<p>Anyone's child have a recent study abroad. I'm taking suggestions.
DD is considering minimal, if any, travel outside of Italy.</p>
<p>We are thinking: get a pay as you go Italian phone upon arrival for local peer to peer contact and using e-mail, G-chat, Skype and an international calling card for contact with stateside friends and loved ones.</p>
<p>Are we missing something?</p>
<p>We have just been dealing w/ this as my d left for Geneva, Switzerland today (flying there as I type). Here is what we have done so far–
-Since she has a blackberry, she can use her cell phone all over Europe. We signed up for an ATT Int’l package that allows her to use her cell phone at reduced roaming charges. The roaming charges are still expensive but the package is only $5.99/month. This allows us to reach her, or she us, at any time.
-We have Verizon for our land line phone. We added a package that for $10.00/month we can call her at a land line phone for 300 minutes/month at no charge (obviously other than the $10.) This $0.033 a minute which is comparable to calling cards.
-We also got her a data package, but that was specifically for her blackberry.</p>
<p>E-mail, Skype, etc. are great if you have internet (not dial-up) readily available at no cost. That will probably not be the case for my d in Switzerland. She will have to pay for wi-fi where available.</p>
<p>She is also considering a local pay as you go phone for peer to peer. I think that is a good idea.</p>
<p>I studied abroad in Florence this past spring, and my advice would be for her to get internet through one of the wireless internet options in Florence, just for the fact that Skype is free and you could use only that to talk to her, as well as she could for all of her friends at home. My apartment didn’t do that (we were one of the only ones who did not) and we REALLY regretted it, because although my mom got the verizon long distance plan as mentioned by morrismm, my phone still charged me a ton for long distance on top of that. Also, it costs a minumum of 39c just for calling a friend in Florence. It really racks up. I could have had Skype and talked to my friends in Florence for free. Of course, she will need a phone for emergency reasons, but if her blackberry works that is a good option. Or she can get a phone through some of the phone providers there, but I would NOT reccomend Piccell. It is the most popular but it bilks students out of money. All of my classmates agreed by the end that they should have gotten a pay as you go phone where you buy a card for 10 euros and use it until it runs out then get another one. Of course, this could last you a long time if you had Skype and barely had to use the phone!! </p>
<p>On a lighter note, I hope your daughter has an amazing semester. The past spring was the best time of my life, and I dream about it often just because of how much it changed me and how much I wish I was there still with the best friends that I made. Tell her to not worry about money, bc she will never have this chance again and she can always pay it back later (as I just had to work a TON this summer to do so). Hopefully you are going to go visit her while she is in florence so you can experience it also if you have never been there! Florence is SUCH a neat city.</p>
<p>Hoosier31,
Did you mean wireless internet in the apartment?
Do you have a website link?</p>
<p>We are planning a visit this fall; will be there on MY birthday :)</p>
<p>Yeah, I do mean wireless in the apartment. I can’t remember the best place to get it from at the top of my head, but if her program does not come with it (some of them do), then she will be bombarded with flyers when she gets there. She could ask the people that work at her school for the best advice of where to go!</p>
<p>Have fun in Florence! Make sure you go to Perche No gelateria :)</p>
<p>morrismm,
rather than $10/month through verizon to a landline, why not add the $2.95/month option to your Skype and call her cell from your computer.</p>
<p>Anyone studying abroad in Italy, Spain, France, whatever can buy a prepaid cell phone (same as T-mobile in the US, for example). Usually the cost is around 20 Euros for the cheapest prepaid phone, and then credit (“talk-time”) can be added to the phone in 5 or 10 euro increments.</p>
<p>When you call someone in Europe on a European cell phone, The Receive Of The Call does not pay a cent – it’s free to make calls.</p>
<p>Calling from a prepaid cellphone to the US can be a bit pricey, however. For calls to the US if you have a cell phone, you can use a calling card, in which case whoever is calling to the US from Europe (on the prepaid phone) would pay the local charges to call the Calling Card, and then would also pay the discounted rate per minute charged by the Calling Card Company to call the US.</p>
<p>There are also phone centers, skype, etc.</p>
<p>Receiving phone calls on European cell phones is free…</p>
<p>Hoosier, by any chance did you participate in the SACI program? My D, a studio art major with a ceramics concentration, is interested in that program for next fall. I’ve asked on CC, but have gotten no responses from anyone about this particular program.</p>
<p>That sounds like a good idea, Mominva. Luckily, pay-as-you-go phones are the norm for most Europeans, so finding one will be super easy. </p>
<p>I run a study abroad blog and one of my writers wrote about this very thing. You may want to read her article for some tips, different plans and providers, etc: [Choosing</a> a European Cell Provider | studentsineurope](<a href=“http://www.studentsineurope.com/2009/11/10/european-cell-providers/]Choosing”>http://www.studentsineurope.com/2009/11/10/european-cell-providers/)</p>
<p>Here’s another article about calling home for next to nothing: [Calling</a> Home on the Cheap | studentsineurope](<a href=“http://www.studentsineurope.com/2009/11/13/internet-calling-voip/]Calling”>http://www.studentsineurope.com/2009/11/13/internet-calling-voip/)</p>
<p>Hope she has an amazing time!</p>
<p>@mominva …
Its all are good ideas for reducing expenses while roaming outside the country.Getting a good international calling card is is the perfect communications solution for people looking to make and receive local and international calls, send and receive text messages whilst without spending a fortune in roaming charges…There are many international calling cards available .Before using international calling cards make sure that your mobile is unlocked from network lock.If it is locked with any carrier network means you can unlock it by getting the unlocking service by software or by an online provider like [URL="<a href="http://www.unlock-zone.com/supported-phones/rs5wp7/“]Unlock-Zone.com[/URL”>http://www.unlock-zone.com/supported-phones/rs5wp7/"]Unlock-Zone.com[/URL</a>] .To call home from the abroad ,Skype-To-Go are still great options Aslo use free Wi-Fi as often as possible</p>
<p>My daughter is returning from a semester abroad day after tomorrow. Even in the age of technology, and remembering my own year in Europe back in prehistoric times before any of these skype/cell/wi fi options ever existed (yeah, only snail mail and maybe a collect call across the ocean for an emergency or a telegram)… in light of that, I just survived an entire semester with NO skype… just messaging via FaceBook and then occasional emails. My daughter was required to have a phone 24/7 and went with a plan her program recommended (and nope, I have no clue what she purchased)… and she had wi fi on her I-phone but data turned completely off until she gets home. We have survived. Yes, she wishes we could skype, but I am happy she ‘lived without me’ and became more independent. She even went to other countries with friends and yup, survived it all. I hope the OP’s daughter has a fantastic experience like Hoosier31’s ‘lighter note’ described. :)</p>