that he had somehow been in on it.
At this point, we decided to call the police.
It's a strange thing to see police in your home. Not knowing what to do, but trying to be a good "Armenian" woman, I made them coffee and provided an ash tray. They asked a lot of questions, searched the house looking for clues, and dusted for prints.
It appeared that the robber climbed up a pole and onto our balcony which faced the street. He then stood on a plastic patio chair and popped open our European style window which opened into our kitchen. On his way up the balcony he stepped on our flower boxes which were lying on the ground below, broken. Dirt lined the sidewalk.
That's right, he climbed through our kitchen window while we were sleeping and stole all of our money!
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The rest of the day was just as tiring as the beginning. My friends and partners were shocked. They were very angry that something like that had happened to us. Their love and support really meant the world to me. Also, my supervisor's parents happened to be there for a visit, and their ability to help me process my emotions was invaluable. Not even that, but our "Cluster" leader was also there for a conference, so he went ahead and sent the ok to provide extra money to budget us a different and safer apartment.
We were in the middle of a women's conference, so the day was spent trying to help out as much as I could, but not really being able to focus. Even my English class went awry. My "crazy lady" student was incredibly rude AND crazy and I finally broke down and told my students about my day. They were so apologetic.
The day was still not over. I had to go to the police station now. A good friend and professional translator went with us to be sure everything was understood legally. I remember learning the word "victim" that day. After I learned it, I kept on using it as I told the detective, "I AM THE VICTIM, stop questioning me like I have done something wrong!" His questions also became annoying and pointless. He kept us in his smoke filled office at the station for so long (as he handwrote all the notes) that he offered us some kebab which was sitting on the table. For all those times people told me to be more assertive, well, it came out just fine there!
After he finally "released" us to go (because I STRONGLY told him to do so), we were ready to collapse.
The next day we tried to get back to normal, and it was a nice day.
However, it didn't last long....
The morning after that we were greeted by yet another shock.
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