Cedella Roman c/o Facebook

When you’re traveling to a foreign region, know your boundaries, folks!

19-year-old Cedella Roman, 0f France, definitely learned the hard way on a recent visit to BC, Canada.  The teenager was in Canada visiting her mother who lived in North Delta, BC.  She was hoping to learn English and entered the country on a study permit.

Everything changed on May 21 when she went for a jog and accidentally ended up in the US.  After snapping a quick selfie, she turned around to job back the way she came, when two US customs officials detained her.  Fast forward time and the teenaged ended up in a prison jump suit and in the prison system (for TWO weeks!)

Roman chalks it up to being unclear of her surroundings and not noticing any signs saying she was heading into the US.

As soon as we read this on CBC.ca we were shocked…and then not so shocked.  We try to refrain from any political content on here (after all, it’s a family blog), but we can’t help but attribute this to another one of the US government’s wild and wacky border control missions.

Roman’s mother rushed to the detention centre and provided her daughter’s Passpost, travel documents etc.  And they still kept the child.  In their defense, rules are rules.  And the US is on a known mission to protect their border from illegal immigrants and trespassers.

We figured, this scenario is a good reminder to vacationers to know where you’re traveling to and familiarize yourself with rules, boundaries etc.  Some countries are very tough on foreigners and prison sentences aren’t the same as in north america.  In some instances, it can be very scary and there’s often no talking your way out of it.

So be careful what you bring into a country, what you take out of it, and where you venture.

Note: the above facts on Roman’s case were derived from CBC.ca