Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Light and the Dark

I don't know and probably will never know for sure if traveling abroad has had anything to do with the fact that my credit card was hacked and over $5,000 of fraudulent charges appeared among my transactions between June 22-29.  But the experience has put a real damper on my travels and destroyed my desire to stay abroad and visit Spain a la Hemingway after the study abroad program ends on July 6.  Although my card company (Chase) assures me I won't be responsible for the fraudulent charges, when something like this happens, it forces you to recognize the extent to which there are nasty folks out there, looking for every opportunity to take advantage of others.

I would have been traveling alone in Spain, which I had some reservations about anyway, not out of any fear of not being able to take care of myself.  It's just that travel experiences are always far richer if you can enjoy them in the company of others.  I had hoped that others could join me in Spain, but for various reasons they couldn't get away from their obligations.  Still, I was prepared to go it alone and experience some of Hemingway's favorite places in San Sebastian, Pamplona, and Madrid, until the hacker took away some of the joy of life.  I'd been hacked once before, but on a small scale compared to this.  Looking at the transactions online felt a lot like watching a ravenous monster insatiably devouring all in its path before I cancelled the card.  You certainly feel violated when this happens.  It's a kind of financial rape, I suppose.

But we move on.  Now I can get back (assuming the airline can find a seat for me) and set to work a week earlier than planned on editing a book manuscript and getting it ready for publication.  And truthfully, I'm happy to have the extra week.  The book (a non-fictional account of a small town Indiana high school basketball team in 1963) really needs to be finished in the next few months.  The 50th anniversary of the team's accomplishments is coming in 2013.

The other bright side has been the group of students on this trip.  Though we've had some challenges and Mark and I needed to be forceful in setting some boundaries early on, the group has got on well without major mishap and they've been a ton of fun to be around.  I wish I hadn't been so busy that I couldn't spend more time with them.  I think the Liverpool field trip exceeded all our expectations and created a few spectacular lifelong memories in the process.  And we still have five more days in London ahead of us, with a Beatles walk, the Natural History Museum, a play at the Globe, and everything else that Britain's great city has to offer.  Who knows for sure, but I think people in this group are likely to remain friends for years to come, if not for the rest of their lives.

And that makes doing all this worthwhile.  The forces of evil can't take that away, can they?

At Hadrian's Wall in the North of England

2 comments:

  1. What a harrowing experience! It sounds like you have a good philosophical take on it, even though that doesn't make it less painful. Imglad to hear that the group is working out well. Debbie and I have been following their adventures, and it is quite entertaining. I hope I can meet up with you guys in London and hear about your exploits in person over a pint or two.

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  2. So sorry to hear that your card number was stolen, Mike. Glad, though, that the group has bonded and that the trip is winding down well.

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