The Beggars of Dominica are Back

I should probably say that I'm back and the beggars never left.

I was wondering how long it would take before he showed his face again. I try to keep this blog semi-professional. Sometimes I post official updates about my academic status, sometimes it begins to sound a lot more like a "dear diary", other times I may get a little more philosophical (based on wild, baseless assumptions), and yet other times I can be as negative as I want to be. It's my blog after all.

It took exactly 17 days since I landed back on Dominica for the beggars to start showing their faces again. Actually, it was probably more like 2 weeks before I saw one of them begging a female student who was walking in the opposite direction (to campus) as I was walking home. It was 17 days until the same guy started interrupting my daily routine. You know and love him as Bob, from my previous post, at the end of last semester.

If you look busy, if you have headphones on, if you're sweating and just want to get to your destination so you can cool off, it doesn't matter. Bob will hunt you down, get right in your path, and begin with the "hey bro" and "welcome back bro" and "can you help me out bro" and "I just want to buy some chicken and I'm 1 dollar short."

Three days ago I just brushed him off, but this time he came up with a new trick:

You probably don't know the general layout of the campus of Ross University, but one of the main entrances has a bunch of food vendors called "The Shacks." Occasionally you can see Bob hanging out here, probably either asking for more money or maybe spending some of his hard earned money (that he got from even more students).

So yesterday I spot Bob as I'm walking off campus, back to my apartment. It's a walk that takes roughly 12-15 minutes. He spots me to, but it's a busy place, I just keep walking. Good, right?

12-15 minutes later, when I'm about to turn off the main road, with my apartment 3 houses away, there he is again!

(Magic?)

Or maybe... he spotted me at the Shacks (and figured I didn't see him), hitched a ride with someone he knew, and waited for me to come to him while thinking up some bullshit story of why he needs more money once again.

"Hey bro."

(I take off one of my headphones.)

"blah blah blah, I just need a dollar or two."

"No, sorry."

"You don't have any money?"

"Nope."

(I put my head phones on again and keep walking. I think he keeps talking, but I don't really care.)

I'm obviously lying to his face and he knows it. But I'm sure he has other students that he regularly bugs for other sources of income. He's not going to get a dime off me this semester. I wonder what other tricks he has up his sleeve?

Dominica might be a beautiful place, but Bob always seems to bring the surroundings back down to Earth.

(To be continued...)