OT. Guatemala

Someone should ring him

 

He should "have another fall" and guilt trip her into staying and looking after him

 

I'm sure my parents can relate to that. We Skype most weekends. Still not the same as actually spending time with the grandkids in person though.



Anyway, do we think we'll get an update tonight or will we have to wait til tomorrow?

 

Maybe he has agreed a compromise. They can go, but he goes with them....that should be enough to put the boyfriend off!

 

Probably be enough to see off any drug cartels,para-military groups and associated psychopaths

 

100% tomorrow

 

Just stumbled across this thread and all I can say is that Central America is not the place it was of the 70s and 80s with disasters and civil wars (often funded by the USA).When I left Uni a few years ago I wanted to visit somewhere completely different with a different philosophy to life and I ended up in the rainforests of Costa Rica and it is one of the best things I have ever done. I have since been back to Belize, where I met a number of young travellers heading to Guatemala on their own (some female); I intend to go to Panama next. While one cannot say that there are no dangers, fears are higher than risk and much of Central America has changed a great deal. For example, Costa Rica has a third of its country in National Parks and relies on medical tourism and green tourism to support its education. Medical tourism may be the only affordable way for people to get health in the USA if you are not rich.Therefore progressive policies have improved these countries a great deal.

All I can say is that you may not like it but the more that you fight it the more that they will be determined to do it. You have to give people the chance to try things (and perhaps fail) and ,ale their own decisions. Letting go must be the hardest part but they will appreciate you for it and come back around in the long run.

Good luck.

 

A very good point, one that I agree with.

However there is a difference between Costa Rica and Guatemala. Much of the risk is overstated but some of it is understated. I hear horror stories daily from my girlfriend's family in Argentina (which is a heavily developed country compared to most of Central America) about how so and so was robbed, mugged, attacked, etc. Imagine this sort of thing in a country without such a "developed" history, where things aren't quite up to the standard of even Argentina.

Travel-savvy adventurers may make their own luck by avoiding problematic areas, but at the same time there are risk advisories for a reason. The average people are friendly and welcoming, but as we know, not everyone is an average person.

I'd recommend that you let her travel, if she wants to do it. Even if she wants to put aside her studies for a year (today's students are probably far more worn out from studying than they were 20,30,40 years ago) she should be allowed to make her own choices. However, she needs to make smart ones. Going off on an adventure is fine, but you wouldn't let her travel to Syria for example. All the risks need to be explained to her before letting her choose. Though I think RHC has already said that he's not against it, more that he's against the timing.

 

You were absolutely right I think I gave about as perfect a performance as was possible. I'll provide a full update when my MD goes out for lunch

 

Right. It's even more complicated than I first thought. Despite her telling me regularly that everything's going fine at uni, it seems it's not. Two of her main 'friends' on the course have dropped out and apparently, she doesn't like her lecturers. I addressed this with reference to me almost ****ing my degree up. I think I covered that ground pretty effectively.

With respect to Guatemala, it seems when she initially told her mother what she wanted to do, the destination wasn't mentioned. It was only when my other daughter told her that she found out and was/is mortified. I had two long chats with her before and after my meeting.

I first asked Charlie to explain his motives for going. He's a nice enough lad, but he's a loser. He can't hold a job down and has dropped out of two college courses. He has absolutely no idea what he wants to do. He has a mate over there who works in a hotel complex ( www.utopiaecohotel.com ). It's unpaid general handyman **** and all he gets is free bed and board. This is where he intends to work. He's already bought his plane ticket and didn't tell Emily until AFTER he'd done so. I got some serious mileage out of that, in terms of him admitting he was going ANYWAY, irrespective of whether she went or not. He basically wants to drop out. I then went on to the inherent dangers of the place, and showed her one of the posts that Danilo made yesterday. There was a visible reaction from both of them.

I handled the whole thing throughout with humour and a relaxed approach. She certainly didn't get that from her mother and she got exactly the reaction some of you warned of along the lines of 'there's nothing you can do to stop me'. I purposefully didn't ask her not to go, just allowing the cons to massively outweigh the pros. I reckon I've planted some serious doubt in her mind, and even in his about her going.

He flies out in July and she wouldn't be going until September. That gives both me and her mother (mainly me) the opportunity to work on her in his absence. I of course asked him for regular, honest updates on what it's like.

In the end, we gave each other a massive hug and I tole her to realise her potential and not blow it. She smiled and nodded.

I'll bump this now and again with any updates and thanks to all of you for the contributions you made yesterday, particularly Danilo

 

After that account, my guess is she won't go or she will go over and see him for a few weeks holiday and come back home.

Not liking your lecturers is a poor reason to quit, I mean it's a few hours a week and what I told mine when they were at uni was not getting on with, or not liking your tutors or others on the course is good preparation for the world of work were you probably won't get on with a lot of people. A good thing someone told me ages ago - don't let the things which matter most, suffer at the hands of what matters least.

Sounds like you planted a few seeds, now watch and wait!

 

Wait until Bluff hears that Emily is possibly going to yankland

 

I didn't go to uni and got on with everyone I've worked with. Maybe people only fail to get on with everyone because you went to uni

 

The Uni 'reasons' were just crap excuses for trying to justify dropping out.

That place you've linked is nothing more than a rain forest hideaway, beautiful I'm sure, but hardly an opportunity to experience a whole host of different things on a gap year. She needs to sack the knobhead off.

Best thing that could happen is that he leaves as planned and she meets someone else here.

 

Sounds like you handled it well to be fair. So basically he's not even travelling...he's a wannabe beach bum At least she's got time to think it through without too much pressure.

 

What JB said.

What does Charlie actually plan on doing out there? Hang around the hotel with no money?

 

I more or less made the point about lecturers last night

 

You can't have worked with that many then?

It's impossible to get on with everyone. Some of my staff are absolute flutes, but they're work colleagues so I force myself to treat them the same as the ones I actually like.

 

Has the US invaded Guatemala again?