Traveling alone can be daunting sometimes, but even more so when you are a woman. There are plenty of dangers out there, but thankfully it doesn’t stop millions of people from doing it and enjoying it. Sadly, a user on Reddit has re-told her experience of solo traveling as an American woman, and to say she endured some terrible experiences would be an understatement…
Just Dark Humor or Way Over the Mark?
The original poster (OP) explains that she recently returned from her first-ever solo trip to Western Europe. While she enjoyed herself on the whole, a few encounters she experienced left her with a sour taste in her mouth.
OP explains that the first encounter came in a bar when a guy tried to hit on her. One of his chat-up lines involved asking OP how she could ever date someone back home because all American men love violence and guns.
Then, later on in the trip, she was chatting to a couple of people in her hostel common room when a guy asked her how she could live in the USA because of school shootings. Understandably, this made OP feel super uncomfortable as she felt he was effectively making a joke of dead American children.
Throughout her trip, the same guy relentlessly picked on her and wouldn’t even let her speak without butting in and saying something rude. Fortunately, mid-way through the trip, a couple of Australians turned up and stuck up for her and took her under their wing.
OP was very grateful for these guys because she genuinely felt like the other guy in the hostel hated her. She admitted to being scared about the prospect of ending up alone with him in a room or down one of the hostel corridors.
OP has refused to let it fully dampen her experience and is trying her best not to let it put her off traveling alone again in the future but she is anxious about committing to another trip. Taking to Reddit, she wanted to know if this was a one-off or something she should expect everywhere, she travels.
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Support From All Corners of the Globe
The comments section was flooded with travelers worldwide who have experienced similar stereotypical comments about where they’re from. One German person said:
“You’ve just gotta ignore the idiots. I’m German, so you can imagine the sort of comments I get. Don’t even engage with people like that.”
Meanwhile, a South African Redditor said:
“South African here, I get asked some insanely stupid questions when I travel. I bet every country has its own version of dumb stereotypes to deal with.”
However, a few people in the comments looked at the situation differently. One user said:
“Part of travel is interacting with cultures and their perceptions of us. It’s not a huge deal.”
Have you ever encountered similar people while on vacation? Has it put you off going away again, or have you figured out a way to avoid these types of people? Let us know in the comments.
Read the full story here. This article is produced by The Impulse Traveler.
