Guests from Hell?
On this, the eve of the arrival of my 30th guest since I landed in Brazil two and a half years ago (my first guest arriving four days after I did!), I thought it apropos to link to this article on guests from hell that the Expatters linked to a few weeks back. Like them, I have to say that I have certainly not had any guests from hell. On the contrary, I am amazed and pleased at how many people have made the effort to trek themselves to Sao Paulo and/or Recife to visit me, often travelling for more than 24 straight hours to do so. I also have to disagree with some of the advice being given to guest-receiving expats in the article, two in particular:
Do not receive guests for the first six months of an overseas posting. While I admit that I see the logic behind this, the pros of receiving guests early on are at least as advantageous as receiving them later on. While the "insiders' tour" will be less extensive and life might be a bit disorganised, early days guests give the host a chance to explore his or her new surroundings, particularly if new friendships have yet to be formed. I'd rather spend a weekend with an old friend early on, than all alone because I haven't made new friends yet.
To discourage long stays, do not keep a fully set-up guest room: Give guests the sofa, whether or not it converts to a bed. This is a bit extreme, no? Should we not give our guests most comfortable space possible, whether it is their own room or a sofa/sleeping space in a common area?
While I have heard first-hand stories of friends or acquaintances of friends inviting themselves to stay with expat hosts, this hasn't been the case here. Maybe being so bloody far from everything does have its uses! On the other hand, I am becoming a much more conscientious hostess. This time around, I even managed to arrange enough groceries for my new guest's breakfast! Seja bem-vindo Daniel - may your stay be the product of months of careful training!
Do not receive guests for the first six months of an overseas posting. While I admit that I see the logic behind this, the pros of receiving guests early on are at least as advantageous as receiving them later on. While the "insiders' tour" will be less extensive and life might be a bit disorganised, early days guests give the host a chance to explore his or her new surroundings, particularly if new friendships have yet to be formed. I'd rather spend a weekend with an old friend early on, than all alone because I haven't made new friends yet.
To discourage long stays, do not keep a fully set-up guest room: Give guests the sofa, whether or not it converts to a bed. This is a bit extreme, no? Should we not give our guests most comfortable space possible, whether it is their own room or a sofa/sleeping space in a common area?
While I have heard first-hand stories of friends or acquaintances of friends inviting themselves to stay with expat hosts, this hasn't been the case here. Maybe being so bloody far from everything does have its uses! On the other hand, I am becoming a much more conscientious hostess. This time around, I even managed to arrange enough groceries for my new guest's breakfast! Seja bem-vindo Daniel - may your stay be the product of months of careful training!
posted by Karen @ 8:19 p.m.
1 Comments:
I especially disagree about the sofa thing, not just because I want guests to be comfortable, but also for more selfish reasons because I don't want to surrender my living room and have to tiptoe around when they're sleeping!
We have friends here who get a steady stream of visitors, and while they admit it's an exaggeration, they say that "guests are like fish...after three days they start to smell."
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