For any students studying abroad, or thinking of studying abroad, we have one piece of very, very, very important advice: read the news.
Get your news from as many sources as possible. If a story confuses you, cross reference with another source. You need to read the news because you never know what’s going to be happening wherever you’re headed.
Growing up in the west these days is a disproportionately peaceful experience. Even if you’re from a rough neighborhood, we are willing to bet that if you’re headed to school overseas, then you probably never got caught in the crossfire of a civil war, or had to find shelter in the middle of a drug war.
The world is worth exploring, but there is some real danger out there. If you are thinking of studying somewhere, make sure that you read the headlines, read the news from the area, and make sure that it’s safe before you decide that that’s where you want to go.
Remember to always put safety first. The world is full of con artists just looking for some young, trusting westerner out exploring the world for the first time. Don’t let it be you. Don’t go anywhere new without bringing someone you can trust, don’t ever give out personal information to strangers and remember that just because that young man/woman has a sexy accent doesn’t mean that you should lose your inhibitions and go wherever they want to take you.
In short: keep up on the headlines, and don’t act any differently than you would at home when it comes to dealing with strangers. It can be tempting, while you’re out there having new experiences to want to just be open to every single possible opportunity, but not all opportunities are what they seem. Check your facts if you must: if someone tells you where they’re staying, go there with a friend. If they tell you where they work, go check it out. Just be careful. It’s a big world out there.