<p>We’ve travelled abroad extensively with our children, to do work in underdeveloped countries, or to travel in the developed west and east.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing that Amanda Knox did not understand was that you do not go talk to the police without an attorney. If you do not have an attorney, you do not go talk to the police without contacting the US embassy or closest branch to where you are staying.</p>
<p>When my daughter went abroad, she carried the number for the closest embassy with her. If anything happened, we told her, it was essential to contact us and contact them, immediately, BEFORE speaking to any foreign authorities. It’s not that we thought she would be in danger, just that no matter what, you just don’t know the law in other countries. Like anything else, it’s a matter of knowing what to do and having the information, which is why I believe a book by Amanda Knox would be useful. Nobody thinks it’s going to be “that” different in europe… And it wasn’t. Who would let thier kid go talk to the police without an attorney when there was a murder involved?</p>
<p>My next door neighbors are Bangladeshi. They are very nice and we socialize with them. I enjoy their cuisine. But by no means does this mean I feel I have had global exposure. They are here, in the US, in my suburban neighborhood, with their kids in the local schools. Nothing about that feels “global” to me.</p>
<p>My s’s have very diverse friends, from many cultures. Again, that does not mean they have had a global expoure. Older s has travelled around the world and does volunteer work in third world countries. He has had exposure to how others live on other continents. Younger s hasn’t had that yet, as neither were able to study abroad. If they had been able to (hard to do with an engineering major) I would have supported it. There are opportunities and experiences and exposure to life outside of our 48 states that are, IMO, important life lessons. </p>
<p>There are safety issues to be considered both in other countries and here in the US. Cultural differences may affect that, but it isn’t the fact that they are abroad that increases risk, IMO.</p>
<p>I’m pleased to see this verdict. Rudy Guede has already been convicted and if the prosecution hadn’t so zealously encouraged him to “testify” about others’ involvement, he’d be serving a longer term than 16 years. There IS a murderer in custody. </p>
<p>I hope she never has to pay a dime to the Italian authorities. This was a miscarriage of justice which has now been corrected. And although their system is indeed different from ours, I was pleased to see they took this step to find the justice here.</p>
<p>Best of luck to Amanda Knox and her family.</p>
<p>With that line of reasoning than you aren’t really global in your perspective until you’ve lived every single place on the globe?</p>
<p>Every human being is exotic and fascinating and different from you if you take the time to really know them. America is a stew of different cultures and ethnicities at this point. Have you ever hung out at your local public health department? It is an endless stream of immigrants from all over the globe coming in for immunizations.</p>
<p>I don’t think it always confers any real expansion of one’s horizons to go live abroad for a stretch during college. I really don’t. I don’t think it’s that easy.</p>
<p>Agreed with Poet. When traveling abroad, we always carry the number of the American Embassy with us at all times. DD does so too where she is now (and when she travels). DS has done so when he has traveled too. </p>
<p>There is much to be learned from this very sad story…but I don’t think ditching study abroad programs is one of them.</p>
<p>It is, however, a choice to send your kids abroad during college. If you don’t want to do it…then don’t.</p>
<p>Thinking that exposure to diversity only within our continental boundaries is the same as experiencing different cultures in their environs feels a bit ethnocentric to me. One does not have to visit every locale to have global experiences. But they do need to leave their home turf to do so.</p>
Well it depends. My area has the largest concentration of Liberians outside of Africa. Many in the population have serious problems (cutting off of forearms was the preferred method of stifling dissent), and my D has worked extensively in the group on education and assimilation issues. Since it’s a closed-knit refugee community, dealing with them appropriately requires a lot of knowledge of their history and culture. I think this is as global as it gets. But I do see your point.</p>
<p>I think there are a lot of things that we can’t imagine the depth of the experience unless we have actually done it.
Living in a country where English is not the common language would seem to be one of them.</p>
<p>I’ve known many students who either took a gap year abroad or who did a study abroad semester/year. I don’t doubt that some look at that as an opportunity to party, but I daresay they consider their freshman college year in the same light.
( also it seems that a stay of a few weeks doesn’t give you the same perspective as several or more months)</p>
<p>My daughter, as I have mentioned spent almost 5 months ( after working two jobs to pay her way) volunteering in India. Italy seemed safe ( IMO) compared to India, but she wanted to stretch her dollars as far as she could & Europe is much more costly.</p>
<p>However she truly loved her experience & while it was stressful for us- her parents, particularly when we could not reach her or even be sure where she was ( which was about 1/2 the time- I even applied for a passport since I was afraid I was going to have to go look for her), we all grew as a family-& felt proud that she was confident enough to even plan something like that.</p>
<p>Perhaps she really does belong to different parents as she used to claim when she was little- her dad & I recently spent a long weekend in British Columbia & while we had a great time, we are still recovering!</p>
<p>As for the guilt or innocence of Ms Knox, I wasn’t on the jury so I don’t know, but it seems clear that she was a very protected young woman, shy and naive which obviously opened the door to be manipulated by the Italian authorities.</p>
<p>The court system there is full of convictions and granted appeals although I do not know if evidence is usually bungled to the extent it was in the Kercher murder.</p>
<p>Having the number of the US Embassy might not be enough. Students who plan to have an extended stay might be wise to TEST the number at the embassy and inquire about the potential for aid and the scope of the services. People might not like the answers! I know some of my friends were “led” to believe that the US Embassy might offer assistance when one loses a passport or a wallet. Again, the real answer might be surprising, except when realizing that one is dealing with a government entity. </p>
<p>Perhaps, next time you are abroad, take a few minutes to call the embassy and ask about what you could expect if you were to be attacked by a local thug or what you could expect if arrested for various reasons. </p>
<p>As an example, a US citizen involved in an accident in Mexico can be expected to be arrested if the other party presses charges and not be released until posting a bail that could be substantial if the other party claims bodily damage. Run over a person on the street and there is little your US insurance could do, and do NOT expect the embassy to lift its fingers. Your best resource will be a credit card with a substantial limit and a 24 hours service! There are a lot of missionary work done in Northern Mexico and every year there is a number of good people getting caught by rules that prohibit certain items, especially hunting rifles. The most effective assistance is provided by the LDS church as the US authorities are unwilling or unable to do anything. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that one should not expect miracles from the US embassies abroad, even in countries where the US has a substantial influence. A better route is to check the insurance that is required by programs abroad and check for additional coverage for medical and perhaps legal emergencies.</p>
<p>Perhaps we should not worry so much about semantics and parsing the meaning of “turf” or “global”. I think what most of us are talking about is the opportunity to experience travelling to/living in a place where our native tongue may not be the primary language, where the currency is different, rules/laws are different, electrical wattage/voltage and plugs are different, where when you turn on CNN they are reporting the weather in Kuala Lumpur, etc. That isn’t here. </p>
<p>Not understanding why study abroad is seen as something new or unique. It was someting done by many of my friends and classmates (foreign language majors, history majors, art history majors, etc) back when I was in college, when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The programs have expanded, and when a percent of students travel abroad for a semester or a year, that may allow other students to fill the empty spaces on campus, thereby letting the academic institutions accept visiting or transfer students. So, it makes sense for both the students and the academic institutions offering these programs.</p>
<p>All that said, I agree that anyone travelling abroad, to Central or South America, etc should review travel and safety recommendations. It is no fun to run into trouble especially being far from home.</p>
<p>So, I am all for study abroad programs. What I don’t get are those semester at sea things. What benefit is there to spending a semester on a cruise ship??</p>
<p>If I may chime in here on attaining a “global perspective”, yes, it is true that one does not become “global” by simply spending a certain amount of time abroad. Rather, it is the experiences that one chooses to have, or not have, that determine the amount of “mind broadening” (a term I heard repeatedly from my parents and other adults while growing up in the Foreign Service) one achieves.</p>
<p>A good example of that may be our military abroad (not those engaged in warfare). We have bases in many parts of the world. These are self-contained communities, where it would be easy to forget that they are in a foreign land – “little Americas”, if you will.</p>
<p>I have seen indications at some of those posts that there is a very insular, protective culture that can easily lull one into staying on base most of the time – and, no doubt, a good number of our citizens assigned to those posts appear to do just that. There are, of course, those who choose to take advantage of being in a foreign culture and try to immerse themselves in it to varying degrees. Who has truly benefitted from being overseas?</p>
<p>As for having the embassy’s number (or consulate’s, if closer), one should always bear in mind that the staff there have very limited influence and virtually no power when dealing with local authorities. Usually consular officials are involved when one of our citizens runs afoul of the law, and they can do little more than act as messenger between affected parties; perhaps bring some clothing; provide a list of lawyers; and generally act as a shoulder to cry on and offer advice. Under no circumstance should any U.S. citizen expect that the laws of the U.S. will protect him or her – those laws might as well not exist.
And, that is as it should be, for to be anything less would disregard that country’s sovereignty.</p>
<p>I hope this tragic and, frankly, bizarre story that unfolded in Perugia does not taint the good feelings most people have for Italy, and is not an indictment on the Italian people.</p>
<p>I’ve lived overseas as a foreign service brat living mostly in the bubble of other diplomats (which was an international group), as a French language student living with a French family but attending school mostly with other foreigners (but very few Americans), and as an adult working and paying taxes in the country. The level of my understanding of the local culture really varied. I learned one set of things living with a foreign family and another set of things by having to figure out the culture and the rules on my own. I really think half our foreign policy problems are caused by the fact that we are so ignorant of the rest of the world. I think most junior year abroad programs are just baby steps on the road to that understanding, but it’s better than nothing!</p>
<p>Leanid, that is also why I wrote “as the US authorities are unwilling or unable to do anything.” in my post. It is obvious that the work of consular and diplomatic personnel abroad is subject to all kind of limitations. Also, it is doubtful that their primary objective is to offer services to stranded US citizens. However, as a potential “client” one should be aware of those limitations, regardless if they are caused by inability or unwillingness.</p>
<p>PS From reading the prior posts, I know you understand this.</p>
<p>To clarify, my point was not that the consulate would “help” get around the laws but that the consulate would have names of attorneys. One really ought not to attempt navigate these things alone.</p>
<p>One ought to also register with the consulate for updates when going overseas. There is an easy way to do this, now. I’m sure they will not “protect” US citizens, but they wil send updates about serious changes in conditions. fwiw</p>
<p>I agree to some extent with Sewhappy. Sending your kids around the globe is not a decision to be taken lightly. Things can happen (obviously as in this case) and dealing with other countries who do not have justice standards and “rights” and sub-par health care (some sub-sub par) is a scary thing. And for what?</p>
<p>I’ll say that our officials overseas usually ARE willing to help but are unable to do much more than I have already mentioned. In fact, whether or not it is their “primary objective”, assisting Americans abroad (through a gamut of problems) is one of a consular officer’s basic functions (along with half a dozen other duties), and it is a cause for much frustration in cases involving the commission of a crime, as his or her power is negligible.</p>
