Meet in public, make sure you have friends in the area who have your itinerary - someone in another country can do fuck-all to help you in an emergency aside from trying to call your local authorities who may or may not give a shit, consider carrying some self defense options you are capable of effectively wielding and lawfully able to (do not ever carry a weapon you aren't perfectly comfortable with using both physically and morally or it will likely just be used against you), always have multiple escape/emergency plans, and above all: listen to your gut! If something feels off, get the fuck out!