Staying Safe Abroad by Bradley University blogger Ashley

Recently, a few friends of mine traveled to Dublin, Ireland for two weeks as part of our university’s study abroad program. I had the opportunity to ask one of my friends three questions about safety abroad. I paraphrased most of her response, but some sentences are direct quotes:


How safe did you feel? More safe than Peoria. There were times when I walked back alone. I think it’s because we were in a very tourist area. Also, it would still be bright outside at like 9, 10 o’clock, and plenty of people were still on the streets. I was never really on the street by myself. I feel like the culture there, crime-wise, are mainly people getting mugged more than sexual crimes, but I really don’t know. I’m not sure of the statistics.


How worried were you about yourself or friends meeting people in Dublin? People were really social, so meeting them was really fine. Most of the people we met were tourists. But I felt cautious because I know people knew that we were tourists, so they could take advantage of us if they wanted to. They know we’re trying to have fun abroad, so we might try to do things that we wouldn’t normally do back home, so it’s different.


Is there any advice you would give anyone traveling abroad (with a group for school or alone/with friends)? Realize that you’re naïve to the culture and the norms. Just because it might be a European culture similar to ours, doesn’t mean that it’ll be the same. People will know that you’re a tourist, based on how you talk and whatnot. Don’t go crazy, especially when drinking, just because you can’t really do that back here (since the drinking age is 18). You’re more naïve than you think you are. I’d say always use the buddy system, even though I did walk alone to places close by where we were staying, just because you never know.


………


According to the U.S. Department of State’s website on travel (


http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1145.html#crime

), “Ireland has a relatively low rate of violent crime. Petty crime and residential crime is much more common, especially in urban and tourist areas.” This reflects exactly what my friend said, but we also have to keep that Dublin has the highest crime rate of the country and is the most popular tourist area.




Whether you’re traveling to Ireland, England, China, Brazil, or anywhere abroad, the rule of thumb is to be aware of your surroundings, do your research on cultural norms, travel with a friend (or even a small group) if possible, and don’t get too carried away with the freedom and let down your guard.