Good Practices for Safety and Security Abroad

Pre-Departure

• Make photocopies of the front page of your passport. Ensure that your faculty director, your emergency contact person in the U.S., and the Study Abroad Office all have copies.

Communication

• Stay in regular contact with program staff and fellow participants. Ensure when traveling or going out independently that the program coordinator, fellow participants, and family know where you are going and when you expect to return. Provide them with an itinerary in advance, if viable, as well as emergency contact information.
• Establish a regular phone or e-mail contact schedule with family or friends.
• If at all possible, rent or buy a global (GSM) cell phone while abroad so family and program participants can readily be contacted, and calls can be made more easily in general (no need to have local calling cards, coins, etc.).
• Know how to use a pay telephone and keep the proper change on hand.
• Know at least a few phrases in the local language so you can signal your need for help, the police, or a doctor.

In-Country Behavior

• Read and behave in accordance with any safety and/or emergency protocols set out by IU policy and the policies of your program director.
• Consider registering with the U.S. Embassy.
• Continue normal routines within their program.
• Carry a photocopy of the front page of your passport.
• Travel light. You can move more quickly and are less likely to set your luggage down, leaving it unattended.
• Avoid crowds or moving about the city as large groups of readily identifiable Americans.
• Maintain a low profile while in the host country; including adopting more regionally appropriate dress standards, speech patterns and behavior (see, for example, the article “How to Avoid Looking Like a U.S. Tourist”).
• Avoid locations known to be common gathering points for U.S. citizens (including bars, restaurants, nightclubs, etc.).
• Avoid discussing politics or government/regulatory policies as topics of conversation, debate or as general points of comparative exchanges.
• Avoid public demonstrations and other civil disturbances.
• Don't use short cuts, narrow alleys or poorly-lit streets. Try not to travel alone at night.
• Avoid carrying large amounts of cash by changing your travelers' checks only as you need currency.
• Carry the following phone numbers and email addresses at all times:

• Family at home and work
• Study abroad program resident director, IU International Office emergency contact numbers, or, if applicable, contact numbers for the foreign university international student office.
• U.S. Embassy and/or local Consulate in any country they visit
• Travel agent
• Local police and fire service
• Medical facilities
• Your hotel

Be Informed
Know the local laws. When you are in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws. Monitor and assess safety issues in the region and country in which you are studying by:

• periodically checking the U.S. Department of State Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings.
• reading local newspapers and guidebooks
• reading the pre-departure materials provided by the host program or university.

Read and refer family/friends to the advice contained in “Advice for Parents: Frequently Asked Questions” by William Hoffa, Academic Consultants International.