My eldest daughter is going to spend next semester in Budapest.

[HopeHoops]

:cry:

That's going to be really hard on my wife and me, but even more so on her dog. Her college has a sister campus there. She's already visited the country, but she'll have to do her own shopping and really be immersed in the culture to get by day-to-day this time. Curiously, other than the plane ticket, it really doesn't cost that much more than a semester state-side.

[Flaxbee]

1. she'll have an incredible experience...

will you take care of her pup?

[pink-o]

2. I left for England at aged 18, spent 5 years there. I was scared, but it was the best thing.

Of course, that was in 1973--there was no Skype, no email, no texting no instant sending of a pic or even a fax! I wrote letters to my parents, and called them collect on holidays.

I too left my dog with Mom and Dad--but when I came back to visit after a year, the dog went bananas and hadn't forgotten me. I would've taken her with me, but in England that meant 6 months in quarantine so she was better off at home.

I was in Budapest last May: it's pretty darn awesome. And I also get now how hard it was for my parents to see me leave. But in the long run, I ended up seeing them as real people, and had a wonderful relationship with them from the time I moved back Stateside. I never would have had the insight I did if I'd not lived away from them. My sister, who stuck around, still had issues with Mom until Mom died 5 years ago.

What I'm trying to say, is think of this as a long-term investment. I came home, helped out my parents, put them on airplanes and got them to see the world on my airline benefits, and still look after my dad who's 88. I can guarantee this would not be the case if my parents hadn't let me go. Sometimes the hardest thing yields the best results.

[PassingFair]

3. My fifteen year old spent a year in India as a Rotary Exchange student.

The first two months were HELL for me.

:hug:

Your daughter will benefit in ways that cannot
ever be measured.

[grasswire]

4. how exciting

Budapest is a wonderful city. (Say it Budapesht, incidentally.)

The college kid in my family is spending next year in St. Petersburg. (Brrrr!) Total immersion. No English allowed, and no contact with home for several months.

[HopeHoops]

13. Yes, my daughter corrected us on the way to say it last year.

[Major Nikon]

5. I've always encouraged my kids to take classes abroad

Many European universities require classes in other countries.

My son spent a semester in Israel and my daughter has been to India and Italy even though she's still in high school. Their experiences have had a very positive effect on their lives.

It will be a great experience for her. She will no doubt learn more in that semester than any other.

[Odin2005]

6. I hope she has fun!

I'd love to go to Europe!

[whistler162]

7. Is she going to stay in Buda or Pest.......

she should make up her mind before going!:)

[MiddleFingerMom]

8. MiddleFingerMomLilBro studied one semester in Yugoslavia and Poland.

.
.
.
Had a FANTASTIC time -- said he was "forced" to drink strong Turkish-style
coffee 24/7 in Yugoslavia.
.
When he came back, his suitcase was crammed with nothing but fairly high-dollar
items he was "smuggling" back for gifts. I drove to O'Hare to pick him up and
stood in the overhead viewing platform watching him go through Customs. They
had 3-4 international flights backed up and were rushing everybody through the
process. I saw the Customs agent ask him a question, laugh and send him on
through without checking a thing.
.
When asked, he said she asked if he were bringing back any fruits or vegetables.
.
He told her, "I did, but the food on that plane was SO bad that I ate it all
on the way here."
.
Got a NICE hand-carved stash box outta that trip, I did.
.
.
He SWORE there was a pigeon that stalked him to every city on his trip just
to take a copious dump on him.
.
.
.

[whistler162]

10. Wasn't he the cause of the Yugoslavian breakup?

[elleng]

9. I studied in England my Junior year, Nottingham + London,

w side trips on the continent, of course; best experiences of my life.
Daughter spent a semester in Rome, and didn't want to come home.
Highly valuable, life-shaping experiences.
Folks visited me in London around Christmastime. Fun visit; couldn't believe they wanted to take taxis to and fro, as I'd become an 'underground' afficionado by that time!

[edhopper]

11. Two words

Pick Salami.

[HopeHoops]

14. She's vegetarian.

[Kali]

12. Palinka!

[alphafemale]

15. Mine did a semester in Tanzania.

She lived with a Masai Tribe for much of that time. She shaved her head. Most of the women there did because there was not running water.

But it was an amazing thing for her.