Acts of terrorism can happen anywhere at any time. When someone signs up to study abroad, their thoughts are consumed with the idea of traveling to unknown places, meeting foreign people or planning weekend getaways of a lifetime. They might feel excited, nervous, anxious, or overwhelmed but that’s because they are about to enter an exciting but unknown chapter of their life. Things that aren’t usually immediate concerns are political issues, war, or even terrorism abroad. In all honesty, what are the chances anything serious is going to happen during the four short months that a person is abroad? But sometimes situations aren’t always in your control.
It’s a November evening on Friday the 13th, 2015. I am in the South of France, in the town of Toulouse. I am there for the weekend with my study abroad program ISA. A group of my friends and I spent our first night roaming around the city. A couple of us decided to head back, since we had to be up early the next morning. We got to the hotel and as I sit down to relax, I notice I have several text messages from some of my family members. They are concerned and are asking me where I am. Something awful has happened in Paris and they want to make sure I’m far away from it. I quickly turn on the news and see that there has been several terrorist attacks throughout Paris. I remember that some of my classmates have traveled to Paris this weekend which makes my stomach turn. We watch for the next hour as the night unfolds. The death toll continues to rise as more attacks are being reported. We watched helplessly, scared for what will happen in Europe as the result of all these attacks. Right before we turn the TV off for the night, France makes an announcement that they were in a state of emergency and they are closing their borders until further notice.
Never would I have expected this to happen while I was abroad, let alone in the same country that I am visiting. It was only three short weeks prior that I was in that very city. The following morning, I received emails from my school in the United States as well as my study abroad program looking for confirmation that I was alright. I also found out that my fellow students that were in Paris were unharmed from any of the attacks.
There were several shootings at restaurants and popular areas around the city. A suicide bomber detonated the bomb he was wearing right outside a football match, as well as hundreds of people held hostage at a concert hall. By the end of the weekend, 130 innocent people had lost their lives in these senseless terrorist attacks that were confirmed to be retaliation from ISIS. Everyone was shaken up by the experience and people started to question their safety abroad.
Every experience abroad can be a learning experience in my opinion. The weekend of November 13th, 2015 was an eye opener. At first, I was frightened to be in Europe. I felt like I was more vulnerable to these attacks just by being here. The reality of this situation is that these terrorist attacks can happen anywhere, at anytime. It could even happen in the United States. No one knows when tragedy will strike. I already have had many people ask me if I’m scared to stay in Barcelona or to travel around Europe on the weekends. I’ve heard about students that were studying abroad in Belgium and London but are returning back to the United States due to warnings in these areas. As of right now, I think it is too soon to return back the United Sates because of this. Political issues arise in certain areas at certain times that every day citizens have no control over. You can’t just put life on hold after one horrible incident. I think it is obviously important to take precautions with any foreign destination, but at the same time, don’t let fear control you. It is important to acknowledge what happened in Paris and use that as a learning experience. Here in Europe the best thing to do is take it day by day and see how this issue develops.
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