Where? With who? For how long? How? Is your phone hidden?
All of these questions are just the beginning ones that needed answered whenever I wanted to do anything or go anywhere while living in Rosario, Argentina.
My host parents were extremely protective, but to a large extent they had a right to b so. As a foreigner and teenage girl who could hardly speak the language it was scary for them allowing me to roam free in such a large city, especially a city like Rosario. It’s a city of over 2 million people and one of the most dangerous cities in all of South America, although its reputation has been improving over the last few years. It is a large drug capital and is also known for high mugging rates. I was fortunate enough and acted safely enough during my time there that I never faced any serious issues but the fear was real, as was the threat.
Rosario was known to be ruled by a number of competing drug cartels, and to a much smaller extent still is, but over the last few years the government has come down on these groups forcefully and many of the cartel leaders are now behind bars. But with Rosario’s port and sheer size it is no surprise that the drug trade was so large there.
What’s more the police in Argentina are known to be somewhat corrupt and most citizens there fear the police rather than feel protected by them. As a foreigner, I knew that if I were to go to the police I would be protected due to any fear of international incidents, but my friends and family in Argentina weren’t so sure about themselves. Police are most locally accredited for breaking up parties or political protests, two very common events on the day to day basis in Argentina, and therefore their reputation is even worse.
Two memories come to mind of nerve-wracking incidents surrounding safety while abroad. I played soccer with a club team only a block away from my house, but by the time practice ended one night it was dark out so my host dad came to walk me home. He was clearly on edge the whole time and kept telling me to walk faster even though we were only walking for two minutes at most. When we got home he showed me that he had had a metal stick up his sleeve in case someone attacked us and told me I was never to walk alone at night anywhere in Argentina. I was always very punctual getting home from then on.
The other memory is from a block party with my school. It was outside at night with over 100 people, but all of my friends stressed the importance of staying in a group of three or more and that we shouldn’t even get near the end of the block away from the music and lights. They were terrified of getting mugged or kidnapped! These fears were real and they all knew how to remain safe.
When going to another country you need to be more aware of the culture and conditions of the place where you are. I became used to not using my phone unless in a building and getting home before dark and not making eye contact with men while walking about the city by myself. These small actions were hard to get used to but they made it safer for me to live in such a city and avoid dangerous situations. So next time you travel, make sure you consider the safety of where you are going so that you too can have a safe and enjoyable trip!
Tori,
I think this post was very interesting to read. As someone who has never been to a foreign country, I think your experience was eye-opening for me. I think something we definitely take advantage of here, especially on campus at Penn State, is safety. We are naive in a sense; we think that no matter what, we will be okay, but sometimes there truly are unsafe situations that we need to be careful of. I can’t imagine being so scared that you can’t walk somewhere alone, but I guess that was a new experience and you learned a lot from it!
This is the kind of thing that would make my parents worry! The most international travel I’ve done is to Canada, so this kind of experience is unfamiliar territory for me. I found it really interesting to read about what you had to do to stay safe. It’s also interesting and sad that the other people your age in Argentina grew up in these unsafe conditions, so precautionary measures are second nature to them. My mom grew up in Middletown, NY. She’s told me stories about New York City (which is obviously not as bad), saying that a lot of her family members who live in or near the city have been mugged. It happens in a lot of cities, but that must have been terrifying. I can’t imagine walking around the streets of State College worrying about being kidnapped or mugged- I’m already on alert at night.
This was such an interesting read! I think it’s really interesting how different culture in other countries, especially cities, is from America. Even in State College, my parents tell me to be careful walking around late at night. But, I can’t imagine how much of an adjustment this must’ve been for you. I really hope to study abroad one day, y mejorarme el espanol!
-Mel
Hi Tori,
This post was really interesting. It’s easy to feel like everywhere in the world is like State College, but it’s definitely a luxury to be able to walk around campus at any time of day and have little fear of danger. Your story about coming home from practice after dark was particularly illustrative, though – it’s hard to picture a grown man scared enough walking for two minutes to keep a weapon up his sleeve! I am fortunate enough to have not faced any real dangers while traveling abroad, but the dangers of theft or kidnapping are definitely on my mind as I consider traveling to larger cities across the world where these things appear to be quite common. Nice post, I enjoyed reading about the adventures of “Argentori.”