Accustomed to multitasking on the Internet in his Baltimore dorm room, Mark Bye had a tough time getting used to not having access in his London residence. He adjusted, though, realizing he wasn’t in London to listen to Coldplay and check [his] EBay account, he said.

- On Internet access abroad

Sweating in the summer heat, dozens of young travelers frantically check [1] hotmail, [2] thefacebook and [3] hostelworld.com accounts as time ticks away on their computers. The room is packed, and customers are crammed together so close they can see one another’s monitors. Outside, the city holds reminders of an ancient past, but inside this European internet café, tourists are plugged into the modern world.

Nowadays it’s almost impossible to have a completely disconnected experience while traveling and studying abroad. As students venture through foreign lands, immerse themselves in unfamiliar cultures and attempt to speak new languages, one constant keeps them connected to the world they left behind: the Internet. Although the quality and consistency of Internet access abroad varies, most students find spots to plug in, and those who don’t are usually prepared before departing.

While Traveling Abroad

For Dan Faden, a senior at the [4] University of Michigan who backpacked Europe this summer, the Internet was indispensable to his sporadic travel, helping him to research his next stops and make hostel reservations. He relied on Internet cafés, which have sprung up across Western Europe and the world over the past decade to attract travelers and students yearning to read their email - or their friend’s away message.

Internet cafés range in size, price, computer quality and connection speed. Faden found that cafés off the main street are less expensive but also less reliable. While in Florence, Italy, he visited two locations: one on the main street and the other off the beaten path.

The main street café, with a much more convenient location near the city center and train station, had newer computers, a faster connection, a large venue and a lot of computers. It also charged €7 an hour. The other had a slower connection speed, older computers, no air-conditioning (during Italy’s heat wave) and was located in an ‘off-the-beaten-path’ neighborhood. Here, Faden paid €2 an hour.

Hours of operation vary depending on the season of travel and the café’s location. Most Internet cafes are open until 11 p.m. or midnight. Some even remain open 24 hours, allowing ample time for anyone to plug in.

Cafés usually charge by the hour, offering deals if customers purchase multiple hours. Very often these hours can be added to a card, which customers can then use several times. Before purchasing multiple hours, it’s a good idea to test the computers and Internet speed and make sure the café has reasonable hours of operation.

If an Internet café is out of reach, many McDonald’s restaurants throughout Western Europe offer access, and cyber sites (which resemble a phone booth) can be found in train stations and airports.

While Studying Abroad

Imagine a world where college students weren’t constantly signed on AIM, where away messages weren’t compulsively checked and where students had to go to the library to check their e-mail. For many students studying abroad, this is a reality. Although almost every university abroad has Internet access, their systems often aren’t as extensive as those of American universities.

For Mark Bye, a junior at [5] University of Maryland Baltimore County who studied at London’s [6] University of Westminster, Internet access was a luxury he didn’t have. His closest free connection was a 30 minute walk to the school’s computer labs. Bye found that, at Westminster, labs were not open past 9 p.m., and “during primetime hours after class, one couldn’t find a computer less than 10 minutes away from school,” he said.

Accustomed to multitasking on the Internet in his Baltimore dorm room, Bye had a tough time getting used to not having access in his London residence. He adjusted, though, realizing he wasn’t in London to “listen to Coldplay and check [his] EBay account.”

The biggest difference between Internet access at American universities and universities abroad is the number of computers available and their hours of operation. The Internet speed itself is often comparable. Many university libraries have limited hours on nights and weekends, and 24-hour computer labs are hard to come by. Rachel Cullenen, associate director for study abroad at [7] Ithaca College, said many foreign students start their work earlier in the day, so there is no need for the night-owl hours. And, at schools like Westminster, a shortage of government funding keeps lab hours to a minimum and computers slightly outdated.

Jillian Battaglia, a junior at [8] SUNY Cortland studying at Australia’s [9] Griffith University, often has trouble trying to access the net there. Battaglia doesn’t have Internet access in her Griffith dorm room, so she’s forced to rely on the library.

“Our library has a lot of computers, but many people use them throughout the day, so it is often hard to find one,” she said.

She compares this to Cortland, where “everyone has a computer in their dorm room, so the library computers aren’t usually booked.”

Cullenen said students studying in developing countries, such as Uganda, tend to have more difficulty accessing the net than those in places like Western Europe. These students, however, usually manage to find the occasional café where they can e-mail home. She adds that most students enter the abroad process knowing that they will not constantly be online.

Some Words of Wisdom

• Travel with the mentality that your Internet access may be restricted
• Don’t overuse the Internet; AIM will be there when you get home
• E-mail home - it’s cheaper than calling
• Search around for cheap prices and good deals at Internet cafés
• Check public libraries - some offer an hour or two free Internet
• If all else fails, remember McDonald’s for the net

Still Not Satisfied?

[10] http://www.world66.com/netcafeguide
An open content websiteto search for Internet cafés around the world.

http://www.cybercafes.com/
Another listing of cafés across the globe.

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/living/resources/stayingconnected.shtml
A directory of sources that will assist in staying connected while abroad.