You can usually assume that "no news is good news", but we completely understand that you'll want to hear from your child at least a few times while they are away!
To facilitate this, we make it a requirement that all of our program participants travel with a cell phone that is fully operational before their departure and compatible with the local network of the host country of their program (for information about cell phones please visit our Cell Phones page). There are three main reason behind this:
Your child can make direct contact with the school chaperone in the event that their flight or baggage is delayed or they miss a connection en route.
Your child can contact you upon arrival to let you know they arrived safely.
You and your child can check in with each other throughout the program. While we prefer that you are not in daily contact (this can be disruptive and delay your son's/daughter's integration into the program), we understand that it's nice to occassionally hear how your child is doing - we're parents and we get this!
If you want to keep cell phone costs down (they can add up very quickly!), there are additional ways you and your child can stay connected:
your child can buy an international phone card for use in international pay phones when they arrive at their destination city - school staff can help with this.
If you have a calling card issued by your local phone company, your child can use this to charge international calls to your home number from pay phones or homestay accommodation.
Each of our programs has a course centre number for use during business hours as well as an emergency number for urgent after-hours issues. You'll be provided with these numbers in the pre-departure packages for students and parents. While you can't be connected to your child when you call these numbers, you can leave them a message.
Your child will have access to computers for e-mailing family and friends; but don't expect frequent communication as your child will be busy and computer time is limited and has to be shared with other students.
Some course centres have fax numbers which will be shared with you in the pre-departure packages for students and parents.
Mailing addresses will be provided for all course centres in the pre-departure packages for students and parents. We only recommend sending letters and small (non-valuable) care packages for stays longer than 2 weeks as it can take quite a while for mail to make it to certain destinations.
An important note: Being in frequent contact with parents can be bitter-sweet for some children. As we mentioned earlier, too frequent contact can delay your child's integration into the program; they end up relying too heavily on parents to guide them through the many adjustment phases of an immersion program. If you have determined that your child is ready for an immersion experience, we highly recommend that you provide some space for your child to navigate this new and wonderful experience and limit your contact to the essentials once or twice a week.
Questions about staying in contact? Call us toll-free 1 888 386 1411
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