SECURITY

dublin, ireland
at the beginning of my first big adventure, i was a nervous nelly about my stuff, and jeez, i had so much of it! but this was before the world of electronic books, the internet, cell phones and bank cards, so you can hardly blame me.

aside from the 70lb backpack that was mentioned in an earlier post, i also had on my person, that first week of travel, my passport, $1,000 in travelers checks, 2,000 american dollars, 2,500 british pounds, a eurail pass and a trans siberian train ticket. all of this could be stuffed into a plastic pouch meant to be worn around the neck. it was waterproof, so it could be taken into the shower, perfect for the kid who is staying in youth hostels that offer no privacy or security.
well, talk about rookie mistakes - my first night i dumped my pack on the floor by my bunk and prepared to take a shower. i pulled out the waterproof pouch and put all of the money, etc. in it, grabbed some clothes to change into, toiletries and my travel towel and headed to the communal showers. as i washed my hair i thought about the safety issue and was glad i had that pouch -
wait, where was the pouch?
through the shampoo suds i madly searched the shower stall and looked through the tiny pile of clothes, no pouch. without taking the time to rinse my hair, i grabbed the insignificant towel and ran back to my room, a room i shared with fifteen others. folks looked at me queerly, and why not, but all i had eyes for was that damn pouch! i ran to the bunk, and there it sat, on top of the bed, waiting for some kind soul to take a shine to it! i grabbed it and ran back to the showers.
i couldn't believe my luck. my trip could have ended right then and there, at my very first stop. that particular fear induced rush of adrenaline was so unpleasant (i can still remember the roiling of my stomach) i never left that pouch anywhere again.

one of the hardest parts about backpacking is feeling like your possessions are never really safe, that you aren't ever really safe. there are opportunists, pickpockets and nasty, bolder thieves, thugs who like to hit things, rapists and murderers - just like at home! but at home you have your home, and it provides an illusion of safety that gives you peace of mind. you also have accumulated knowledge of what parts of town are especially dodgy and even if you live in that neighborhood, you know, roughly, how to avoid being a victim.
when on the road, i don't really think you are in more danger, but when you don't know your surroundings very well, you are more likely to accidentally wander into a dead end alley or a part of town that the locals refer to as 'murder city' (or, as in the case with my belfast experience, not realize that a place you want to go presents dangers to the ignorant) and without the safety net of the known, you find yourself operating on a higher level of alert which is stressful and exhausting.
rookie mistakes still get made all these years later, but accumulated knowledge means they happen less often and usually come with less painful consequences. touch wood - let's see what happens this first time of traveling with my computer...