"Taken"

The other day my sister happened to call me and to asked me if I had seen the film Taken. I replied no, then inquired what it was about. A brief synopsis is a pair of girls go to Paris on a trip and are kidnapped, forced in the sex slave trade. My sister then expressed that she was very concerned for my safety while I was abroad in Spain. I spent September 2007 to June 2008 living, studying, working and traveling. I lived in Salamanca, Spain, on school holidays I would often go out of the country and visit the usual: Paris, London, Rome, etc and the not so common: Stockholm, Budapest, Geneve, etc. The only person who really knew my whereabouts as I traveled was my sister. She knew where I was staying, my flight information, what my plan was for the day, etc. I also made sure to call and email every day, especially at night, to let her know I got in okay. 

I mean it came across my mind a few times the danger that a lone woman traveling in Europe could mean. I really did try to be as 'native' as possible, so no one could tell I was a foreigner. I believe it worked pretty well. When I was in Berlin, Budapest and Paris many people thought I was a native and would come up to me asking me information regarding a train or another issue. I would always shake my head and reply, "No, I'm sorry, I don't speak (insert language here)." More than often they would reply back in English, "Oh, you looked like you knew very well what you were doing." SUCCESS! That was my goal while I lived in Europe: to be like a native. 

Now as I reflect on my experiences I realized the amount of danger I had put myself in. I also felt like my mother had prepared enough as I was growing up to know how to identify potentially dangerous situations and how to be discreet in removing myself from harm. For example, when I was in Paris, just outside the Louvre a man approached me and began speaking to me in French. After I said, "Je ne parle pas françis." He began to introduce himself and ask me out to dinner. The first thought in my head was, "Oh no.....I need to get out of this, fast!" So I politely declined and said I had to meet some friends inside, so I walked back into the Louvre. I figured if anything happened I could always scream "HELP!" and I would be helped by someone. After a few minutes, I proceeded to get on the metro and head back to my hostel. 

As I backpacked and traveled in Europe I never really considered that this could be in fact dangerous or that I was a woman traveling by myself. A few weeks ago I had an amazing conversation with Professor Pfordersher, my theology professor, and he said I was "a very strong woman." I had never really thought of myself as being a "strong woman." I always thought I did what I felt was correct and would be best for me. Maybe backpacking solo, despite its flaws, was the best thing I could have done for myself in Europe. It thought me to be truly independent, how to plan, how to strategize, hone on my "street smart" skills and apply the advice my mom had always given me. It also made me realize just how important everything my mother had told was. 

**A bit off topic, but this made me "realize" what we have been learning in my theology course. I just built a "bridge" of true understanding and knowledge to the advice my mother had given me. I never really "understood" its full meaning as it was just being taken in my conscious, but it wasn't until I traveled and was left to my own device that it all made sense.**

Point of blog: I managed to make it back into the US safe and sound with no missing body parts and no traumatic experience. Also, I had an experience of a lifetime!