Go Travel
When traveling there’s always worry. We are worried of many things while traveling, worried that we will forget something, worried that our luggage will get lost or stolen, worried about flying, and most of all worried that the place we’re traveling to is unsafe. This Christmas I had the pleasure of going to Fes (Fez) Morocco. Before traveling to Morocco, I too had all those worries. I wasn’t scared because I trusted the preparation we had done for this trip and the stories others had told, but I was nervous. There was this pit in my stomach that never fully went away during the trip. I was traveling to a culture very different from my own with rules and customs that differed from those of the US, especially as a woman. There is a fear that comes with traveling to a culture so far from our own. It may be because we are creatures of habit, or because as humans we need to be educated before we can fully understand something. We tend to be thrown off by anything that isn’t like us and immediately judge rather than try to understand. Humans have created stereotypes that we attach to people and places. Often these stereotypes are based on one experience or fear of the unknown. Days before traveling there was a beheading of two European women in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. This sparked a bit of concern in me, but more caution than anything. I had no intention of not going simply because something horrible happened in a part of a place I was planning to visit, if that were the case, I would never leave my home. As long as the country itself was still deemed safe to travel to, I would. Just imagine all we would miss out on if we were too scared to travel. I had a roommate in college who was terrified to travel to England. I didn’t fully understand the strong fear because, for one, they speak English, there isn’t a huge language barrier, and second, she would only be alone going from the airport to the train where her friend would pick her up. I understood the nerves but not fear. She referenced the movie Taken in our conversation, the movie is about a young girl and her friend who are kidnapped while traveling in France and then trafficked, the main character, the father of the young girl goes on a journey to find her. Once she mentioned this movie I understood her fear a bit more, it had been exaggerated based on watching this film, unfortunately. So I gave her the best advice I could to ease her fear. The best advice I have for fear of traveling anywhere is to be cautious. People will know you’re a tourist, it’s usually obvious so you can’t hide that, what you can do is be aware of the choices you make. Don’t wear clothing that screams tourist, leave your Boston Red Sox’s hat at home. Don’t talk loudly, something we as Americans tend to do, don’t share personal information about where you’re staying or your life back home and be vigilant. If you can, take a picture of the taxi’s license plate and drivers information and don’t always hail a taxi off the street but, through a taxi service or through your hotel. Take down the name of the people you meet and their picture, just to be safe. Be aware of the people around you in public, not only for pickpocketing, which is very common in touristy areas, but to see the way people around you look at you. To see if anyone pays special attention to you if you’re being watched or followed. Certain places in the world are going to be more dangerous than others. Some places are too unsafe to travel to, which is completely understandable. Other places may have a stigma or stereotype attached to them that makes us too scared to travel to, but most of the time if you take the right precautions you should be safe. When it comes to visiting a place with a culture and set of customs so far from your own, there are many fears. I was nervous about traveling to Morocco as an American woman and I wanted to be respectful of this culture I was traveling to. I knew Morocco was, for the most part, a Muslim country, I didn’t know how conservative they were, so I did my research beforehand. I packed scarves and all long sleeves and pants to be safe, luckily for me, it was winter time so it was relatively cold. Now, Morocco is not as conservative as other Muslim countries, and therefore I didn’t have to cover my head. By wearing long sleeves and long pants, I was covered enough. Out of respect for the place I was visiting and to not draw attention to myself I wore just that. While in Morocco I could feel I was being stared at the entire time, naturally, I was a tourist. With a guide and a driver, our hotel suggested, my family and I were never left by ourselves. We were toured around and given a chance to see everything and learn from the locals under the guidance of someone else. As women we had to be with a man the entire time, this was as much a part of their customs as it was for our safety. During this visit, I was constantly on edge based on my own fears of the unknown, but I never felt unsafe. We took the right precautions to make sure we were safe, having guides, not drawing any more attention to us, and staying where we were told it was safe to visit. It was a fantastic experience and trip, which we wouldn’t have had had we been too scared. There are many little things that you can do to be cautious while traveling. You should be aware of your surroundings, make smart decisions, and most of all, TRUST YOUR GUT! If something or someone feels off, 9 times out of 10, you’re right, they’re off! I hope I didn’t scare you, that wasn’t my intention. I don’t want it to sound dangerous because although it can be, it doesn’t mean that’s all it can be. Fear shouldn’t always stop you. I just think that rather than being scared to travel we should research, plan, and then take precautions and do so. Explore the world, explore what is out there, that is how we best learn and grow as people. The truth is you can’t plan for everything in life or control everything, so the best you can do is prepare and be cautious no matter where you go. So go, travel!
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