Welcome! It is always interesting to hear observations and perspectives from Americans living abroad. We at home often only have the view through a glass darkly.
Oh man! How much time do you have? "I'm a pretty avid and adventurous traveler" is the short answer I've lived in China for three years prior, and then met a beautiful Belgian girl and since her job is location specific and mine isn't, I was the one to move haha.
Thanks! Indeed. We are a breed that doesn't travel abroad a lot. Best perspective I can give is, forget what the state department website and media tell you about the world. That's about 1% of what actually happens in most places (and people out here are exceptionally friendly usually if you are!). I find if you learn a few words of their language ("hello" and "thank you" and a few numbers will usually do) and smile a lot, most of the barriers break down VERY quickly.
Welcome. I refuse to take your advise on traveling to the most dangerous places on the planet with State Dept warnings. Nowhere in Africa is safe. I'll NOT be going to Afghanistan or Syria. How well would I be treated wearing my jacket with a giant US Flag and a large cross on my neck?
I'm not recommending you go wandering into the most dangerous places on the planet lol. My point was, 99% of the places that are "dangerous" are actually not that dangerous with some basic understanding of how to handle yourself and how to be respectful of local culture (hint: being in your face about your national pride in other people's countries is not how to make a good first impression. How would you feel if someone did that in the US?). I have close personal friends who have been to Afghanistan many times. Friends who live in Karachi and are from Karachi. And even a friend who has spent time in Peshawar just "passing through". Everyone has said that people were super friendly. But yes, you need to keep a low profile and be careful (just like you do in any risky neighborhood in the US). But that's the 1%. Case in point, the other 'Stan countries like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, are all pretty safe as long as you're not strutting around and being obnoxious. Those are typically listed as dangerous on the State Dept. website. But I've never had problems in any of them that I've been to. Often, if you're a really nice person, trustworthy locals will go way out of their way to watch your back (I've had this happen to me many times). Many people are super aware of how they're perceived internationally and will work hard to reverse that.
Really, I don't have a jacket with a large American flag on it. But I do wear a more subdued shirt like this sometimes: I have no plans ever, of visiting -stan (home of Muslims) places, Libya, Yemen and certainly no war zones. If the vast majority in a nation are intolerant of Americans and Christians, then I will not tolerate their intolerance!
