Most of us, whether young or old, have trouble separating ourselves from our cell phones. We use them as alarms, clocks, entertainment, and ways of staying connected through texting, e-mail, facebook, chat programs and as telephones. For safety reasons, students studying abroad at the European Study Center receive a cell phone upon arrival. They come with a SIM card to which money can be uploaded for inexpensive, pre-paid phone calls.
But what if students want to continue to use their beloved cell phones from home while here? They need to be sure to discuss the possibilities with their cell phone provider. There are too many variables to list them all here, but students who do not take the time to inform themselves well generally end up unexpectedly unhappy about their phone not working in Germany at all (which is fairly standard), or paying extravagant roaming fees. Charging their cell phones may also be an issue if they don't take the time to look into electrical converters as discussed in this earlier post.
No matter what, all students receive a cell phone as part of the program so that they'll have their own German phone number. It will be much less expensive for new friends to reach them on a local number than an international one. The good news is that incoming phone calls are always paid by the caller, not the receiver, so, unlike in the U.S., it's free for students to receive calls on their cell phones.
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