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Sunday, February 1, 2009
A HUGE THANK YOU/MERCI to everyone who wrote to me/called after the horrid experience I had last night in the metro... It was a great outpouring of support and it was of great comfort to me! It really meant a lot! Brigitte called me after reading my blog and we had a nice long talk, Barbara dedicated a very sweet post to me HEREin support (thanks sooo much, Barbara) and lots of friends sent emails of all sorts- A big thanks to David, for giving me some great tips of what to do in case of an incident like that... I will keep all of it in mind in case there is ever another time like that again-- HOPEFULLY NOT!!
One thing this incident showed me is that you can really be anywhere and not prepared for what is going to happen next. Living in the states, I was always afraid (in the back of my mind) that I could be a victim of a random crime. Where I lived, it was always a very big possibility, though, Thank God, nothing like that has ever happened to me. I have always felt very safe and secure here in France... but these kinds of incidents are just something that can happen and you have to be prepared and not panic when something like that happens.
My biggest fears came from NOT KNOWING what was happening, feeling trapped down in the metro with no EXITS near by and not knowing WHERE it was safe to go. Also, the fact of being exposed to tear gas did not help matters.. That caused me to panic, actually, as I am asthmatic and things like that tend to affect me physically! So, I think I handled the situation as well as I could... I wasn't really freaking out - I was just VERY SCARED and even terrifying to the point of feeling like a trapped animal in a cage. I did communicate in French with people all around me to ask where it was safe to go and how to get back to where I was going. It was all very confusing about WHERE which tunnel I could take that wasn't filled with tear gas. Once I met the woman and her daughter and walked with them to safety, I felt better. Especially not being all alone any longer and seeing the large numbers of police municpale everywhere and all around. I knew that things were under control.
Thanks again, Everyone!
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