The US from Across the Ocean

I will preface this blog by saying it is a break from my usual posts and I am not one to share political views on social media. This is not what I am trying to do in this blog, but rather try to express the view we have of the US from across the ocean and the fear some students have of going back.
The other day, as I arrived back from India, I had to email my mother again asking if anyone we knew was affected in the latest headline from the United States, terrorism or not. I am not sure if it is because I am far away from my home country or the availability heuristic kicking in, but home is seeming more and more terrifying from across the ocean at the moment.
My mother waits at home emailing me a ridiculous number of times while I am in these seemingly “dangerous” countries, but I am exponentially safer in some of these cities than my parents are, 20 miles from the latest terrorist attack. My heart breaks every time I get back to the ship and check my email for a letter from our Dean letting us know that we can make emergency calls to friends and family at home in danger – a call many students have had to make, followed by horrible news.
This is not to say that I have not been scared in a country or really disturbed about the current states of many of these countries (I write this as we are on our way to Myanmar, many blogs to come about this experience), but the country I have been homesick for this entire voyage is becoming increasingly frightening.
I have heard so many stories from the black community on this ship detailing the drastic differences between their safety in their hometowns and safety in these countries – most of whom have stated that they fear much less for their lives in these cities than they do driving down a highway in the US.
I have had conversations in which the locals, after I tell them I am from the US, ask about how dangerous it is there for a person of color like them – as they primarily ask about guns. I love my country and my home, but questions like these, from people who only see the headlines of the US, are making me face the scary reality to many citizens of our country.
Prior to boarding this ship, when people asked my biggest fear, it was not that I would get hurt or killed in these “dangerous” countries, but that someone at home would be and I would not be able to get to them. That being said, my friends and family are very safe and happy, but it has not kept me from lying awake at night wondering why I am so scared of this happening to them.
I know I will return to the US and be safe and happy with all my friends and family also safe and happy, but this was just one of the first experiences where I have had to take a step back and look at our country from a distant perspective (and obviously felt the need to write about it so I can read it in 20 years).
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
-KA