vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #564 / Vladivostok by Braille / Reading article...

This month’s duet of muggings of American citizens in Vladivostok has raised some interesting, but certainly not new, issues regarding safety in a foreign city. As one commenter on our site succinctly suggested, keep your head down, keep your English to yourself, and stay off the streets at night.

Living in a foreign city, especially one with a sparse ex-pat community such as Vladivostok, makes blending into the culture and making as few waves as possible a part of the territory. You might consider living in a city such as this an exercise in being a cultural chameleon.

Of course standing out is part of the fun, and every ex-pat has found himself at one point or another shining a glaring spotlight on that big “Made in the USA” sticker stuck to his forehead. Under the best of circumstances this is a moment to learn a little self-directed humor, but under the worst, that sticker can quickly turn into a bulls-eye.

There seems to be no reason to believe that Americans in particular are being targeted. In fact, both robberies represent a typical ‘wrong place, wrong time’ scenario. However, as the saying goes there is a sucker born every minute, and most of any city’s denizens tend to think they are imported.

Sucker or not, fool or not, any incident can be difficult to deal with when abroad. Dealing with foreign laws and police officials, or if injured, foreign hospitals and medical practices a foreboding potentiality, especially if you don’t speak the language.

It is easy to let your guard down after having lived abroad for a certain amount of time, or easy to disregard local dangers if passing through for a rowdy weekend. Ex-pats by their very nature seem to have an exaggerated sense of indestructibility, which is one of the many reasons we have ventured so far from home. Add a healthy dose of weariness and good old fashioned reasonable behavior and living abroad is a joy well worth any risks.

I include Vladivostok wholeheartedly into this category. It is a city whose streets are worth the walking and whose community is worth befriending. Its fascination is in its future, and its most intriguing and startling offerings are found well off the beaten path. It is an eminently interesting place to live or visit, and I would encourage all comers. Just make sure to come with a little common sense.