Ladri, non di biciclette, ma di borse

I feel like I normally start these blog posts off pretty cheerfully, but today I'm a bit down in the dumps. I had a wonderful first day of school here yesterday, great batch of new students, and I actually have a student who is a Phi Mu at College of Charleston, just like I was, whom I took out for coffee. I also helped my friend Charlie with the set-up and take-down of a travel information session he was leading. After a few glasses of wine, we decided to head home, Charlie in one direction, and I off to retrieve my bike. When it is late at night in Florence I usually prefer to ride my bike home so I can make a speedy return and not run into creepers. I was riding along, about two blocks from my apartment, when I heard a car behind me. I turned my head real quickly and saw it was actually a motorino, and that it was coming right towards me, so I started riding closer to the sidewalk. I felt the motorino brush up against me and before I could even realize what was happening, the two men in helmets had my purse and were off without me even having a chance of catching up to them. I was in total shock, but horrible consequences started to enter my mind, such as "oh god, my passport was still in there" and "oh no, my keys, my wallet, my cell phone," etc. I had no way of contacting the police, so I rode over a block to my friend Charlie's place and started ringing his bell like a maniac. He ended up coming down and taking me to the nearest police station, which was of course closed, because this is Italy. There was an emergency number posted to call, and within five minutes I had 2 Carabinieri and 2 undercover policemen at my disposal. I gave them an exact report, that there were two men in black helmets, black jackets, and jeans, they rode a dark scooter that was not a Vespa, my purse was a special edition Longchamp bag with a yellow picture of the Eiffel tower on it, etc. Then they took me to the Carabinieri station, where I had to make my "denuncia" (the official report). This took me about another hour, after which I rode back home in a police car and had a very nice carabinieri check my apartment to make sure the thieves had not entered. Then I spent another few hours canceling everything over skype (since I no longer have a phone here). By then it was after 3 in the morning, I had cried my eyes out and was utterly exhausted.
This semester I am fortunate enough to have a 9 AM TR class. Normally I would not mind this, since it gives me an even longer weekend than my 3-day weekends here. Today it was very difficult to get ready for this class, but I had to go, since it was the first day. After class was over I told my coordinators here what had happened the night before to see if I could get out of tutoring and go to the American consulate here in Florence. They of course let me go, especially since the consulate of course is only open from 9-12:30. I hoofed my way over to the building, which was quite difficult since it is blocked on three of its four sides by construction. I came aimed with all of my documents, ready to get my emergency passport as the web-site had instructed me to do. Of course, being in Italy, the people actually working at the embassy told me something totally different from what the web-site said. I walk up to the policemen guarding the entrance and ask them where I go to report a stolen passport and have an emergency passport issued. The man asked me how long I would be in Italy for and I told him until the end of May. He then told me that I do not need an emergency passport because I have plenty of time to get a new one. I expressed to him that I would feel much better with an emergency passport since I have plans to travel. He told me no, that my case was not an emergency, and that I had to make an appointment, maybe next week, and file for a new passport, which would get to me in hopefully 2 or 3 weeks (which means at least a month here). Frustrated, I went back to school and made my appt. for tomorrow and am now preparing all of my documents so hopefully I have a new passport before Spring Break and can travel at least a little bit while I am still in Italy.
This is all such a humungous and costly nuisance. Even my cell phone provider here, to whom I pay daily insurance, is charging me 35 euro to replace my phone and will not give me a new phone until my new credit card comes, which will take forever because my credit card company refused to mail it to Italy. The cell phone company also told me if I do not have credit card information within a week, they will charge me another 50 euro to terminate my plan. This on top of having to pay for a new passport, pay to have items expedited here, replacing all items lost, such as my wallet and a video camera is really starting to make this day even worse. I am also quite upset over losing some personal items I highly valued, such as a coin purse my sister Claire gave me and the actually purse, which was the only souvenir I bought myself on my fall break trip. If the Carabinieri manage to find the thieves and my purse, which is never going to happen, I hope I get the chance to confront those cowards.
I could really use some cheering up and encouragement friends!

Kate