France Dumb Decision

After my second year of teaching, my friend Diane and I decided to take a tour through Europe.  It was an incredible experience!  First we spent a week in New York and then 3 weeks traveling with a tour company through 9 countries in Europe.  Some countries we only saw one tiny area and a couple of countries we got to explore more.  Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

France was probably my least favorite place we visited.  There were some neat things to see but the people were not always very friendly or kind.  Also, it was at the end of our trip and I'd been away from home for nearly a month so looking back that may have been part of the reason as well.

While we were in Paris, I met a guy in a town square area.  We started talking and flirting a bit.  And then he said he wanted to show me something.  At first I thought he wanted to show me a nearby site and so I went with him but I quickly realized that he was taking me back to his apartment.  I suddenly realized that going with him had been a very foolish, dumb decision and I'd put myself in a precarious position.  On the other hand, I didn't really feel safe to turn around and walk back to my hotel on my own.  I began to pray while talking to him casually and trying to be polite.  He only knew some English and I knew no French so it wasn't even a great conversation...and my fear made it fairly unpleasant.  After a bit of walking, we arrived at his apartment.  He had me sit down and got me a glass of water.  Then he said he'd been right back.  He went to his bedroom and got whatever it was that he wanted to show me (I honestly can't even remember what it was.)  He showed it to me, we talked for a few minutes and then I told him that since we were leaving early the next morning I really should get back to my hotel.  So he walked me back.  Thankfully that was all that happened and I was safe.  I am sure that my prayers helped protect me, and I hadn't intentionally put myself in a dangerous position...However, I realized that I probably needed to be more careful in the future and I don't think I have ever put myself in a situation like that since.  

LESSONS LEARNED:

Think through possible outcomes of a choice before you make the choice.

Prayers are heard and answered.