2006-10-19 01:13:25 · 5 answers · asked by Syed Mehtab B 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Studying Abroad
of course very safe
2006-10-19 08:24:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As opposed to living with a host family in some other country? I would say very safe, but is the country the issue? If so, see the end of this note.
Trusting a strange family to watch over a student (what age?) really boils down to trusting the agency arranging the stay and the information they collect.
Ask the agency questions about the family----have they hosted before? if so, what did the student say afterward? What kind of research/background information have they collected about the family? How was the family chosen?
How was the family solicited--did they respond to a newspaper ad or are they part of a group that sponsors exchanges like a church group? Have they sent their own kids abroad? Who will be living in the house with the student?
Where does the family live? What is the area like? Are you going to find out all of this specific family information now---or just before the student boards the plane?
What kind of supervision will the student have while in Ireland? Will someone from the group arranging the trip be physically seeing the student on a regular basis? Will other students be nearby or in the house? What happens if your student doesn't get along with the family? Can they go someplace else?
Do they need a special cellphone to use there? In 2004 there were 3.78 million cell phones in use in Ireland for a population of just over 4 million so they must have okay coverage in most areas...More than half the population uses the internet so the student will probably have good access there, too.
There are probably hundreds of things to ask---find someone who has done this before (get a few names from the group) and grill them. ****Ask them what they wished they could have known/asked before they did it.
As for the safety of Irish families and Ireland in general....I would say pretty safe but you can check out crime stats yourself with the links below.
BTW Ireland (the southern one) is about 4 million people or roughly the population of Kentucky so if you're trying to compare US vs Ireland crime that might help. Or you can compare them to your city/state.
The Irish National Police are the called the Garda. Here's a place where you can read their crime stats for last year:
http://www.garda.ie/angarda/annreport.html
** They break the information down by region which is helpful.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland can be found at:
http://www.psni.police.uk/index/statistics_branch/pg_crime_stats.htm
Information from the FBI about crime in the US can be found at:http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/
General information about Ireland from an odd source--the CIA:
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ei.html
Going to a foreign country can be a great experience. My sister spent a summer researching and traveling in Ireland when she was 19. She came home knowing how to play two kinds (different numbers of strings?) of guitar and tons of great stories.
Best wishes!
2006-10-19 02:04:07 · answer #2 · answered by bookmom 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Very Safe
2006-10-19 01:14:21 · answer #3 · answered by bor_rabnud 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Im sure your school has picked out a safe place for you to visit.The only thing strange is you may get spoiled.
2006-10-19 01:27:06 · answer #4 · answered by Gypsy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ummm i dunno why it wouldn't be safe.... i live in ireland.. and i work in a university and everyone from different countrys that come over love it here.. it is very very safe.. and if your refering to belfast "bomb city" its not really that bad!
2006-10-19 01:22:07 · answer #5 · answered by Jarlath S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋