I read this a few days ago, but it’s got me thinking.
I come from a very small village (deep, deep in the country) where we leave our doors open during the day (and sometimes night, too) and I genuinely did not understand when I moved out to study and my friends would insist that the boys in our group would walk me when I got home alone. I thought it was silly to be scared, but fear is contagious, and though nothing ever happened to me, a few months later I was at best uncomfortable when I was walking alone in the street and it was getting dark, and my door would always be locked (I’d double-check as soon as I was in). Your post got me thinking about that again, because I’ve travelled to foreign countries where I didn’t even speak the language, and I did not feel nearly as uncomfortable or anxious as that ten minutes’ walk going home from a party at two in the morning. I wonder where that comes from. Why would we feel more hesitant to travel in our own country than abroad?
I come from a very small village (deep, deep in the country) where we leave our doors open during the day (and sometimes night, too) and I genuinely did not understand when I moved out to study and my friends would insist that the boys in our group would walk me when I got home alone. I thought it was silly to be scared, but fear is contagious, and though nothing ever happened to me, a few months later I was at best uncomfortable when I was walking alone in the street and it was getting dark, and my door would always be locked (I’d double-check as soon as I was in). Your post got me thinking about that again, because I’ve travelled to foreign countries where I didn’t even speak the language, and I did not feel nearly as uncomfortable or anxious as that ten minutes’ walk going home from a party at two in the morning. I wonder where that comes from. Why would we feel more hesitant to travel in our own country than abroad?
That said, I hope you have a very nice trip.