Yeah, that actually does make sense ESL N Asia, but I don't think we were generalizing, rather just sharing information about a bad experience, just like many teachers share info about bad experiences working for a company.

Some countries have more of a problem and more frequent a problem than others. For example, doctors often make a generalized statement that malaria is very common in Honduras, so people should take the necessary precations. I think Gary was also doing the same, trust me, it is quite a frequent thing in Kazakhstan to get robbed alone a night. Yes, you can also get robbed in the USA or Canada, but it doesn't happend as frequently, just like malaria doesn't happen as frequently....

-Apparently not. I left Canada knowing what to expect, since Ive lived in other countries. He left with obviously unrealistic expectations. Thats a big difference sporto.

When you leave your country, you cant leave your common sense...if you had any, that is.

"I'll moider da bum."
- Heavyweight boxer Tony Galento, when asked what he thought of William Shakespeare

Reminds me a lot of you.

I would really like to ignore you. However, you're such a repugnant bastard that my paternal instincts always compel me to defend others whom you attack.

I don't believe you understand the point of the whole conversation. Your lack of comprehension belies your self professed educational level. What, Harvard grad?

"Don't be so humble - you are not that great." - Golda Meir (1898-1978) to a visiting diplomat

Neither of these individuals was in America when he was attacked. One was in Russia and was relating her experiences while in Russia. Gary, I believe was in Germany and giving his opinion about his experiences in Germany.

You, on the other hand, seem to have no experience at anything. Except running your mouth! Which, I might add, from where I'm sitting at least, is quite large and always open. Hopefully, soon, you'll drown in a stagnant pool of lymph and vomit! Preferably, your own.

Hey, chill out, dude. If you don't like Gary's posts, then ignore them. Failing this, I'll have to make you my LIFE'S WORK.

By the way, your blatantly trite anti Amerianisms serve no good purpose, either. What a miserable little ninny you are..............

Must be a Canadian?

"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid."
- Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855

Actually, the decoy money worked for me. The kid that pulled the gun on me in Cincinnati got so nervous, as it was daylight, that he just took my $5 and ran. However, if you read what I said, there are many tricks to use, thats just one of them.

You are right that some places are safer than others. However, you and Gary were generalizing whole countries and cities. I didnt think that was fair and to a degree that is racist and nationalist.

I just wanted to point out that travel has its risks and being a foreigner has its risks, but nothing that you cant prepare for with common sense. Sometimes people just dont understand the risks. Then when a bad thing happens, they blame the whole country, people or system. That is unfair and outright stupid. Thats why I wanted to point out that you can find it in your own country. We need to be careful how we point our proverbial fingers to assign blame.

I do use this type of common sense, and you are right, it can happen anywhere, but it is more common in some countries than in others.

No, the decoy doesn't work, I tried that, I threw the money on the street, but they kept comming after me, doesn't work tried it.

Common sense, but, you know, some places you can walk home at night without having to be worried about being mugged, Japan for example.

1. I was also robbed, but I was robbed in Russia. 2. I was chased home to my hotel, but since I run fast, I escaped a beating.
3. I have also been pockpocketed in Mongolia last year.

I was robbed leaving the subway at 8pm at night, 3 guys jumped me, but they didnt hurt me and all they got was my mobile phone. I speak great Russian, but they are drunks and not friendly so, they just want to rob. Young men with nothing better to do. No one helped me or stepped in. The police were quite a distance away, so they had no clue. The city is too big, so we couldnt find them.

No, I wouldnt leave the country because I was afraid, but I wouldnt walk home alone at night, no men are that brave, not even the people who have lived there all their lives. If you must walk home alone, then carry a large knife and pepper gas, they are legal to have in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Georgia.

Best thing to do is not to walk home alone, that is when you become an easy target.

Dear Gary,

First of all, please allow me to wish both you and yours A Very Happy New Year - '05! Secondly, I'd like to apologize to you and everyone else if my response to your post on the Asian tragedy in any way sounded as if I don't view the carnage as seriously as it deserves to be. It was merely your intensity and repetition that got to me. Were you, perhaps, a salesman before you took up ESL? If so, you MUST have done well!

Yes, I, too, am quite familiar with what you have described. Apparently the assailants -- all three of the nasty beggars -- had their sights on me for several days before springing into action. To make a long story short, they got roughly $500 cash, while I sustained a minor concussion, thus making me obliged to accept the hospitality of a Rio de Janeiro hospital for 4 days followed by an additional week's "vacation" from my nouns, adjectives, and pronouns. Did I wish to return home? You bet your Blue Azar I did! Did I feel I wanted immediate and unlimited retribution (better known in the States as "blood")? ROGER to that as well! And RIGHT ON AGAIN! ... One does become possessed with the notion that foreign teachers are the targets of every assaulter, crook, and con artist in any large city of any country on this planet. Therefore, there's really nowhere to run. Ergo, this is a risk you take by assuming residence anywhere.

Dear fellow, WHY do you insist upon referring to your own kind as lacking intestinal fortitude? I am proud to say that, only a few years ago, I was part of an ESL teachers' "rebellion" waged against an employer who, as is quite familiar these days, took his lion's share but refused to give anything in return ... not even a fair wage. There were also other infractions which I'll spare you of at the moment, but I merely wish to make it clear that this group of colleagues constituted some of the wisest and bravest of any ESL instructors with whom I've ever had the pleasure of being employed. YES! We proved our point and induced the timely observance of a much fairer code of consideration by the employer who, ironically enough, turned out to be a pretty decent fellow in his own right! No, Gary, I disagree: ESL instructors most assuredly DO have the ability to work together and make their statement loud and clear!

To cap off my opinion, I feel that, as adults living in an ultra-temperamental world society, we who travel to far-off places with only the purest and most honorable of intentions -- in this case abetting the cause of world communication -- should, nonetheless, be prepared to face the adversities of life which never seem to disappear. Getting hurt on foreign soil is never "easy" to bear under the circumstances. However, the fact that it often occurs far from home should never give you a false impression that it is, in any way, "exclusive" and could not occur even in your own backyard. That's the way I handled the problem when it came to my turn. Of course, I am an individual and cannot speak for everyone.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL! May the future bring us all only the happiest of thoughts, activities, and experiences.

The Arrogant One

I take it from your comment that you think violence against teachers is not a serious subject.

I am sure the Brit who was murdered in Atyrau, Kazakhstan thought it was humorous. I'm very sure the teacher in China that got stabbed in a Church meeting was laughing all the way to the grave. And I am absolutely sure that the English teacher in Sudan who got his head chopped off said to himself, "Gee.... this is fun." There is another Brit in Atyrau who has been beaten and robbed on the same corner three times. Some people are slow learners.

I have a friend that was in one of the compounds in Riyadh that was attacked and bombed. He was blown out of his bed up against the wall and then all the glass from the window showered him. UMM... what fun...

The majority of English teachers are easy targets. When attacked the percentages are that they will be on the next plane to return home and hide...seek refuge and play the victim card. If there is no victim then the crime goes unpunished.

Some teachers run and some don't.

My questions are these...

If you were the victim of a Mugging, Violent Assault or Rape... would you stay in the country you were teaching in or would you quit your job and return to your home turf?

It would seem that English teachers would be a Cottage Industry in most countries. As a group they are not noted as having any actual Intestinal Fortitude beyond paying lip service.

What has been your experience?

If you were mugged or attacked in your home country, where would you run?

MY experience has been that of getting mugged by three guys on my way home in Kazakhstan. I spent 8 days in a FREE hospital. The cops caught one of the muggers and I stayed and went through the court system and faced the attacker in open court. It took a year but he got three years in a dark damp prison that is well noted for emphysema, TB and a host of other diseases that produce copious amounts of Phlegm.

The job turned out to be the best job I have ever had.