<p>My son, a sophomore in college, will be going to London for the fall semester junior year. My husband and I <em>greatly</em> encouraged him to do this, and now I’m having some second thoughts. I’m not really worried about the UK piece as I’ve been there, but <em>slightly</em> concerned about the anti-Americanism in other parts of Europe. Am I being nuts? I mostly worry about this stuff at 3:00 a.m. and in the daytime I’m more philosophical about it - i.e. he has to live life and we should not live in fear, etc. But I do feel a little anxious whenever I think about it. It’s a long time from now to the end of December! </p>
<p>Part of my concern is this kid needs pushed out of the nest constantly. He calls often with school issues (but still gets great grades) or just to check in. In my heart I think this will be the best growing up experience ever for him, but it is a little disconcerting to think of how far away he’ll be (he’s about four hours drive now). </p>
<p>Next, and on a more practical note ;), is there anything he/we should know or prepare for?</p>
<p>This will be a great experience. Try not to worry. I was in Paris in the 80’s when there were bombs exploding every week. I was cautious, and I had the time of my life anyway. London is reasonably safe so long as he checks to the RIGHT before crossing the street! (I’d feel differently about Israel or Middle East.)</p>
<p>Try to hook him up with at leat one trustworthy mom or dad type who lives in London. The sort of thing that can throw a kid is getting strep throat on a Sunday, or getting locked out of the house in a strange city. It is nice to have a contact, either through the program or through a friend of a friend, who could help in such a situation.</p>
<p>Otherwise, the best thing about living abroad is that there is very little that feels intimidating for the rest of one’s life, after having learned a whole new city, system, culture, how to navigate the public transportation, etc… If you can fend for yourself on a different continent, you can do anything… Funny, because it’s just basic skills, really, nothing beyond a normal kid-- but somehow the challenge of doing it in a totally new place is really confidence-inspiring. </p>
<p>And for the rest of his life he’ll “know” and feel at home in a really special place, London. IMHO London is like the epicenter of everything these days, too-- great for international trade, finance jobs. </p>
<p>Practical stuff: Get copies of key documents like passport, and extras of prescription meds, contacts or glasses… You keep one set of docs, and he has an extra with him. He can keep extra of meds & glasses. Just in case, it can be so much easier. </p>
<p>Try to forget about it till next Thanksgiving or every news story will make you anxious.</p>
<p>My 17 yr old S went to London last year. Wrote out all the details for you only to discover you don’t take PM? If you turn on your PM–I will forward.</p>
<p>I have not had this experience, but my brother, who attended Georgetown U.'s SFS back in the late 80’s studied at Peking University in Beijing in the spring of 1989. Throughout the spring, as the political climate became more and more restless on campus, he started interviewing many students and taking notes. When the events in Tiananmen Square unfolded in all of their horror that June, he was actually at the Square. He returned to the States shortly thereafter, where he penned a book (as a 21-year-old junior) that is used in many college classes today. He is currently a diplomat with the Foreign Service.</p>
<p>I think your son’s experience will be a fantastic one for him! I know it will be hard on you to have him so far from home though. I don’t have specific advice, but I wish him all the very best! ~berurah</p>
<p>My S spent spring senester (actually January through August) of his junior year (last year) in Germany. Which is where we live, but that was a coincidence! He had this planned before we knew we would be living here. He was in Munich, about two hours away. Germany, I think, is second only to France in their low opinion of the US. I really do get tired of it! However, most of the anti-US stuff is directed toward the politicians and policy, not toward American people in general. (There are the exceptions - ignorant people who believe everything they read in the papers! But the US has their share of those, too.) S didn’t have a bit of trouble, and he is very, very conservative, politically. Don’t know how the English are, but the Germans love to debate, and generally aren’t offended by opposing views. My S also loves to debate, so he did enjoy himself.</p>
<p>The program he went with, “Junior Year in Munich,” did a good job of taking care of the kids. We were the only parents who “dropped off” their student! :)</p>
<p>Docmom, there is no reason to worry. Europe is not anti-America…it is more anti-Bush and anti-American politics. Americans as a people are usually very welcome. I have often travelled around Europe with American friends and we never had problems. My last trip to Western Europe with an American was in September and we were always well treated. As long as your son is there to learn and have a good time, he will be perfectly fine. But he is going to have to tolerate a certain degree of criticism of the US…and that’s part of the learning process. </p>
<p>SBMom, not all of the Middle East is unsafe. I live in the UAE and I can tell you it is one of the safest places I have lived. I actually recommend the UAE for a relaxing vacation. And Oman is safe too, as are Tunisia, Qatar and Bahrain. My own country, Lebanon, is also safe, despite the horrible assasination that took place 10 days ago. Turkey, Jordan, Syria and Morocco (Near East more so that Middle East) and Egypt are also relatively safe. The rest of the Arab Middle East is not safe, Iraq and Sudan in particular. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait may be safe, but they are not worth visiting. I am not familiar enough with Israel to know how safe it is. I hope that the media makes it seem worse than it is. </p>
<p>I know an American girl who is actually planning on spending a semester at the American University of Dubai. I actually do not recommend it because it has little to offer in terms of cultural exchange and academic excellence.</p>
<p>When I studied in London for a semester many years ago, my parents planned a trip there that fell in the middle of my stay. I loved my time in the UK but was very homesick as well, so it was really nice that they came over. They were not widely traveled, so it was kind of touching to me–I come from a very large family, and it was the only time in my life I ever had them to myself(!) Perhaps it would be good for you and your son to plan something similar. You would get to see him in a new environment, and he will have the fun of “showing you around”. :)</p>
<p>London is a fantastic place…he will love it! I studied there many moons ago & while there hadn’t been much anti-Americanism, it was still during the time frame when terrorists were attacking Rome’s airport & such. A few weeks after I got home, terrorists hijacked that TWA plane coming from Greece. You just have to be sensible about your travels whether throughout England or the Continent.</p>
<p>One thing I noted back then: most Londoners assumed that the US students within our exchange group were all well-to-do. That was certainly NOT the case; esp with my one friend who worked several jobs the summer prior to the trip & busted her *** as a waitress to make the $ to go abroad. I think most of the Brits had been beguiled by shows like Dallas & Dynasty that were showing up on their TV screens & thought we all had big bucks, ala Hollywood!</p>
<p>No experience here DocMom. But, I have friends who have had or currentky have kids studying in London. The only downside I hear is that the kdis are having SUCH a great time they don’t want to come home and/or are spending too much money having such a good time. </p>
<p>I can’t wait for my son to go abroad to study. He’s thrilled with the idea. Please let us know your thoughts as your son makes the journey.</p>
<p>Go for it! It can be life-changing. As a group, Americans are far more “anti-European” (other than our love affair with the British monarchy - we like them better than the English do), than Europeans are “anti-American”. They understand the difference between people and their governments (isn’t that what we are expected to do with Iraq?) Yes, it is likely that he will get razzed about it on a rare occasion, and probably also find himself in some deep conversations - that’s what meeting a different culture is all about. And Europeans, while they love to argue, are generally speaking much more open-minded than Americans, or at least that is my experience.</p>
<p>I would encourage him to use his breaks to see the rest of Europe. Student travel can really be done on the cheap, and it is something that will stay with him for the rest of his life.</p>
<p>Said this before, but you might want to check out the movie: The Spanish Apartment.</p>
<p>It is a French film about a french grad student who travels to Barcelona for a year abroad. He finds a room in a house full of Europeans. Their interactions are well drawn–and very funny–especially if you know anything about European stereotypes. There is a ‘classic’ American student too. He gets the summary judgement. </p>
<p>See the movie and see for yourself how the Europeans view our kids.</p>
<p>My son spent almost two months in Spain in an immersion program between his freshman and sophomore years of college. As you talked about in the original post, it was a great “growing up” experience for him, as far as traveling and managing on his own. As far as how Europeans view Americans, he told us that almost all of the European students (from England, France, Germany, Switzerland) had seen “Bowling for Columbine”, and they all believe that most Americans walk around with guns. They wouldn’t believe my son when he said people didn’t bring guns to his high school, etc. All in all, he had a great time living in a different country and meeting all of these people from different places and it was a very broadening experience for him.</p>
<p>My son is planning to spend the summer in Vladivostok, Russia and the fall semester in St. Petersburg or London (I’m voting for London). What I wonder is if any of your kids have studied in Russia and how they communicated with home? Do they have phone cards there? He’ll be able to use computers at the University, but I’d like to talk to him occassionally…</p>
<p>More dittos from me: We went through lots of Europe recently with S and two of his friends (all seniors). No problems at all. </p>
<p>runnersmom: the best way for voice communication is for him to get a GSM phone when he arrives in Russia. He can also get prepaid cards that he can use from phones in major cities to get some decent rates. I like the GSM phone idea the best because then you can call him, rather that waiting for his call. One way to save some money is for you to call him back when he calls you. MAKE SURE THAT BEFORE HE GOES, YOU SIGN UP FOR AN INTERNATIONAL PLAN WITH YOUR CARRIER (AT&T or MCI or whoever). For about $3.95 a month, you will get much much better rates. You will make up for the $3.95 in just one call! Whan he returns, you can disactivate the extra charge. Do some research via google to find out about GSM phones in Russia (GSM Russia rates).</p>
<p>Get him the t-shirt with the full page front page of the Daily Mirror - a big pic of W with the question: “How can 59,854,000 Americans Be So Dumb?!?!” If he wears that he will be ok. ;)</p>
<p>Pretty sure he wouldn’t wear <em>that</em> t-shirt ;)</p>
<p>Wow - thanks for all the great advice. I haven’t posted with the parents much for a couple of years - son was admitted to college of choice (ND) and next son is only a sophomore. You are all always a great resource. I used to post a lot on review.com (mjtx2) but that board got off-topic all the time and after they reformatted the board it was never as useful. This board has always been strong, relevant, and helpful.</p>
<p>Okay so I’m feeling much better about this now! Please feel free to keep the London and international advice/information flowing!</p>
<p>Runnersmom – my daughter spent about 5 months in Russia this past year, in St. Petersburg and in a small town near Moscow. She took her cell phone from home - we have GSM service - and we communicated mostly by text messaging. I sent you a private message with more details.</p>
<p>To docmom: my daughter didn’t encounter any anti-American sentiment. Possibly a small amount of racism and anti-semitism – but it was more a matter of seeing some skinheads around than having any direct issue or conflict. I was in Europe for a couple of weeks last fall, in France & the Netherlands – and felt very welcome there.</p>