While shopping in a butcher shop in Guadalajara metro yesterday a Hispanic man struck up a convo with my husband, asking him from where we came. (We are U.S citizens who live in the U.S.) He said he was from California & hesitantly named 2 different cities when I asked where he lived in California. As we were paying for our purchases I looked across the small store to find him photographing us with his smartphone. When he noticed I was looking right at his face he abruptly stopped & spoke in a low voice to the woman with him. It unnerved me so I insisted we take a circuitous route back to our apartment. We are elderly. Was he targeting us or was I overreacting? We’ve been coming here for ten years & this is only the second time I have been made wary by someone’s behavior.
Safety in Jalisco
If this is a serious post maybe best to pack up and leave! Better safe than sorry!
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My feeling is that the next installment will begin with "It was a dark and stormy night!" Etc.
Sorry.
It is a serious post. I’m not a dramatic, emotional person. I can only assume you believe I was overreacting.
Sort of overacting - yeah!
Maybe time to pack up and return home is the best thing to do. (Just an opinion.)
I don't know anything about Guadalajara / Jalisco, but I do know that it pays to pay attention to gut feelings about safety. One tends to pick up a lot more subtle things that are off than you can later put into words. You say you're elderly, which does make you more of a target then you used to be, though probably more for some kind of scam than for anything involving violence, as the world is a safer place than ever. (Make certain to stay away from certain media which thrive on instilling feelings of unjustified fear by highlighting the exceptions!)
As long as this was a singular occurrence, it doesn't sound like you're overly paranoid. The circuitous route back probably wasn't necessary - but hey, it doesn't hurt either, and if it gave you peace of mind in that moment, then that's worth it in its own right. Be skeptical of any strangers approaching you in the coming days, but otherwise just enjoy the rest of your trip!
[ Edit: Edited on 5 Jan 2023, 17:43 GMT by Sander ]
Thank you, Sander. I appreciate your response.