i already had breakfast but i really want to partake in a churro. i just love
those things, like crispy delicious donuts. nothing like the ones from Taco Bell, which are good in a different way.
my mom's old friend from college did the Peace Corps in ecuador and 30 years ago and has totally freaked out my family about girls being raped in south america and i have gotten like a million emails from everyone in my family about how South America is not China and how I have to be extememly careful all the time and how could I have thought of coming down here alone before doing any research on how dangerous it is? i am seriously annoyed because:
A. that was 30 years ago
B. i have friends who have lived and traveleld in South America before (ie you guys) and its not like i came here totally unaware of the situation. i asked you guys and other people tons of questions about saftey issues
C. i am careful and not some stupid girl who wanders around the dangerous neighboods late at night alone.
D. it IS equally as dangerous in China or other places as well for lots of reasons (for example, riding my bike) The world IS dangerous no matter where you are
E. the guy who told them this is a parent now with two daughters around our age and the parents are so over protcetic of their kids they wont even let their daughters fly alone, so why take advcie from someone whose daughters have never gone 20 minutes away from their little house, even for college.
I hate that they get their ideas from sensationalist stories and over-protective parents with boring children
Heather - just curious how you reconcile the stance you put forward here - that going abroad was safe - with the first sentence (and really the whole body) of the story you wrote about busses in Peru.
Depending on your point of view, you could say that nothing bad happened on that dangerous street you walked to get to work each day because you were being safe and aware, and that the groping incidents were minor and not worth getting to upset about them.
On the other hand, if something bad had happened to you on that "dangerous" street - would people cavalierly disregard the incident as "another tourist who didn't stay away from the dangerous areas"? And certainly there are some people who would respond much more negatively to the groping on the cambia and the overnight bus.
If you were giving advice to someone interested in going to Peru, would you tell them "Safe as can be, no worries" or would it be more "Mostly safe, you might get groped, watch your back and don't be out late alone."
I think that really safety, like food is something where people are more comfortable with what they know even when "what they know" might be a very dangerous place - or a really disgusting rice and cow heart dish.
Ok, first off--would you just go around and correct all my spelling mistakes? It's my one flaw. I'm just a bad speller and i never use spell check either because I get bored. Also--about the pictures, I sort of liked the anonymity of it all-but then again, my user name is my first and last name.
Moving on, I never said going abroad is safe. I just think there is danger everywhere--so you might as well have a good life and do great things then sit around and never go anywhere because you are scared of something bad happening. Although, I am not flying to Iraq anytime soon..there are limits.
According to Peruvians, they used to tell me every place I would go to was dangerous. They just worried about a gringa in their city. I took precautions when I could--but in the end I tried to have the best possible experience that I could--I probably made some stupid mistakes and I have been VERY lucky. But my point is this--the same could happen at home. I have had a good life so far and if I died now I wouldn't think I had missed anything yet.
What I don't like is when people try to freak me out about the dangers of going to a place.
Yes, the pictures remove some anonymity, but are you more worried about somebody recognizing your face or knowing that Heather Fife was a winner of the 1998 second fall Inexperienced IM tournament?
Ok, so that's exactly what I was curious with "safety". I definitely agree that the world is a scary, dangerous place...but as you point out there are grades of security. You are willing to go to Peru, but not Iraq. Someone who lives in or travels to Iraq would probably point out that to them, Iraq is a very safe place and that are you being paranoid for not being willing to go there. For example, Andy of hobotraveler.com rated Iraq "ADVENTURE TRAVEL COUNTRY" and that was in September of 2003...
How do you reconcile your willingness to draw a line between Peru and Iraq, but not allowing the parent's friend to draw a line between Foster City and Peru?
I feel like everyone draws lines and we should be accepting of where their circles of comfort are. I am a total relativist after all (or not, I forget which sometimes).
Good point Uncle Greg.
What's this about that IM contest? have you been googling me?
i would go to Iraq I think, but I just wouldn't tell my mom I was going. That is the difference.
Also, Foster City is a dangerous place. I had to wear bullet proof vests growing up.
I googled the username that you created - it showed me the intramural debate tournament.
I agree with Heather, that you can just as easily get in a dangerous situation in the US as you can abroad. Especially in a crime-ridden metropolis like Foster City. My friend Jill was traveling to Guatemala a few years ago and her family was worried about her and emailing her to come home. She met a Guatemalan who asked where she was from, and when she said Colorado, the Guatemalan said "isn't that a dangerous place to live" since the Columbine incident had just happened. It's all about perception! I agree that there are limits and that Guatemala has more problems with safety than Denver, Colorado, but no matter where you are things can happen to you--you just have to be smart!
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