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Why I Feel Safer Living in Colombia Than the United States
Am I alone?
The first time I went abroad alone was in 2014. I went to Bali; I volunteered to teach English to locals.
I was placed with six other volunteers, and we stayed at a local homestay. We had banana pancakes for breakfast every day and tea. It was terrific; it was my first taste of solo traveling.
To say I was addicted would be an understatement. It was also my first lesson in how others saw the US.
Now that I have lived outside my home country for four years, I no longer see through rose-colored glasses. I can see it from both sides of the coin.
I see the good, bad, and ugly. I learned this lesson from a young German guy in Bali. He was a reader; we instantly connected; he was ten years younger than me and had just graduated high school.
He was in a gap year. I was in the middle of my nursing career and on a two-week vacation. Without my boyfriend, and yes, he made sure all his friends knew I wanted to go alone, and he was not invited.
I dumped him when I got back from Bali, if you wondered.
I was talking to my new friend, explaining how the only other time I left the US was with my ex-husband; we went to England, Scotland, Wales, and Spain. I loved…
