Don't be surprised if your communication with your son or daughter deteriorates while your student is studying or traveling abroad.  While email, cell phones, and social networking make it easier than ever to stay connected, many students communicate with family less frequently once they have adjusted to their new situation.  There are of course exceptions to this pattern, but students are often busy adjusting to new academic expectations, spending non-school hours traveling and engaging in cultural activities, adapting to living situations, experiencing new relationships, and so on.  With time zone differences you may not actually speak with your student unless you first arrange a communication plan.

 

For some parents an email might suffice, but for other parents it is important to periodically hear their child's voice.  It can be challenging not to know where your student is, yet your student will likely feel very comfortable with all that he or she is doing.  Keep in mind that intense communication with family at home can actually interfere with your student's cultural immersion.  Establish some expectations in advance and take your cues from your student.  Gather enough information as your student applies to his or her particular program to help allay concerns that might emerge once your child has departed for their host country. Also, keep in mind that your child might find it overwhelming to describe things to you in any sort of detail; what he or she is experiencing is impacting him or her on many different sensory levels.  Parents usually find that they learn the most about their student's experience when their child returns from living abroad.  

 

"Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights;  it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." - Miriam Beard