Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
a reduced number of lashes with the cane. We are certain that it wasn't
pleasant. Remember, when you are in a sovereign country, you are subject
to their laws, not ours. Each year more than 2,500 American citizens are
arrested in foreign countries. Many of them are students who get arrested
for drugs, drinking, and disorderly conduct. Approximately half of those
arrested are charged with narcotics violations. Some of these arrests are
of persons involved in the large-scale smuggling of illegal and controlled
substances. Most, however, are arrested for simple possession of small
amount of drugs and are stunned to learn that an activity they assumed
was a violation at worst was actually a serious felony. In addition, there are
often dramatic differences in the laws of even countries with common
borders. What is legal in the Netherlands, for example, may not be legal
in Belgium or Germany. Although it seems as easy to go across Europe
as it is to go from state to state in the United States, local laws may
differ greatly. The German police do not want to hear “But it is legal in
Amsterdam.” Do not assume the police will be soft on you because you are
a young American student either. Maybe they will, if a good-natured cop
catches you. But if the officer in question has had a fight with his or her
spouse that morning or is just fed up with getting called to disturbances
caused by drunk and disorderly foreign students, you will be locked up.
By the way, the same recommended guidelines in Chapter 3 apply to you
as well. Think from your own personal experience about friends or others
you may know who have gotten into trouble while drunk or stoned. In our
experience, once your senses have been impaired, your judgment follows
right along. How many Americans get drunk abroad and are robbed,
raped, or worse because they left their common sense at the bottom of a
bottle of beer? If you really need to cut loose, do not do it in public. If
you are drunk or even just a bit impaired, do not drive. Stay home when
the urge to behave in this manner takes hold of you. If you are out, the
same precautions apply overseas as they do here. A designated driver, who
is also likely to be the designated thinker as well, is a necessity. And before
you engage in underage drinking, remember that in some countries the
punishment will not be the police officer taking you home to mom and
dad. It may very well be arrest and jail.
A bit of advice that we mentioned earlier in the chapter about pre-
travel research bears repeating: Know as much as you can about the culture
you are going to. You should, in particular, become familiar with the cus-
toms of the country to which you are traveling and pay particular attention
to the country's values, etiquette, and dress code. Wearing a miniskirt in
