Calling all the "been there, done that" Study abroad parents...

Parents Forum
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<p>Son is currently in New Zealand.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>School required we use their insurance, so now he’s covered by 3 policies. Cost was part of the fees.</p></li>
<li><p>No travel insurance. We did buy CSI while he’s in school. According to the policy his property is covered while abroad.</p></li>
<li><p>Son took cell phone, but he turned roaming off. Just uses it when wireless is available. Skype and email has been the main form of direct communications. Facebook has been secondary (mainly for us to find out what he’s been doing via friends).</p></li>
<li><p>Nothing so far.</p></li>
<li><p>Son has used about $100 every two weeks. More when they had their spring break. Exchange rate favors the USD, so your mileage will vary. Do contact her bank and credit card companies to let them know when she’ll be there. Also, check the expiration dates on the cards. The main card my son used expires in the middle of his trip. I had to scramble and put him on another card. I also monitor and pay the card. </p></li>
<li><p>Son just got the adapter. We did get him a new shaver that auto switches between 110 and 220. I believe most phone and computer chargers do this too.</p></li>
</ol>

22

<p>My daughter is in Israel for the year.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Did you purchase an additional health insurance policy for you child? No, but we did make sure our plan covered her abroad, and, in fact, changed plans the previous open season to BC/BS for better coverage. </p></li>
<li><p>Did you purchase any type of travel insurance? No. </p></li>
<li><p>Cell Phone. We have At & t here at home and wondered if anyone had success having their phones “unlocked” and then purchase a SIM card in Europe. Or if just buying a prepaid once she is there is the best best. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>My daughter’s program encouraged participants to rent from a particular vendor that does rentals for foreign visitors and tourists–one nice feature of participating in that option was that calls to/from others on her program (who opted for that plan) are free. However, I have since learned that getting a SIM card for your unlocked phone (turns out my phone was unlockable all along) is really the most economical way to go if you happen to have the right sort of phone, or if you’re going to want to use your smart phone.</p>

<p>The important lesson my sister taught me about traveling abroad with a smart phone is that you MUST TURN OFF ALL THE DATA CONNECTIONS or risk running up huge bills for things your phone is doing in the background that you don’t even know about. So, if you do not plan to use the smart phone you have with a local SIM card, call your carrier and get talked through how to do that.</p>

<ol>
<li>“Wish I would have though of that”-Any thing your student didn’t pack that they sure wish they would have brought along? I had someone tell me “american” peanut butter and kraft mac and cheese…haha.</li>
</ol>

<p>Can’t find Clearasil in Israel. Go figure.</p>

<ol>
<li>Money, Money, Money. I have a child who I would label a moderate spender and her housing and most meals will be covered. Transportation on weekends, weekend road trips, etc, will need to paid by her. Any general idea on “cost per week”?</li>
</ol>

<p>My daughter is surprising us by spending more than we expected–maybe $80/week? Even though her room and board are theoretically covered. And she is NOT a spender.</p>

<p>She is carrying a card where we have set up permission to make transfers into her account. The permissions were set up before she turned 18, and I’m not sure if we could have set them up afterwards. This has proved very useful. </p>

<p>We also gave her a plate on one of our accounts, that has a very high limit, so that if any hideous emergency occurs and she needs to go to the airport and buy a plane ticket for a few grand, she can do so. I think this would be less of a concern in England. </p>

<ol>
<li>Electricity. I have been told by some folks it is easier to have the kids purchase hair dryers, straighteners, etc once they get there. Any advice on that would be great.</li>
</ol>

<p>My daughter took a “power squid” --one of those power strips with lots of 3-prong outlets on stems so they don’t block each other off. That way she was able to use ONE adapter to plug her power strip into the outlet, and then her Kindle, iPod, and netbook (and whatever her roommates needed to charge, too!) could charge at one time. Her phone has an Israeli plug, but if she were using her own phone from home, it would work for that as well. None of these things need converters, just the plug adaptor, so it works well.</p>

<p>She does not use a hair dryer or flat iron–I think those would need converters. Or this might be a good time to rock the air-dried look!</p>

23

<p>My S is very prone to strep throat. Before he went abroad, he asked his doctor for two Z packs, which he took with him. He’s had strep so many times that he knows exactly what to look for. Sure enough, when he felt it coming on, he already had the antibiotic on hand. He didn’t want to fool around with finding a doctor or a pharmacy when he was feeling so bad.</p>

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<p>I am so thrilled with the information on this thread. I am just making a list with every post I read! Of course this should all be my kids research but she calls me her administrative assistant…lol…and I don’t mind helping out because I know she had the ability to it, and she asked for my help. So keep the ideas coming!</p>

<p>Here is another question. Did your child manage to keep life contained in one 50 pound bag? I am pondering whether or not we should pay for an extra bag or spend that money when she gets there to buy her linens, etc. And heck those might even be included, she has an orientation next week for the program and I am sure they will cover that.</p>

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<p>Daughter travelled both times through her college- no requirement for addl medical insurance. She was covered by the same policy the family has at home.
Most small, light cheap hair dryers, etc, bought here, less than $20, have dual power. They can still fry out, but what the hay. She can decide, when there, if she wants to replace them. On her 30 day trip, she went au naturel and survived. Last time I was there, dryers and flat irons were cheap- maybe less than $30 (but the one from WalMart was about $15- and no WalMart/Target around the corner in Europe.) And the cheap euro-versions in the closest shops were not as small as she wanted for travel.</p>

<p>Spending money: the more they have, the more they will spend. D1 was on a stipend each time. On the semester trip, she and friends managed quite a few long distance trips by being savvy about flights (Easy Jet) and using youth hostels. She had a blast. I think she had about 900 in her home bank account and they gave her about 400/month. She used her debit card- now, if you head over to tripadvisor dot com, you can find plenty of scary tales about debit card fraud. I tried to convince her to take trav checks (yessss, they are still accepted at banks and currency exchange places) in case something was stolen. She wouldn’t do that. But, you MUST let the card company know that she will be in country X and when she travels to other countries. They are vigilant (in our experience) about fraud detection- ime, your name must be on her card account to have these conversations with them. </p>

<p>Cell- yes, ask ATT if you can use the phone there, to call locally and to call home. The absolute need for a phone is for 1) personal safety, 2) contacting her friends locally, c) all the other odd calls she may need to make (eg, calling for directions to the hostel.) Other than that, she Skyped us regularly.<br>
Her school arranged prepaid cells and she just upped the minutes, as needed. Very easy in Europe- kiosks or shops do it. But, cheap local call plans in Europe tend to have higher costs for calls to the US. And vice versa. So, it was Skype for reaching us.</p>

<p>Also, she started a tumblr blog, so we were up on weekly details.</p>

<p>She took her favorite US meds- namely Advil. And, plenty of her fav face wash. Being my age, remembering my own trips, and old-fashioned you-know, I also packed Pepto Bismol tablets (again she balked) and cold pills. </p>

<p>On other thing I insisted on (and, yes, she balked) was sent her with one of those tiny nylon purse-like bags with a long shoulder strap- maybe flat, 6" x 5", she could even werar it under a shirt (I hate fanny packs- they scream nervous tourist.) She did use this, loved it- it’s hands free and a secure enough place to keep passport, cash, cards, keys.</p>

<p>And, if you are concerned about terrorism or the Olympics, look up one of the State Dept travel advisory sites- they cover concerns.</p>

<p>As for the 50 lb limit- you can check various individual airline regs- eg, I think Easy Jet has different limits, depending. The overage charges are huge- I think she paid $85. You must insist (and this can take time to sink in) that she keep well under 50, going, in order to accommodate things she buys and brings home on the return trip.</p>

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<p>I personally am not nervous about terror attacks in general, I think we all saw how NYC basically shut down when the towers went down and heaven forbid anything like happen. I just want to make sure it is not financially devastating and there is some type of support system in place to make sure she has a roof over her head and ticket home in case things got crazy.</p>

27

<p>Do you expert parents think there should be any additional precautions taken if your child is in a non-English speaking part of the world? This summer my D will be in an area where I think very few locals speak English and I am worried.</p>

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<p>Usually, when a kid is with a group, the overseers of that group or program have contingency plans in place. You can ask.</p>

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<p>At one time (it’s been a couple of years since mine went) there was a notice on the State Department website that said if your child needed help from them, and they were over a certain age, if they had not previously filed a release with the State Dept authorizing parental or POA contact, the State Dept wouldn’t speak with a parent if there was a problem. I know someone who did need to contact the State Dept, didn’t have the release filled out, and the State Dept. still helped. However, I would have the release on file with them. I didn’t know about this - wasn’t informed by schools.</p>

30

<p>Our son recently returned from Florence.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Health insurance: Yes, required by his program and he did use it for one visit to the clinic - eliminated bureaucracy and good for peace of mind.</p></li>
<li><p>Travel Insurance: Yes, also required by his program. </p></li>
<li><p>Cell Phone - “Everyone” took old unlocked Blackberrys (you will have to convince a “nice” AT&T rep to help you unlock), then purchased Italian SIM cards. This allowed them to BBM each other, as well as stay in contact with kids at home and in other parts of Europe, without charge. Skype is fantastic (and fun for virtual tours), but of no use for emergencies or texting/locating friends. Boys often run out of minutes, so it’s not a bad idea to find out foreign numbers/FB info for friends. But you have a girl, so this will probably not be an issue. NB: “Everyone” who brought an iPhone had it stolen. Thieves were not so interested in old Blackberrys.</p></li>
<li><p>“Wish I would have though of that” - Can’t think of anything you can’t get in the UK/Europe. However, when we visited, our son requested towels(!) and EmergenC.</p></li>
<li><p>Money - Kids in the UK/Europe have the habit of hopping over to Copenhagen or Barcelona for the weekend on a whim. Encourage your daughter to book EasyJet/Ryan Air flights in advance, while they’re still 19 euros or pounds, rather than 259. Once our son got the hang of this, and got used to cooking some meals at home, his spending was not that different from what he spends while at school. </p></li>
<li><p>Electricity - Again, boys require few appliances. If your daughter has room for her dryer, throw it in. If not, get it there. She’ll need a power strip and extension cord anyway for her computer. Our son got to unplug a bit because of power outages in his ancient apartment. He couldn’t always charge his phone, and picked up the retro habits of wearing a watch and using a calculator.</p></li>
</ol>

31

<p>My D did a gap year, before college ( well 5 months) in a non English- non European part of the world after high school & she loved it.</p>

<p>Queens mom, where is your D going & why did she choose that area?</p>

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<p>A bit off topic but RE: #1 - What happened to the NHS in the UK?? When we lived there, D fell seriously ill. We had H’s insurance PLUS additional insurance that on the side. Our local NHS GP told us NOT to go private, that they would not have up to date technology, etc because of costs. We followed his advice. When we went to the local hospital, all they asked was contact info. D was hospitalized for 10days, loads of tests and we never paid a dime, never submitted an insurance claim.
To top it off, the GP made a house call a few days after discharge.</p>

33

<p>1) My son’s program required us to purchase a student health insurance package as part of their tuition & fees. It wasn’t expensive (maybe $150?) and he made use of it when he had a couple of minor illnesses, and when he fell and had to get stitches in his finger. </p>

<p>2) We did not buy trip insurance.</p>

<p>3) I obsessed over the phone thing too. Spent money to unlock an old AT&T phone, and it wasn’t worth it. He ended up buying a prepaid phone really cheaply and adding additional money as he needed it. They’re available everywhere in Europe - at the airport and plenty of stores. </p>

<p>4) I can’t remember any “I wish I’d brought” items. We went to visit him part way thru the spring semester, and he just had us bring him some lighter weight clothes and bring home his wintery clothes.</p>

<p>5) I wouldn’t worry as much about a cost/week as how much she is planning to travel. Our son traveled nearly every weekend. From his base in Barcelona he went to Switzerland, Amsterdam, Granada, Greece, Rome, Prague, Munich and London. Of all of them he said London was easily the most expensive. (Word to the wise…)</p>

<p>6) My son doesn’t use a blow dryer or electric razor. He brought a couple of adapters for his phone (which he ended up not needing, since he bought a prepaid phone), his laptop and his alarm clock.</p>

34

<p>Our son spent last summer in Jordan.</p>

<ol>
<li>I think he was covered by both college and us. Check with your insurance what gets covered.</li>
<li>No travel insurance.
3.Cell phone, the program said he should buy a local phone. We could call him on it at no charge, but it would have been expensive for him to call us. Mostly we used Skype, which worked very well - even from Jordan.</li>
<li>When I lived in Germany I missed oreo cookies, sweet potatoes and pecans. Pretty much everything else I could find in a pinch though it might be pricey.</li>
<li>My kid doesn’t like to shop, so he ended up spending about the same. Got money from the ATM. Had a credit card he shares with us.</li>
<li>Lap tops and razors just need a plug adapter or a cord with the correct plug. My kids don’t use other products or gadgets.</li>
</ol>

35

<p>i’ve heard it’s a good idea to bring some food like granola bars to help while they get used to the flavors and find the markets and eating places. D is a very picky eater and she will most likely bring some food with her.</p>

36

<p>I’m with the prepaid phone/SIM card crowd - or just buy a cheap quadband unlocked phone on Ebay before she goes (easily $50 or under). Depending on your own long distance plan, you might find it cheaper to call her through an international calling card - try pingo.com. Also, my daughter travelled for 2 months after her semester in France ended, through 6 or 7 different countries. For that she used a SIM card from onesimcard.com, which worked wherever she went.
Insurance through CSI (I think) was only about $30 a month for very comprehensive coverage, actually far less than the university was charging - also covers medical evacuation or travel expense for a family member to go to the sick kid - and saves lots of hassle over trying to use your regular health insurance in another country.
If she uses your credit card, or her own ATM card, make sure to notify the bank ahead of time re where she’s going.</p>

37

<p>collegeshopping,</p>

<p>One thing I forgot to add is that for university students, they sell VERY cheap calling cards to call home with. I think it was 2-3 cents/minute to call to the US. I forget the name of them, but they should be available on most uni campuses. The only thing I messed up with regarding these is I didn’t realize it was also eating my prepaid minutes, as I got really homesick one night and made a 2+ hour call home.</p>

<p>Also, if at all possible, do NOT fly through Amsterdam Schiphol. I lost a bag of luggage there, never to be found, and was not reimbursed for the belongings until 2 months into the trip (~$1800 worth of stuff). Luckily I had another bag of luggage in addition to two carry-ons, so I still had enough clothes. After a quick search on the internet, I found that anyone connecting through that airport runs a 25% chance of losing at least one checked item.</p>

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<p>How odd!! The only time I lost luggage was going through Schipol! It was on my honeymoon and didn’t get my stuff for 4 days. Somehow we managed. ;)</p>

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<p>Do not use a convertor for hair dryers/straighteners. Either purchase one with dual/universal voltage here in the States (using an adaptor to plug them in) or buy them overseas. Hair dryers/straighteners are known not to do well with convertors.</p>

<p>QLM</p>

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<p>Also, most laptops convert. Look at the power supply. You can google this, for reassurance. What you need for this is a plug adaptor.</p>