Young Americans abroad, like their adult counterparts, tend to “experience” another country from the confines of safe enclaves set up to absorb them. You see them all over the world together, in cafes in Barcelona speaking in loud English about their day trips on weekends, in cheap, Indian hotels bragging about how little they paid for things, in the red light district of Tehran already drunk in the early evening. So often, “going abroad” is about taking advantage of different economic structures, as the authors also recommend.

This was brought home to me recently while listening to a colleague who quite frequently in our work together referenced her year abroad in Spain. On one occasion, she described her single experience in “Africa” – with great authority, of course, since she had been there. On her overnight excursion to Tangier, she was met with men whom she described as continually making advances on her. She described learning from an American couple that Tangier was the site of kidnappings of white tourists for the rumored, underground “sex trade”. She was completely ignorant of her own orientalism, and will continue to perpetuate this perception of “Africa” for the rest of her life.

It’s true that Americans can benefit from traveling, and I believe that some callers genuinely benefitted personally and probably professionally from their global experiences. Living abroad is not a magic wand, however, to change ignorant cultural attitudes, the way that it is often portrayed. An American abroad can still be an American, especially since so much of the world knocks itself out to accomodate us and our dollars.

I think some middle-class Americans may be better off wandering around Newark or Detroit for a week than leaving the country. Such an experience may alter perspective more than a beer-soaked year in Europe.

Yes, most middle class families will spend more per year to have their kids in the US than they would to send them on a program like Rotary Youth Exchange, but there are many low income students who go and pay almost NOTHING for their year abroad. Several students I interviewed paid less than $100 for their entire year abroad both as high school exchange students and during college study abroad! In fact, there are many scholarships specifically for lower-income kids–especially those who are black or Latino–to study abroad. These are based solely on need.

I do understand the frustration of living month to month–I grew up that way and my family had very little in the way of resources. But I still went to college, studied abroad and my first job out of college (it was during 1982 in a recession) was teaching English in Japan–it was the only job I could get and I arrived with $50 in my pocket and my flight, visa, etc. were all paid for. It completely the course of my life.

There ARE opportunities out there for families with limited means, but all too often, parents are unaware of the financial assistance available or simply cannot imagine this possibility for their kids.

I urge you and all families interested in making their kids recession-proof to consider how you might utilize the resources available to you in order to give your kids the learning experiences they need to thrive no matter what the future may bring. If you want to give your kids their best shot at having more financial security than you do, you must look at ways to give them more opportunities than you have had. It’s that simple–and that critical.

If you took the approach that, “many more middle-class families can do this than they might realize, it’s not just for the wealthy” I could respect that. But “everyone can” attitude is condescending, and hurtful. I just think you would get more positive feedback if you softened your tone a bit.

I’ll give you the math (per kid): $250 on clothes I put on my credit card, no cell phone, free lessons through a program called freeschool, and $250/yr on baseball supplies and fees that some years we can afford some years we can’t. Right now if our oldest was of age, we couldn’t afford car insurance for him. Less than $100/mo on food. Parties about $100/year, although we’ve gone without those too in lean times. Our district has a program to provide prom dresses for students who can’t afford them because this is exactly the kind of thing that families CAN’T add up.

Yet I feel we’re close to a range where we could afford it, but barely, only because our income has increased over the years and I expect it to in the future. Many of my friends couldn’t afford this. Some depend on the money their children’s jobs bring in.

As for moving… we’re lucky that we bought our house a while ago and aren’t upside down like a lot of people, but we have elderly family members in the area we look after. Most people of lower socio-economic status also depend on a social network of friends for car-repair, home-repair, babysitting, transportation, small loans of money and tools etc. that their day-to-day living depends on.

Yes, we did host exchange students in our home. In fact, we have had over a dozen international students live with us over the years, beginning when our kids were very small. And we are very grateful for the wonderful, generous host families abroad who were willing to support our kids while they were abroad just as we were happy to support those who came to stay with us. Those who send students abroad are, in most cases, not REQUIRED to host a student, though many do out of excitement about sharing in the exchange experience. We hosted students before and during our daughters’ exchanges, but the point still stands that sending a student abroad for a year can cost less than a year in the US.

And to clarify, the book isn’t about earning a degree abroad, though that can also be a great option. Instead, it focuses on American students who graduate from American colleges but spend significant periods abroad (and transfer their credits back to the US). Two of our daughters graduated from schools in Canada (great education, reasonable price), one at a large US state school and the youngest at a small private college in the US (great scholarships, thanks to her time abroad!)

Thanks for listening!

Just wanted to clarify a few points.

My husband and I are not even CLOSE to wealthy–in fact, we earn an annual salary in the mid-five figures–TOGETHER. We did sell everything, but we had a modest 1800 square foot home so it’s not as though we made out like bandits on that–though we did sell at a good time (2005) compared to now.

One of the reasons we wanted to go abroad was because we knew we could save money each month while earning the same salary and having a better lifestyle. The challenge wasn’t money–it was how to make our small company virtual. We did that despite the fact that it’s a business that sells products and requires shipping, inventory, sales, etc.

And although it is true that most students who go abroad are white and upper middle class, we’re trying to change that by sharing information about how to do it safely and inexpensively. ANY family can contact their local Rotary Club and see about sending their student abroad for a year during or right after high school, and in most cases, that year abroad will cost much LESS than the year in the United States, where it is expensive to pay for even the basics for high school students attending a public school, as our kids did. Really–do the math and see how the school activities, sports, parties, clothes, cell phones, car insurance, prom dresses, and lessons add up. Now, compare it to a year abroad for less than $3,000.

Also, the Rotary Youth Exchange program is going strong, contrary to one post here. However, the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships for master’s degree programs has been discontinued.

And yes, the book has a whole chapter on how to stay safe abroad by avoiding the American bubble and being aware of one’s surroundings. Those who get into trouble abroad tend to be those who are drunk, hanging out in tourist areas where they are easy targets, or engaging in behavior that is illegal (even in the US).

There are many wonderful and AFFORDABLE opportunities to study abroad and lack of money is not an obstacle–but lack of information/imagination is. Get informed, picture the possibilities, and go discover the world for yourself. (And yes, read the book if you choose–it has valuable info and inspiring stories.)

Something to think about…

Whenever cost was brought up, they only said how much they “saved”–as in less money spent than they would have otherwise, but money spent nonetheless. Nothing was mentioned about students who rely on student loans, financial aid and scholarships. Talking about how you don’t have to spend money on soccer shoes is nonsensical to families to can’t afford to send their kids to team sport activities, much less India. Nor was anything mentioned about older students or students with family commitments.

Perhaps a future guest could be someone from the organization Class Action, (http://www.classism.org/) to help your listeners (and guests) get a little more realistic view of the world.

Brett I have a little surprise for you, that %10 of cost you think you will be saving will be eaten up by the cost of living in Japan. For instance a cantaloupe can cost as much as $10 per pound or more. If your going to Japan for the experience, to learn the language and culture that’s great but to do so because it costs less is foolish and you will go broke.

The more I read the comments here I can’t help but feel this is still the realm of the upper middle classes. How many high schools in South Central LA or other poor and areas have programs that send students overseas.

The Frost’ are on a book tour, this program was about selling books. It was not about them being altruistic and into “public education”.

By the way, this is the study I mentioned:

http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13643981