When third-year College student Jessica Hinck walked into a grocery store in downtown Lyon, France, last week, the shopkeeper asked if she was American. Yes, she said, and he immediately asked what she thought about the war.
For many University students currently studying abroad, this is a scene constantly re-enacted, in taxis and hair salons, bars and living rooms.
"Every single conversation with everyone at every store you walk into is about the war," said Alicia Yaffe, a third-year College student studying in Granada, Spain.
International sentiment overwhelmingly is against the war in Iraq, said students experiencing protests and debates firsthand.
"I haven't met one young person who's been for the war," said third-year College student Elisa Marks, who is currently in London.
Thousands of protestors flooding city streets are a frequent sight for students abroad, as are fliers posted in store windows denouncing the war. Posters demanding President George W. Bush and Spanish Premier Jose Maria Asner be prosecuted for war crimes plaster the streets of Grenada. At a Copenhagen protest, a demonstrator poured red paint on the Prime Minister of Denmark.
"Protestors in the United States are usually left-wing," said Everett Hewlett, a third-year College student in Valencia, Spain. "Here it's like a family outing. You'll see the old people, little kids. It's a social event."
March 19, the day the United States commenced strikes against Iraq, the State Department issued a worldwide caution.
"As a result of military action in Iraq, there is a potential for retaliatory actions to be taken against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world," the statement said.
The University study abroad office sent an e-mail to students overseas the same day, asking them to send contact information to the University as well as to verify their registration at the American embassy. The e-mail encouraged students to exercise caution and remain aware.
There has been little concern expressed to the study abroad office from students or parents, International Studies Office Director Rebecca Brown said.
"It's almost more nerve-wracking to sit here in the United States and hear all the reports going on than when you're actually in it -- you're in the environment, you've got your friends, your routine, your home," Brown said.
Some students reported seeing increased security at United States symbols such as embassies and consulates. Others did not notice a significant difference in safety measures with the onset of the war.
Despite warnings from the government and the University, students abroad said they feel safe, and have found many Europeans simply wish to talk to Americans about the war. However, students have mixed feelings about the dialogues in which they are frequently engaged.
"I think we've all had more conversations about the war than we'd like," said third-year College student Jason Somensatta, who is in Madrid, Spain.
It is fashionable in Europe to be against the war, many students said, and some expressed frustration with dialogues in which one mind was already decided.
"We haven't heard that many intelligent views on war," said third-year College student Marriaine Hak, who is also in Lyon. "You don't ever hear any side but anti-war. There's no debate here."
People often assume all Americans support the war, some said.
"They have a hard time distinguishing the Bush administration from the American people," Hak said.
Other students said they experienced productive conversations and believe most Europeans drew a distinction between the United States government and its people.
"People here are more active and better informed," Hewlett said. "They are not disrespectful. They just want to know what you think about the war."
Third-year College student Tamara Hastey, studying abroad in Australia, said she felt uncomfortable when she found herself at a protest, until a woman said to her, "I hope you don't think that we don't like Americans. We don't blame the American people, just your government and Bush."
Still, some students said they try to blend in and not appear obviously American, refraining from speaking English in public and keeping shirts with American university logos in the closet.
"A bunch of us joke that when people ask us where we are from, we say Canada," said third-year Commerce student Steve Colangelo, who is studying in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Study abroad students said although discussions about the war now are rampant, little else in their lives has changed since the war began.
"We still go out at night, we still ride the tube," Marks said. "I haven't really done anything differently"
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