<p>I’m interested in your opinions about summer travel and study abroad to “dangerous” places. In what situations would you allow your college student to travel to a country with a state department warning? </p>
<p>Let’s say that a trusted friend with knowledge of the country (former resident) is leading a group to travel there for several weeks, to study intensively a topic that is of great interest to your student. There are primary sources for this study available in the country that are not available elsewhere. The friend believes that travel in the specific areas we will visit is not dangerous, and the trip will be cancelled if that changes. </p>
<p>Would you let your student go? What factors would influence your decision?</p>
<p>(I’m intentionally leaving this vague right now, because I think naming the country might cause people to make snap judgments. PM me if you want to know).</p>
<p>Okay, I suppose nobody wants to answer a general question like that. </p>
<p>In my case, it’s the Republic of Georgia. But I’ve had several friends with similar situations, wanting to go to various places–so I’m curious about how you all (as parents with plenty of life experience) evaluate situations in general.</p>
<p>There’s another ongoing thread where the country in question is Israel. You may want to take a look there for generic advice. Learning from the lessons of that thread, I would say that as long as you trust your friend in matters of Georgian security as well as student supervision, the benefits outweigh the risks.</p>
<p>I used to live in a country (not Israel) that was at the time often in the state department’s warning list. Those warnings tend to paint the country or large areas of the country with broad strokes. Reality is often much more nuanced. Accurate local knowledge and advice trumps a state dept. warning every time.</p>
<p>It really depends on how much risk the student and parents are willing to tolerate. My daughter has been abroad without incident in two areas of the world that have been the target of a significant amount of terrorism … but terrorism is sporadic and unpredictable. If a bomb goes off at a market, its horrible for the people at the market — but the odds of being in the market at the time for any given traveler are still very small. And there really isn’t any part of the world that is “safe” from terrorism – I learned that when I sent my son off to college in New York in September 2001. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that those of us who are parents of college age students who want to study abroad are actually quite fortunate – there are many more young people who at age 18 are enlisting in the military, where they are quite likely to be put directly in the line of fire in hostile areas – and parents have no say whatsoever when their children in the service are deployed abroad. </p>
<p>So I guess we all have our personal level of tolerance-- so I wouldn’t want to speak for other parents or students. If it were me… I’d say no to Georgia - I wouldn’t want my d. traveling to Israel, either. I just wouldn’t be comfortable with any place that was a current or very recent “hot” war zone. But as noted… she’s got former high school classmates who are now in uniform.</p>
<p>OP, if you are Russian or Ossetian or Abkhazi (sp?), or if even one of your names sounds like you might be one of those nationalities, do not even think about going there. Same goes if any members of your group are Russian, etc.</p>
<p>(My D went to China at the peak of the infamous bird flu scare. SARS was still in the news, too. Of course, that was not even remotely comparable with going to a country in the middle of a war. In fact I was less worried about her than about the other kid spending spring break in Mexico).</p>
<p>I would suggest that you thoroughly research the abroad program and its history of dealing with crises. Some programs are far better run than others. Our son studied abroad in Sri Lanka. A couple of the students were pulled home by their parents after a spate of violent attacks in Colombo, but we permitted him to stay. The director of the program was very familiar with the area in which the students lived, and kept in close contact with us. The staff was watchful, attentive and informed, which helped alleviate our fears.</p>
<p>I’d worry about the U.S. Far, far more rapes, sexual assaults, assaults, batteries, property damage, and deranged murderers than virtually any other place they might visit. (My kids studied and traveled abroad - travel was by themselves - in Cambodia, India, Thailand, Italy, Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Egypt, and soon to include Mexico, Kenya, and, maybe, Burundi. My younger one is in DC - I tell her to be careful.)</p>
<p>My D did her winter break internship in the Republic of Georgia, granted it was 2 winters ago. She did a home stay and worked at the Tibilsi Art Museum. She loved every second of it. FYI she also studied in Israel for 6 weeks (including during the skirmish with Lebanon), again, 2 years ago. One thing my D has told me is that (for her) studying in places that people don’t see on many resumes (London, Rome, Paris) is most appealing to her. She’s currently wanting to study in India or teach art to kids in Sri Lanka. </p>
<p>I think some of this answer comes down to the student themselves. What is his/her experience with travel abroad (alone or with study groups) and how are they in general with life. My D is not a daredevil, is levelheaded, has traveled independently since she’s 15, and now lives in a metropolis independently as well (in college but living in an apartment with one roommate). </p>
<p>OP: Think about your S/D and think about all the life skills needed in a potentially stressful (not dangerous) situation, how do you think he/she would handle it. How has he/she handled unusual circumstances in the past? Is your S/D flexible? All of these and more are questions to ask yourself. You know your S/D better than anyone.</p>
<p>If My D said she was heading back to be with her “Georgian Family” I’d be OK with it.</p>
<p>Tbilisi should be just fine. It didn’t even get bombed during the war (besides a radar station and a military airport–places a study abroad student should not be in). In the (IMO unlikely) event a new war stars, the US embassy should be able to take care of the US citizens in the area (last time around it evacuated them to Azerbaijan).</p>
<p>Plus, as long as you say you’re against Russia you should get a warm welcome. Visit Abkhazia after and say you’re against America (only for God’s sake, do not mix it up).</p>
<p>Bunsen, I am not Russian or Georgian (of any stripe) and my name is quite Anglo-Saxon.
Piter, we would be spending most of our time in rural villages in Imereti and Svaneti–not quite Tbilisi, but also not a high-profile target area of any kind.</p>