Student Exchange Safety“Exchange Students must learn how to be safe! They cannot assume that their environment is always safe when they are abroad!”

Preparing for the Exchange

Taking Precautions

Know the Laws of the Country!

• 1. Learn the laws of the country and its customs.

• 2. Dress according to the country’s standards.• 3. Photography is sometimes forbidden and

considered insulting.

Know the Airport

• 1. Know its layout• 2. Know where to meet host parents• 3. Know exchange airports• 4. Be prepared for lay-overs

Airport Advice

• Take advice only from airline specialists.• Following someone who will take you to a

place in the airport is dangerous.

Snazzy Dressing

• Expensive clothing and jewelry attracts criminals and pickpockets.

• Expensive hand bags• The big class ring• The designer jeans• Don’t let be a braggart about yourself and

anything of your person.

Sensitive Equipment

• A computer is expensive. Want to keep it or remember it?

• A camera is expensive. Want to keep it or remember it?

• A cell phone is expensive. What happened to it?

• Advise your exchange to conceal these items and keep them guarded at all times.

• That is why I wear cargo pants in Europe!

Passport Protection

• Keep it on your person—not in a handbag or in the back pocket of a pair of jeans.

• Make multiple copies.• 1. Leave one copy with parents• 2. Leave one copy with host parents• 3. Carry one copy in your billfold or purse• Remind your son or daughter that their passport must

remain in their possession. It cannot be kept by the host parents for safekeeping. That is your ticket to safety and to home.

Credit Cards

• Take only one credit card• Make a copy of it and be sure to keep the side

with the customer service number.

Emergency Numbers

• Parents work numbers• Close neighbor or relative• Police, ambulance, abuse hotline• Host parent phone number and address• Counselor number• Rotary Club President in host country phone• Rotary Youth Exchange person in host country

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE

• Carry two copies of your medical report• If your son or daughter takes medicine, cross

reference medication—foreign countries do not call medication the same way we do.

• Make sure a tetanus is up to date• Have shots for hepatitis A and B• Use only original containers for medicines

Insurance

• Students have insurance• Keep three copies of the card—one for the

exchange, one for the host family, and one for the family—CARDS GET LOST

• KNOW THE BENEFITS OF THE PLAN—SOME THINGS ARE NOT COVERED

Claims

• Go to the Ohio-Erie Website and get copies of the claim form to carry – but keep in mind they can be emailed.

.

• Carry contact information for the overseas citizen services

• In State Departments Bureau of Counselor

Affairs

Magic Envelopes, Please!

• Make four and put the following in each:• 1. copy of insurance card• 2. emergency phone numbers• 3. phone/email list of host families and counselor• 4. extra passport photos• 5. copy of credit cards• 6. eye glass prescriptions• 7. medical prescriptions with alternate names

In your Wallet, Please!

1. Copy of passport2. Insurance Card3. Allergy and medical information4. Phone for doctors, dentists and hospital5. Phone numbers for host family6. Directions on how to get home7. Address of home

Mom and Dad RIGHT NOW

Identify mood swings or changes within the last six months such as allergic reactions or changes in health.If taking medications try to get a 10 month supply.Put together a small supply of over-the-counter familiar meds like aspirin, constipation or its reverse, acne meds….A ten month supply of tampons for girls

INFLUENCES

1. Never pretend to be sick to get out of school.2. Never cry wolf in a foreign country.3. When you are sick, tell your parents.4. Remember that antibiotics only work for

bacterial infections5. Avoid and be careful about buying over-the-

counter medications in foreign countries

Going to the Doctor

Take someone who can translate for you.Health care varies from country to country.The doctor’s office may be quite different.The doctor may not be a doctor… erase that!

Things that should be done

• Drink water only from reliable sources…public fountains are not safe—bottled water is preferred

• Maintain an exercise routine to avoid depression

• Avoid the computer…it is your enemy• Wear good and sensible shoes

Safety

ALL EXCHANGES ARE SECURITY IMPAIRED!

Awareness

KEEP A SENSE OF AWARENESS ABOUT YOURSELF.KNOW WHAT TO DO IF LOST

CARRY AN IDENTIFICATION CARDLEARN HOW TO USE A PAY PHONE

BEWARE OF THE COSTS OF INTERNATIONAL PHONE CONVERSATIONS

NEVER LET YOUR DRINK OUT OF SIGHTBE SURE YOUR BACKPACK HAS ZIPPERS AND

FASTENERS

MORE AWARENESS

KEEP YOUR HOST PARENTS INFORMED AS TO WHERE YOU ARE.

IF THERE IS A CHANGE IN PLANS, NOTIFY THEM.NEVER GET IN A CAR WITHOUT KNOWING THE DRIVER

ON A TRAIN OR BUS, YOU ARE MOST AT RISK AT HAVING THINGS STOLEN

DON’T TAKE UNNECESSARY RISKSIF LOST, ASK QUESTIONS WHERE THERE ARE A LOT OF

PEOPLE—NEVER ASK OF ONE PERSON

ADVICE FOR PARENTS1. The more you talk to them by computer or skype, the more likely they are to

get homesick and to come home early.2. Be active yourself. The first few months are hell…especially for Mom.3. When you do talk to them, encourage them to take part in activities with

their host family4. An exchange is not a tour! Don’t feel like you have to shell out a lot of

money for every tour that is available. It is okay to say no. A trip to Disney world in France is fun, but …

5. Put limits on spending. Don’t write a blank check. Let them live on a budget.6. When problems arise, encourage them to work it out.7. If the problems are serious, encourage them to follow the chain of command

so that the problem can be resolved quickly8. REMEMBER you are 10,000 miles from the action. Let the counselor, the

Youth Exchange Officer, and the country contact work it out.

YOUR KID IS SENT HOME!

• Don’t play the blame game.• Don’t overplay your own disappointment—the sense of

failure is tremendous at this point.• Focus on the love you have and the future• Focus on the best part of the exchange• Get them active as soon as possible and back into the

thick of things • There is always a boomerang effect called rebounder

sickness. It is hard to readjust. • Sometimes, an exchange is not the best thing. It happens.

REBOUNDERS

They will have changed!They will think in another language.They will have a different perspective.They will be uncomfortable being a kid again.They will have been in different circumstances and had different experiences than their friends back home. They may be perceived as “weird.”They will have physically changed.

MAMA!!!!

As one poor mother exclaimed after she met her daughter at the plane and her daughter greeted her only in the new language and could barely remember English: “My God, what have they done to you.”

THEY WILL HAVE CHANGED…They will have grown. And, isn’t that what you wanted?

A Disclaimer

This slide presentation was the result of listening to several foreign exchange officer talk about exchange students and the dangers they face. It is not his work…It is there observations.