maxaroni
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
I agree with @Pea-n-Me in regards to parenting and saying yes, to our adult child to go on the trip.
When I was in my early 20's, I traveled to some of the Caribbean islands with my girlfriend. Aruba happened to be one of the places we went, but what I am about to say, happened all over, not just Aruba. We were 2 single women, young and traveling. We would go to happy hour and enjoy the atmosphere. The hotel staff always seemed to "cozy up" to the young women. We experienced some pick up lines and seeing how others interacted with them. On the trip to Aruba, we got friendly with 2 other young women, traveling with parents, however, being the age that they were, they were more on their own and meeting up for meals. I remember we all spoke about how these guys were hitting on the young women and how easy it would be to make a wrong decision. Being hit on and made to feel special and the next night, its someone else. My point is, we do not know exactly what happened with Natalee, but she was a legal adult, on a trip with many classmates & chaperones. If she was drugged, she would be out of control in this situation. If not, she may have been flattered by the attention of a young man and she could have made a fatal decision.
The Caribbean, IMO, tends to be very romantic and who knows what she was thinking.
With all of that said, she was an 18 year old, who graduated HS and would be off to college in several months. As scary as this trip turned out to be, it can happen anywhere, anytime. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These date rape drugs are deadly and many people have fallen victim. How many of us have met guys/gals in a bar? When I was 18, that was the legal drinking age in NJ and my group of friends did meet guys in bars. There are sickos all over the place and fortunately, for my group we were all lucky.
When I was in my early 20's, I traveled to some of the Caribbean islands with my girlfriend. Aruba happened to be one of the places we went, but what I am about to say, happened all over, not just Aruba. We were 2 single women, young and traveling. We would go to happy hour and enjoy the atmosphere. The hotel staff always seemed to "cozy up" to the young women. We experienced some pick up lines and seeing how others interacted with them. On the trip to Aruba, we got friendly with 2 other young women, traveling with parents, however, being the age that they were, they were more on their own and meeting up for meals. I remember we all spoke about how these guys were hitting on the young women and how easy it would be to make a wrong decision. Being hit on and made to feel special and the next night, its someone else. My point is, we do not know exactly what happened with Natalee, but she was a legal adult, on a trip with many classmates & chaperones. If she was drugged, she would be out of control in this situation. If not, she may have been flattered by the attention of a young man and she could have made a fatal decision.
The Caribbean, IMO, tends to be very romantic and who knows what she was thinking.
With all of that said, she was an 18 year old, who graduated HS and would be off to college in several months. As scary as this trip turned out to be, it can happen anywhere, anytime. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These date rape drugs are deadly and many people have fallen victim. How many of us have met guys/gals in a bar? When I was 18, that was the legal drinking age in NJ and my group of friends did meet guys in bars. There are sickos all over the place and fortunately, for my group we were all lucky.