Meeting my penpals in Person

Hello,

I've been writing to two penpals for two months, and one of them, after seeing the homepage of my homecity, wishes to travel there to visit me in person. She is very honest with regards to what is sent in her letters to me, and seems quite nice through what I read in her emails. Would you recommend her visiting me, or not? I think it would be nice if she came to visit me, but after all, safety first!!

Does she plan on getting her own hotel and doing some other sightseeing by herself, or relying on you for accomodation?

Ages?

If she has her own place to stay at and you meet her, go with some of your friends in a group if you are worried about safety.

She is 24 years of age, but she doesn't have much time due to her recent job change at the office. I remember her saying, "I would like to visit Regina one day." No travel arrangements have been made as of yet. I'd like to meet her, but I won't have time once university classes begin.

The way that is put sounds like she is making kind talk. "I'd like to visit your home city/town one day" "it looks nice".

It really does. If a first meeting should come up in the future, I'd be glad to welcome her to my homecountry and show her a city and culture that is different from her own.

I'm a part time university student, and there's lots of work involved for only 3 classes! Maybe sometime in 2008, if I can work around my schedule, we'll meet, if we stay e-pals!

It is possible I might be meeting up with one of my penpals within the next month, so I will give you my thoughts on the matter.

Meeting penpals is totally safe if conducted in a safe manner. Take a friend with you. If you feel you may intimidate your penpal by having two of you turn up, make an excuse, such as your friend was travelling the same way, and wished to say hello. If you then feel comfortable to be alone with your penfriend, your friend can make their exit. Make sure both you and your friend have mobile phones with you, so if anything happens and you need them back, you can quickly call (of course, you need a willing friend, or family member!).

If your penfriend wants accommodation with you, proceed with caution. It is far from unheard of for penfriends and chatroom friends to be invited into peoples homes, and steal from them in the night, and other such things. If your penfriend expresses possible problems of where to stay, research for low-budget hotels and such in your area for her, and suggest possible places for them.

All in all, however, as long as you are safe then you *should* meet your penfriend! You should never be scared to meet new people and, as long as you take care of yourself, there is no reason to fear doing so!

Hope this helps ^_^

Thank you. I'll certainly consider your advice. I don't think I've ever heard of penfriends sneeking into the host's home stealing, but that's always a possibility. Online dating can be quite dangerous because many people lie in their profiles, as I have learned in one of my university classes last year.

As I have said, it would be nice to get together and have some fun, but my safety is a top priority. I thank you for your advice. ^__^

That is quite alright, Melissa. I hope you have fun meeting your penfriend!