Communication
There are many communication options while abroad including phones, cell phones, e-mail, laptops, journals & blogs, and don't forget the old fashioned letter.
While abroad, remember to bring the addresses, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses of everyone with whom you may want to stay in contact with. Don’t forget your parents’ work numbers in case of an emergency, and UI telephone and fax numbers and e-mail (e.g. your major department, your adviser, the Office for Study Abroad [319-335-0353]). You should leave your contact information abroad with your family and friends before you leave. Provide them with the phone number of the program’s director or contact person, as well.
Phone
Upon arriving to your host country, you will probably encounter some differences in phone usage. In many foreign countries, both domestic and international phone calls are very expensive compared to US rates and phone bills are not itemized. Service itself can be poor; static, echoes, and disconnections are common. Some of you may find that there is no phone at all where you are staying. Public phones, however, are more prevalent abroad than in the US. In general, expect restricted access to phones.
If you are staying with a host family, never call the US directly due to the cost and lack of itemized billing. Make sure to get a calling card before you go abroad and use it to call the US. The ISIC card can also be used as a phone card. You can also make collect calls. When on the phone, try not to tie up the line for long periods.
To receive calls from the US, make sure that the people who might call you have the correct country and city code for your location. All international calls start with 011 and are followed by a country code (e.g. 52 for Mexico, 34 for Spain) and then possibly a city code before the actual phone number. Also, suggest to your parents that they enroll in an international long distance plan with one of the long distance carriers: AT&T (1-800-CALL-ATT), Sprint (1-800-665-5849) or MCI (1-800-444-3333). You can schedule a reasonable time and day for parents or friends to call you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, but make sure to consult with your host family or roommates to make sure the time you chose is suitable for them, as well.
Once abroad, make sure that you know the phone number of your program’s director or contact person and memorize the local equivalent to 911 (if it exists) or the police and fire departments.
Cell Phones
Cell phones are extremely popular both in the United States and abroad, and many students may find one helpful. Family or friends who may not be able to call your apartment or host family's phone would be able to reach you on your cell phone. In most places outside the U.S., cell phones are purchased and then phone cards with prepaid minutes can be bought in small shops and at news stands all around.
"I don't have a cell phone here, but I loved having one in London. I couldn't use my host family's phone, but having a cell phone made it so I could exchange numbers with people I met and helped me build a bigger network of friends outside the students on my program." Tina Sherwood, OfSA Peer Adviser
Letters
Don’t forget about letters as a means of communication. Letters are cheaper than phone calls, they tend to be more personal, and can make great keepsakes. Postcards are easy to write and can quickly be done while absorbing your surroundings at a park or café, on a train or in a plaza. The drawback, of course, is that mail can be slow and unreliable. If you do decide to use the mail system in your host country, never send money or valuables and avoid receiving packages. International express services can be very expensive and are not overnight.
E-mail is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family in the States while you are abroad. You can share impressions of the host culture instantly, learn the latest about goings-on at home, and minimize the re-entry shock everyone might feel when you return.
However, e-mail/web access abroad may be more limited than what you are used to here. Even if you are bound for Europe, you will need to downgrade your expectations. It’s a rare campus that provides 24/7 access to the web, for example.
Many programs do provide their students with computer access, albeit on a more limited basis than here. You may find yourself standing in line in a university library in order to check e-mail, for instance. Or there might be a computer lab connected to the headquarters of your program overseas, but it may only be open for a few hours each day.
On some programs, you’ll find that your professors don’t mind if you hand in work “the old-fashioned way” – handwritten. Check out the policies when you arrive at your destination. Maybe you can save yourself the headaches of computer access AND improve your penmanship during your time abroad.
Internet cafes are popular places to catch up on e-mail from the States and to surf the web. Prices vary. Ask local students where they go for access; it’s likely they’ve already figured out the least expensive places to go.
Laptops
Taking a laptop is a great idea for students that have one. That said, you must realize that contracting with an Internet service provider abroad can be time-consuming and expensive. In some cases, the room you’re staying in may not have a telephone hookup or wireless access.
Even without Internet access, your laptop can be an invaluable study tool, saving you much time and frustration by allowing you to write papers, reports, and do homework at home. Once you have a document ready to hand in, you may need to copy it to a CD or jump stick and take it to a computer lab or internet café to print it. This way, you’ve gotten most of the labor out of the way already, and you didn’t have to write your paper with someone standing behind you, wondering when you were going to get off the computer so that they could check their e-mail.
Some students also enjoy being able to watch movies on laptops, blog at all hours and keep their mp3 collections up to date. The negative side of bringing a laptop abroad is that you could loose it. Laptops are valuable things for theives to steal and can be devestating to loose.
Electricity
If you plan to take a laptop, make sure that it can run on the voltage common to the country where you are studying. Almost all newer laptops have built-in converters in their power supplies that will allow you to switch between 110 V. (standard in U.S.) to 220 V. (standard most other places in the world). If your laptop doesn’t, or if you need a voltage different than above, consider investing a chunk of money in a good voltage converter designed for the place you’re going. Paying more for a good converter means you’ll pay less in repair bills if the voltage fries your machine.
In many developing countries (and California), the voltage fluctuates rather than staying at a constant level, and there may be frequent power outages. Currency converters aren't going to do the trick under these circumstances. You may need to invest in a voltage regulator/uninterrupted power supply. Laptops, however, provide a way around these problems. Simply charge your battery (which can handle the fluctuations/interruptions), and then type away on your battery-powered laptop.
Printers are very sensitive to voltage changes, and even those with internal converters can be problematic abroad. If you decide that you need a printer, you might want to wait to get it until you’re overseas, and can buy one that’s designed for your new environment. You can even pool your money with several other students and buy one printer that’s shared among all of you.
If you take a laptop, be sure to take it as “carry on”. Don’t check it, as your laptop might arrive in several pieces. Neither should you mail it, as you might have to pay large customs duties to “import” it into the country. Always keep your laptop’s documentation with you, including your receipt that proves where and when you bought it.