Check out the policies when you arrive at your destination. Maybe you can save yourself the headaches of computer access AND improve your penmanship during your time abroad. Many programs do provide their students with computer access, albeit on a more limited basis than here. You may find yourself standing in a line in a university library in order to check e-mail, for instance. Or there might be a computer lab connected to the headquarters of your program overseas, but it may only be open for a few hours each day.
Internet cafes are popular places to catch up on e-mail from the States and to surf the web.
Taking a laptop is a great idea for students who can afford to do so. That said, you must realize that contracting with an Internet service provider abroad can be time-consuming and expensive. In some cases, the room you're staying in may not have a telephone hookup. Even without Internet access, your laptop can be an invaluable study tool, saving you lots of time and frustration by allowing you to write papers, reports, and do home work at home. Once you have a document ready to hand in, you may need to copy it to a floppy and take it to a computer lab or internet caf to print it.