Glad to hear it. My experience (think I have a good few decades on you there) has been that even the most experienced male traveler, when traveling alone, had better know the language. For the life of me, why I can see young Americans with headphones on walking around major cities in foreign countries is quite simply beyond me. Nothing is more essential than knowing what noises are around you--especially if you don't know the language, and moreso if you do.
Stay above the second floor, don't sit in an aisle seat, etc. Relying on the good graces of the foreign nationals drops exponentially with sunset. Good to know.
Yeah, you were safe. And, you were in Europe.
These blue water places in the Caribbean are pretty, yes, but they are famous for their offshore banks, after all, and now this. Sure, it's nothing compared to a single day in any city in the US. It's just sad. And, yes, they need to solve this, or say they have, toute suite.
Aruba isn't famous for its offshore banks or anything else notorious. It's famous for being a small island with a dutch (white) population where there is hardly any crime. Vacationers do not have to worry about being approached with panhandlers or the like.
Aruba is nothing like Jamaica or any other island in the Caribbean. It's like a small town in the United States.