Natalee Hollaway is the reason I'll never be allowed to go to the Caribbean without family. My dad read her dad's book when I was young and still brings it up sometimes. Not complaining, I wouldn't ever want to go alone, and I'm the most mature of my group of friends and that would make it more scary for me, honestly.
I received a dislike from her today as well although I have no real idea why.I think so. I was reading along and see you had a dislike rating so I clicked on it since I thought "wow, rude!" It was someone who just joined yesterday named bob james, a female no less.
I remember hearing a story some years ago about a girl who went to Rome with Latin students from her high school (it was a language trip) and the school forgot her in Rome and her parents freaked out. I think they brought her back a few weeks later.
You handled that better than I would have. So glad it worked out. That's the stuff where grey hair comes from.
Leave this thread for a couple of days, come back and there are discussions about hijacking, the plot of Taken, and serial killers.
I'll add my teenage travel story though. When I was 13 I was staying in Italy and the host daughter and her friends took a few of us out for the evening. My mom texted me from the US at about 2am asking how I was, and got the response "I'm at a dive bar called the Jolly Roger!" She was surprisingly calm.
Cheer in NY does not have States yet but we think that is where it is leading since it just officially became a sport as of the November season. All our other sports have States as their final goal - our boys soccer team actually won States this year, and the girls basketball team is heading there now. With the exception of cheer and dance, no other teams travel outside of NYS.
I have, twice so far, and would have no problem doing it again. Both times a short flight to visit her cheer friend
in Boston. I was able to walk her to the gate both times and meet her when she landed back in NY. I told the gate attendants she was a minor but she was not flying as an unaccompanied minor (which was an additional $200 expense and not needed). Her friend in Boston was not allowed to bring her to the gate as they were told that something along the lines of Boston obviously having more reason for increased security than NY.......but cp was fine with that. Her friend has visited us as well.
My oldest (17 1/2 ) went on a community service aka teen tour with some social conscience trip to South Africa last summer between junior and senior years. They flew there in a group but since she was on the shorter version of the trip, she and maybe 3-4 other kids her age flew home alone after being brought to the airport by the trip leaders. She also just went on her HS senior trip to France and England this past February; they had alot of down time where they did things in small groups on their own. I think it is a phenomenal experience but the kids need to learn before they go to be aware of things like keeping their $, passports and phones close on them. We did not have a huge amount of phone contact on either trip but were able to text via Viber whenever they had wifi which was fantastic.
This is true, but the world hasn't always had reason to be as paranoid as they are now. It's kinda like how airport security was before and after 9/11. It wasn't taken as seriously because nobody thought it would happen, until it did. Cases like Natalee Holloway's are the reason we are cautious now, but back then I'm sure it was different.
We called it "state" on the west coast.
