Yesterday, I wandered over to Tempe Marketplace, an outdoor mall, with some girlfriends. As we approached the main area, I noticed that tons of people bustled everywhere, spending time with friends, looking for a good restaurant, or just trying to finish Christmas shopping. The large crowd immediately made me nervous, so I slide my over-the- shoulder handbag around to the front of me and reached down to make sure I had the zipper closed. WAIT! WHAT?! Since when does entering Tempe Marketplace mean that I have to keep an eye on all my possessions or even make me nervous? Since I went to Nicaragua, thats when. Haha.
I guess I had grown accustomed to watching out for my stuff, especially in large crowds. I had to chuckle as I realized what I was doing at the entrance of a perfectly safe shopping center (not saying its totally impossible to get robbed, just unlikely). However I have realized, this is not the only habit I picked up from my stay abroad.
For example, every morning I go out for a nice walk through my neighborhood. The first day I went out, a couple of dogs began barking at me. Startled, I was immediately on guard, thinking that the dog may have some terrible disease or something. In Nicaragua I saw thousands of homeless mutts. They normally were missing chunks of hair, super thin, and always on the look out for something to eat. Although they did not really bother me, I made sure I changed paths if a dog stood ahead. I did not want to take any chances.
I noticed that several off the habits or thought patterns that I developed in Nicaragua revolved around safety. I did not want to get robbed nor bitten as mentioned. I guess the safety that I enjoy in the United States was something I took for granted. Although nothing dangerous happened to me while I was away (I did get my phone stolen on a city bus), I did have to grow used to being constantly aware of my surroundings. It is definitely nice to be a little less worried and more carefree now that I am home.
I guess I had grown accustomed to watching out for my stuff, especially in large crowds. I had to chuckle as I realized what I was doing at the entrance of a perfectly safe shopping center (not saying its totally impossible to get robbed, just unlikely). However I have realized, this is not the only habit I picked up from my stay abroad.
For example, every morning I go out for a nice walk through my neighborhood. The first day I went out, a couple of dogs began barking at me. Startled, I was immediately on guard, thinking that the dog may have some terrible disease or something. In Nicaragua I saw thousands of homeless mutts. They normally were missing chunks of hair, super thin, and always on the look out for something to eat. Although they did not really bother me, I made sure I changed paths if a dog stood ahead. I did not want to take any chances.
I noticed that several off the habits or thought patterns that I developed in Nicaragua revolved around safety. I did not want to get robbed nor bitten as mentioned. I guess the safety that I enjoy in the United States was something I took for granted. Although nothing dangerous happened to me while I was away (I did get my phone stolen on a city bus), I did have to grow used to being constantly aware of my surroundings. It is definitely nice to be a little less worried and more carefree now that I am home.
Don't worry, I totally do the same thing with my purse whenever I got to malls or large shopping centers. Uncle Donald's fanny pack got stolen out of Grandma & Grandpa's truck at Tempe Marketplace, so you never know what could happen.
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