The French like Pickpocketers

and they especially like me. Obviously the domain for pickpocketers lies in large cities. It's their playground. They turn swiping a wallet from a victim's backpocket into a magic trick. Well, I fell prey to three hawks who tried to take advantage of this poor American girl. Yesterday in the metro, I was walking from class with two of my friends during a pretty busy time for metro traveling. While making a connection, I was in the midst of a swarm of people. I had my backpack on that I bought at LL Bean which has buckles and zippers galore. I'm going to say shamelessly that I get a lot of compliments on it. My dad even supported my decision to buy it and wear it in a place as chic as Pahreee. Well, back to the dark side of the story: while I was walking, I felt a little bit of a tug. I turned around to see if I had hit something or someone, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then I felt another slight tug behind me. This tug however raised some flags because it felt more like the times in high school between classes when your friends would grab your backpack to whip you back as a joke. Only less aggressive. So I turned around really alarmed- as someone who knows (second hand) about filthy, criminal pickpocketers would, and saw a guy staring at me point blank. We had come to a fork in the metro passage, and while my friends were deciding which route we needed, the dude totally looked guilty, yet not quite defeated. I could feel some serious rage happening. We chose path B, and sure enough, he did too. Well, when we got to the waiting zone for the metro, I could see him out of the corner of my eye. Periphs are how I do. Howeverrrrr, I felt another tug.. okay, so this lowlife has some friends. I widen my peripheral zone and saw a girl behind me with her hand a little too close for comfort by my backpack! I quickly take off my pack and see that the zipper is half opened and my plastic bag with my blessed croissant is peeping out. Luckily, I caught them in time. I gave them a dirty look, said some mother-disapproved things under my breath, and walked away, pulling my friends along with me who saw none of this go down. The girl with the curious hands had acted like a common traveler with her boyfriend (criminal partner #3) and they were looking at the metro map while she in turn used her periphs to try and do some unlawful acts.
     I'm so thankful that I wasn't taken advantage of and had caught them in the act. I wish I would have scared them into never doing this hobby of theirs again-because if I, Miss Oblivious, caught them-they should look into pulling bunnies out of hats or something. Or at least pick up the sax and earn some money on the met. Inside the metro, my hands were shaking. They hadn't gotten on as far as could tell, but I felt really angry for their failed attempt. Thieves are terrible people and I wish some nasty things upon them. I think I like beggars with misspelled signs more than you scoundrels.
      However, I had heard backpacks were targeted in places like the metro. They hang off your back where you can't see them, one zip opened, and boom, you can easily be taken a ride for. Two people in my study abroad group from Madison have already had their wallets taken. One girl had her wallet in her mesh pocket (okay I'm not saying that what happened is in any case a surprise) of her backpack and it was stolen within two blocks. Another guy was held at knife point in four in the morning for his wallet. So yeeaaahhh... pickpocketers here are as prevalent as subways in Madison. Just a few suggestions I have learned from this small incident: Be cautious and hide everything from view. Tuck zippers into the pocket or hide them if you are able to. Leave at home your debit card, passport, anything you would have to call home and cancel. If you're going to wear a backpack, wear a black Eastpak backpack (they're popular in France because they are simple and small) and wear it on one shoulder to have an easy hold of when people step into your bubble. Being a victim or knowing a victim of a pickpocketer is as common as knowing a left handed person. Just watch yourself. Because people are watching you..

My Backpack! Although, not in that color thankfully.