Phones

• Students should check with their individual carriers to see what options are available and how much service will be in the locations they will visit. Each carrier differs!

• Some students use a wi-fi only phone service while abroad. Students with wi-fi only service may want to spend a lot of time in places that have free wi-fi(e.g., Starbucks). This can be disruptive to the itinerary.

• If students use wi-fi only, you may want them to have an additional service that allows them to send and receive texts. In an emergency or for a plan change, you cannot contact them if they are not within a wi-fi zone.

• Students should research and bring appropriate chargers or plugs for the countries they will visit.

• Phones should be always have a charge and the students may need to carry a phone charger. A lost student and a dead phone are not a good combination.

• International phones are available from vendors. You can buy minutes by text with a credit card on the account or you can buy sim cards at drugstores and other places that have minutes on them. The telephone number will likely be a foreign number.

• Students should understand how to dial from the country they are in for local calls and for calls to the United States. If an international phone is used or if they try to contact a hotel, parents will need to know how to place the call from the United States.

• Students should be aware of the emergency telephone number for each area they are visiting. They may incorrectly assume that 911 is a universal emergency number. Students should make and carry an emergency card at all times that has the phone numbers and addresses of all hotel they will be using.