Defensive Shopping

While on my mission in Bolivia, I picked up a few habits. For one thing, I learned to always carry toilet paper with me because most places don't provide it. And I learned how to avoid getting my wallet stolen in crowded places like on the bus or in the market. After I got back to the US, I immediately stopped carrying tp with me everywhere I went, but it was hard to let go of some of the other habits I had picked up.

Within a week after I returned to the states, I walked into a Wal-mart with my wallet in my hand. As soon as I saw the merchandise and the customers, I panicked for a split second. I hugged my wallet to my stomach and my mind raced, looking for some place out of sight to stuff my wallet while I shopped. In a Bolivian market, a wallet held in the hand is too much temptation for a petty thief who wouldn't think twice about grabbing it and taking off. But then I remembered where I was and the countless times I had walked around a Louisiana Wal-mart with my wallet in plain sight without any problems. So I stopped freaking out and made it through the store without hyperventilating.

It seems that those old habits will come in handy this summer when I travel with my family to Cancun, Mexico. I'm sure the resort area is pretty safe, but Dan and I are hoping to see more than the tourist traps, although whether our Spanish is up to that task remains to be seen. I've never been to Mexico, but everything I've read in the guidebooks reminds me of Bolivia. The books even recommend carrying your own tp with you. After my panic attack in Wal-mart, maybe it's surprising that I'm not more anxious about walking around in Mexico, but in fact, I'm practically giddy.

Just the other day I was trying to pass on my helpful tips for pick pocket prevention to my younger sister Katie. I explained that a bag with thick straps is preferable to a purse because the straps are harder to cut and how it's best to carry the bag in front of you with the strap running across your chest rather than letting the bag hang at your side or behind you. As I went on, her eyes got wide and she said, "How scary! I'm just going to stay in the resort district then." And I have to wonder if during that Wal-mart panic attack, my face didn't look a lot like hers did right then. Only then did I realize that my willingness to share my "knowledge" probably wasn't all that helpful afterall. Hopefully she'll make it out of the resort zone despite my attempts to help.