Preparation

You can help your student with their preparations to go abroad. Study up on the country their going to. Simply purchasing a travel book or map of the area their going to can help greatly when they mention having gone to a certain town or city you can see where the town in on the map and see pictures of places you've visited.
Technology is also a very helpful tool in preparing both for all parties involved. The use of email is a good way to stay in contact while your student in abroad.

You might also look into Skype as a program that you can use. Also you should prepare yourself for the separation, you may be quick to jump to worry mode if you haven't heard from your child in a week. Please remember if something bad had happened to your student you would be informed. Often students loose track of time and are having too much fun to check their email. Lastly, confirm what the time difference is. It can be stressful to both yourself and your student to wake up at 3am to a phone ringing.