Student leaving soon to study in Europe. What are we forgetting?

Parents Forum
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<p>Automatic 2-month extension to file and pay if living abroad:</p>

<p>U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad - Automatic 2 Month Extension of Time to File</p>

<p>You may be allowed an automatic 2-month extension of time to file your return and pay any federal income tax that is due. You will be allowed the extension if you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien and on the regular due date of your return:</p>

<p>You are living outside of the United States and Puerto Rico and your main place of business or post of duty is outside the United States and Puerto Rico, or</p>

<p>You are in military or naval service on duty outside the United States and Puerto Rico
If you use a calendar year, the regular due date of your return is April 15, and the automatic extended due date would be June 15. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is delayed until the next business day.</p>

<p>[U.S&lt;/a&gt;. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad - Automatic 2 Month Extension of Time to File](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/U.S.-Citizens-and-Resident-Aliens-Abroad---Automatic-2-Month-Extension-of-Time-to-File]U.S”>http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/U.S.-Citizens-and-Resident-Aliens-Abroad---Automatic-2-Month-Extension-of-Time-to-File)</p>

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<p>Gather up a list of contact phone numbers for all of your D’s ATM and credit cards. Include both the “call-us-collect-from-abroad” number and the domestic number. Email that to your D and to yourself. If she loses her cards or is robbed, she and you will have all of that in one handy spot. We also included the policy number and phone number for her dorm insurance (which covered losses abroad) and her health insurance. </p>

<p>Keep a copy of her account numbers at home, as well. Though it is indeed possible to get a stop placed on an account when you just have name and social security number, it’s easier with the specific account number. I unfortunately say this from personal experience. </p>

<p>I could say she should take with some reusable bags but it’s much more fun to buy some there and then have them as souvenirs. </p>

<p>And have her pack grace under pressure, a sense of humor, and as much calm as she can stuff in. Things happen. Wallets can be lifted, people can get lost or get sick. It generally all works out OK.</p>

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<p>Our experience in Eastern Europe two years ago was that merchants would take local currency, Euros, dollars and rubles.</p>

<p>Copies of all insurance cards, bank accounts/credit cards, visas, passport, medications taken (and dosages). Phone numbers for doctors at home. You should have copies of all these things, too. </p>

<p>I bought scarves once I got overseas. Used them frequently. They are lovely souvenirs and are not terribly expensive.</p>

<p>Get an int’l cell phone upon arrival.</p>

<p>Have a good idea of the currency conversion rates. When we got off the train in Prague, the taxi drivers were more than happy to rip us off. We were able to calculate in our heads that some wants $35 for a five-minute drive to the hotel.</p>

<p>If she is taking public transit from the airport to her hotel/meetup place, print out schedules in advance. </p>

<p>Set up Skype on her laptop.</p>

<p>If she has to change planes & when she goes through customs, make sure she puts her passport & visa back in a safe place. </p>

<p>S uploaded his pictures from his camera to both his laptop and the cloud (Dropbox, Google drive) while he was overseas in case anything happened to his camera. Good thing, too – he lost his camera the last day – but had the mem stick in his laptop and all but a couple pics online.</p>

<p>Don’t pack to the max weight – there will be things she wants to get and bring home. Take old underwear and some old clothes – toss before flying back to create more space in her suitcase.</p>

<p>BTDT – S2 left his passport on the plane in the seat pocket at Heathrow en route to Russia. UK Customs LET HIM THROUGH CUSTOMS WITHOUT A PASSPORT! I nearly had another heart attack that night, as it was the night of the big derecho storm here in DC, and I was on the phone with United & the US Embassy in London much of the night checking out options for finding/replacing the passport. We also lost power during a massive heat wave at a point when A/C was essential for me. S had not planned to get an int’l phone until he arrived in Moscow because of SIM-card specific issues and London was only an 8 hr layover. He spent most of the night camped at the United check-in waiting for the morning crew to show up and to beg someone to go check the plane for his passport. Good news: he got it, had a wonderful trip, learned to be more responsible with those pesky important papers.</p>

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<p>Biggie – if she uses a credit card, make sure the merchant rings it up in the LOCAL CURRENCY. Doing it in dollars means she’d be effectively charged for two conversion rates.</p>

<p>S2 regretted taking out small amts of cash from the ATMs – his bank charged a set fee for every WDR and it cost him a lot. OTOH, he thought he was being careful by not carrying lots of cash.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>Make sure parents have all the passwords for the kiddie accounts on hand before leaving. And ALL the stupid security questions. The parent should be able to talk to banks, CC, etc by pretending to be the student abroad. Small lie that pays dividends to resolve any blocked CC accounts that could be hard to do from the tundra. </p>

<p>Try all the contacts before the student leaves. </p>

<p>Upon arrival, check all charges for a few weeks to spot overcharges and … fees. It should help ferret out ATM poor uses such as multiple 20 dollars debits. Be prepared to request replacement cards. Not if they got misplaced, but … when.</p>

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<p>For those debating the peanut butter, believe me after 6 weeks in Germany I had enough culture and craved something from home. I loved the meals there, but sometimes you just want something familiar. I would just take a regular jar and consider that space for souvenirs on the way home. Also, I went to the post office weekly and in my best German asked for postage to mail my letters home. Same clerk each time. Week 5 he asked me in perfect English where in America I was from, and oh his sister lived in Ames, Iowa. In other words many speak English there, especially young adults. In Germany for instance the high school students have to take years of English and pass a literacy test to graduate. I always found young adults to help with directions and stuff. Some will pretend not to understand though, but don’t take it personally. Enjoy!</p>

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<p>Also, remind your traveler that foreign laws can be very different than the u.s. to be respectful, etc of police because in some countries you can be placed in jail for verbal altercations, etc. not likely, but arrogance could get you in jail and many countries don’t share our guidelines of due process.</p>

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<p>Hope this isn’t already listed so I’m not being repetitive, but check your homeowner’s insurance re: if the PC is stolen, is it covered. I found out I had to buy an extra policy, and I’m glad I did. Some of the students in my daughter’s program went on a long weekend to another country/city, and someone stole their laptops and other personal items while they were not in their room, plus to think that even here at home it wasn’t covered under my homeowner’s…</p>

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<p>When groups swarm around you to beg or try and sell you something be extra vigilant. This is the perfect ploy of a group of pickpockets. And they can be adults, kids, or moms with kids. I saw 3 adult women with 4 toddlers attempt this on a train in Italy. Their target was an older american couple. Us four american adults circled our countrymen and kept them from getting anything. In less than 1 minute they had their backpacks unzipped and had checked two of the man’s pockets. Literally, the older couple did not know why we surrounded them until we all got off the train and explained it to them. The man said he thought he felt something in his pocket. Some people buy locks to put on their backpacks but I just put a safety pin across the zipper when closed so it couldn’t be opened. I always had a money belt too. That’s why I said earlier NEVER leave your pack unattended and I always kept my between my feet when sitting. Someone could take it from the luggage area and get off the train and they will never be questioned.</p>

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<p>Interesting comments about peanut butter. </p>

<p>[Bad</a> News For U.S. Farmers: Europeans Still Don’t Eat Much Peanut Butter : Planet Money : NPR](<a href=“Bad News For U.S. Farmers: Europeans Still Don't Eat Much Peanut Butter : Planet Money : NPR”>Bad News For U.S. Farmers: Europeans Still Don't Eat Much Peanut Butter : Planet Money : NPR)</p>

<p>The Europeans think PB is strange. Probably considering they feast on delicious butter, Nutella, or on that Speculoos stuff … we have elevated to a cult status at Traders Joe. </p>

<p>I don’t think it would ever occur to me to look for PB in a foreign country. Anymore than I’d be looking for the comparatively crappy Ghirardelli or Hershey products.</p>

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<p>They don’t eat corn on the cob either, that is pig food!!!</p>

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<p>Used my luggage strap to attach my bag to the luggage rack on trains.
It will not prevent a determined thief but prevent a snatch and run off the train thief.
Best to pack smaller bag and keep at knees.
Tell your d to never rest her possessions on a table esp. her purse and electronics.
Distraction crimes, stay alert.
Designated taxi queue spots or go into a hotel/restaurant/shop and ask the clerk to call a taxi for her, tipping the clerk, wait inside where it is safer.
Don’t get into unregistered taxis, too sketchy.
Don’t want your d to feel paranoid but getting ripped off or finding herself in a dangerous situation is a reality.</p>

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<p>Gracious as always Xig. Hershey is pretty easy to find, but reformulated for European tastes. Not sure about Ghiaredelli.</p>

<p>We stock Nutella at home, but more as an emergency dessert item. Not in same category as peanut butter.</p>

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<p>They don’t eat corn on the cob, but for some reason Pizza Hut in England scattered corn over their pizza. (Not my choice to eat pizza in England by the way!)</p>

<p>I like Hershey’s but why would you eat it when you can have all the wonderful European chocolate? </p>

<p>Half this advice seems like good advice for the US.</p>

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<p>I’m actually going to Israel next year, so I’m taking notes…
As far as a money belt is concerned, that may be a good idea- and it has nothing to do with how street smart you are. More important, come to think of it, is someplace to store cash unobtrusively- you’re about to spend however many months with total strangers and you have no idea who the kleptos are. My mom had $100 stolen in her dorm room- after that she sewed a pocket in the lining of her sweatshirt and kept her spare cash in there. When I go, my parents are sending me with a debit card and a strict injunction not to withdraw more than $25 at a time. So a money belt might be a good idea if for no other reason than to hide your money both inside and out.
Also, possibly, a voltage converter?
Oh, toilet paper also. My cousin, when she went to Israel, was determined that she wasn’t going to waste money on toilet paper and she was going to do as the Romans do in this case. Two months later her parents were frantically packing up a box filled with American toilet paper.
If you know anyone living in that particular place then that’s always most helpful. Different cities in different countries may require varying adjustments after growing up in the US.
More things: OTC meds are always a good idea, as are contact lenses (actually, if applicable, this is downright necessary) and vitamins. Shampoo might NOT be a good idea- sometimes it’s reformulated in different countries depending on the characteristics of the local water. Which reminds me- also bring some water bottles for the first couple of days. Local water sometimes needs an adjustment period, and you want to postpone that until AFTER the jetlag. At least give yourself the chance to TRY to enjoy the first couple of days.
I’d bring a grocery-size jar of PB at first. Worst case scenario, mail it.
Don’t bring too much clothing- they sell it all over the place.
Also, if this is Eastern Europe, the exchange rate may be VERY much in your favor, making it make a lot of sense potentially to save a lot of purchases for when you’re there already. A friend of mine was in Belarus and even after paying (relatively) inflated prices for American stuff she was still way ahead as their currency isn’t worth a whole lot.
Bon voyage and have an amazing time!</p>

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<p>I just did a Suspend on DS’ Verizon US cellphone account. That allows us to save on payments for the next 90 days. (I think you can only do 90 day increments, up to 2x). </p>

<p>He is using his Droid with a SIMM from local carrier. We had to do VERY careful research on this ahead of time. A lot depends on country, particular cellphone, etc.</p>

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<p>Hannah
Before you go make sure you are aware of any fees charged for bank withdrawals. We found them expensive our first trip, and by trip two had opened an account at a credit union that had much more favorable rates.
Your info on toilet paper is amusing, but often true. Also, public restrooms can be few and far between. Often you must purchase some food or drinks to use a bathroom if they allow it. Thank goodness for museums, train stations and McDonald’s! I still hold the McDonald’s near the pantheon dear to my heart…loved its location and cheap drinks!!</p>

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<p>We stock Nutella at home, but more as an emergency dessert item. Not in same category as peanut butter. <<<</p>

<p>Not sure about what you read as ungracious in my comment, and equally unsure about why you think it is appropriate for you to post a remark that includes “as always.” </p>

<p>It is, however, your right and privilege to think Ghirardelli or Hershey are somehow comparable to the chocolates available in Europe, or think they are great tasting products. It is also your right to stock Nutella as a dessert item, and obviously be entirely oblivious to the way it is consumed in Europe and … most places in the world.</p>

<p>Now, you could perhaps read my earlier post correctly, and see it is about having an open mind about local products that might be better than their US remote counterparts.</p>

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<p>Oh dear. My CR skills are woefully lacking. I totally misread your post as a slam against my pedestrian tastes for placing any value in something so lowbrow as peanut butter. My apologies, Xiggi. Shouldn’t go on CC when I’m tired.</p>

<p>Seriously though, I can buy truffles from our local chocolatier, and the Ferrero Rocher and Lindt and weird designer organic dark chocolate bars from the grocery, and still enjoy Hershey’s with almonds. But I wouldn’t buy Hershey’s in Europe, at least not in western Europe where it is priced almost on a par with the better chocolate, for some reason, (maybe novelty?) </p>

<p>Nutella is 21 g of sugar in a 37 g serving. That screams dessert to me. Even my cheapo sugar-sweetened PB is less than 10% sugar. And Hershey’s dark is 19 g sugar/38g serving.</p>

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<p>One area where one should definitely be flexible: Get used to drinking soda without ice. Nothing marks one as an obnoxious American tourist like making a big deal about this.</p>