Eighteen year olds going to Europe during the summer involves collecting cheap Chinese made magnets at the Eiffle Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, etc. But if you think that's taking in "culture," I wont try to disabuse you. (It also involves drunken debauchery and getting laid, but that's an entirely different conversation.) BTW, I'm not triggered at all, I'm sitting next to a private pool abroad, as you're stuck in your cute, little cubicle. Cheers. |
Well…they don’t seem to have any friends, so once more it’s not particularly relevant. |
Wow, my kid also went to Europe and swam in a private pool…I guess my kid is as sophisticated as you after all. |
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There’s no question the massive influx of young refugee men has exponentially increased the danger and especially the risk of rape, in Europe.
How street-wise is your DD? Does she have a solid itinerary? Does she drink? |
Even if true, it’s still safer than anywhere in the US. Are your kids street smart? Do they have a solid daily itinerary as they go about their day-to-day lives in the US? |
The 11pm- 4am "disco life" only means, hard party drugs! Hostels is not a very typical thing to do for most "American" kids either... |
My teen didn't do any of the things you mention - she did a lot of pretty great things! None of it involved cheap trinkets, getting drunk or laid. . .again - your assumptions about what a teen will do on a trip like this says a lot more about YOU than you are willing to admit! Enjoy your "private pool abroad" and I mean that sincerely. You need some R&R. |
| I did a Europe trip after grad school on my own dime. If my kid was responsible I might consider a gap year in a foreign language institute—I spent a year abroad and it’s pretty much the only way to reach a reasonable degree of fluency, since university foreign language education in the US is terrible (I tested into second year German at UChicago after a decade of not speaking any German, which tells you how low the expectations are at a place that’s supposed to have one of the strongest programs). |