From abroad, students worry for friends, and safety

College junior Brian Cooper was on his way to class when he heard about the terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.

College junior Adam Roseman received the news on a voicemail message from a friend of his.

Adam Lubow, also a College junior, was at home eating lunch when the World Trade Center collapsed.

What distinguishes these three from other Penn students reacting to Tuesday's terrorist attacks is that they are overseas right now, studying abroad during America's time of instability.

Currently, around 500 Penn undergraduates are studying abroad, scattered around the world from Ghana to Australia. In addition to reeling from the shock that struck most Americans following the attacks, these students have also had to cope with being far from home in this time of chaos and confusion.

"Watching this devastating tragedy on the news has been a surreal experience, particularly because I have been forced to witness [it] at a distance," Dayna Finkelstein, a College junior studying in Brighton, England, said in an e-mail.

With limited access to American newspapers and television networks, many students who are studying abroad have little information about the terrorist attacks. The all-too-familiar image of the World Trade Center towers collapsing has not been flashed in front of them repeatedly, nor have these students witnessed the mass coverage of the attacks on almost every television network.

"Everyone here was just utterly confused as to what was happening," recounted Cooper, who is also studying in Brighton, England. "The only clip [CNN] had was the planes crashing into the building, so watching this event over made each of us sicker and sicker."

By Tuesday evening, the Office of International Studies had sent e-mails out to all students studying abroad summarizing America's situation and outlined appropriate safety guidelines. Since then, the office has been giving students e-mail updates every 24 hours, and helping them get in contact with the American embassies in their various countries.

"Right now, our assumption is that our [study abroad] programs will continue," Executive Director of International Programs Joyce Randolph said. "If some real conflicts do develop, we plan to always, always act in the interest of the students."

The anxiety of many Americans about not knowing whether family and friends were victims of the attacks has been felt doubly by students who are abroad. Congested phone networks and the temporary shut-down of telephone lines in New York and Washington has added to their angst.

"There's a great feeling of helplessness, of not being able to contact people, not being there to help them through their grief," said Lubow, who is studying in Madrid. "Even now, there are people who I haven't been able to get in touch with to find [out] about their families."

Regardless of the OIP's efforts to ensure the security of students who are abroad, the extent of their undertakings are necessarily limited by distance. Nevertheless, study abroad students have been surprised by the sensitivity of the countries where they are visiting.

"The British are being so supportive," said College junior Alexis Marchio, who is studying at the University of Sussex in England. "Everywhere we go, British people want to talk to us about what happened."

In fact, at a memorial service in London on Friday, Queen Elizabeth led 50,000 British audience members in singing the Star Spangled Banner.

"I was surprised to see that people here stopped running everything to report and mourn the losses," said Runa Reta, a College junior studying in Australia. "There were so many radio talk shows which had Australians calling in totally devastated."

Students who have yet to leave for study abroad programs have expressed wariness about leaving the country at this time. College junior Leah Tulin, a Daily Pennsylvanian photographer, actually decided to call off her semester in London.

"Nobody knows what's coming in the next weeks or years," she said. "London is not going anywhere. Now just doesn't seem like the right time."

College junior Rachel Fleischer, who still plans to depart for Oxford later this month has also weighed the consequences of being abroad right now.

"What I'm worried about is being an American ambassador at an institution when the political, economic, and social climate is so unsteady," Fleischer said.

Whether more Penn students will be joining their peers abroad, America's unity has been felt internationally.

"I am just so proud to be an American right now," Cooper said.

Added Finkelstein: "We may be far from home right now, but please know that our thoughts and prayers are with everyone."

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