There are two basic areas which relate to organising your trip. The first is deciding who to travel with. Finding the perfect travel companion is very important. The second relates to what to pack, health insurance, preparing for local transport issues, and the like. Here are some of our most useful tips to help you plan effectively..
What should I pack?
To help you determine what you need to bring, Connecting Worlds has made a list of items that you will need. You can download it by clicking here . A lot of what you pack will be determined by the nature of your program and the time of the year. Some destinations in Asia and Latin America experience all four seasons, but the other way around to Europe and the U.S…. For example, Summer is at Christmas and Winter falls during July and August. However, other destinations experience just two seasons: wet and dry.
Where to live?
Connecting Worlds has an extensive and reliable network of lodging and housing options across Asia and Latin America. We can help you find lodgings in safe neighborhoods, with good access to everything that will form part of your program, and in comfortable settings with welcoming families/housemates. We’ll make sure that you feel at home when you arrive.
Local Transportation:
In most urban destinations across Latin America, the following local transport options are available...
TAXIS: Taxis are the most expensive means of transport, and foreigners need to be aware that sometimes taxi drivers take advantage of your foreign status and they raise the rates. Therefore, only enter a taxi which has the meter running. Female travelers should be careful not to travel in taxis alone, particularly at night. It might be best to stick with public transport and in areas where there’s always lots of people.
BUSES:Some destinations have excellent bus systems and others have systems which aren’t so impressive. Most Latin American bus services are now converting to a plastic card system, whereby you charge up a card and use that to get on and off the bus as you please. Connecting Worlds will be able to advise you on the local situations of each place in turn. Buses in Latin America are normally the cheapest form of public transport available, but they rarely last all night. In some large cities, like Buenos Aires, some lines run all night, but far less frequently than during the day.
SUBWAY:Most large cities in Latin America have a metro system and it’s usually one of the more expensive forms of public transport, but also the quickest. One important thing to do before going out at night is to find out when the local metro system stops working. Latin American metro services never run through the night and they tend to stop working before the buses.
TRAINS: Trains are a great way to get to know that suburbs of the city you’re living in, or the nearby locations close to your host town. It’s normally best to reserve train tickets in advance and to plan your trips carefully. Train prices vary from one country to the next. It’s almost important to state that not all Latin American destinations offer train services of this kind.
WALKING:Walking is the easiest and cheapest way to travel, and one of the best ways to get a feel for your new “home” after you first arrive. Always give yourself enough time to return before it gets really dark. When you’re in a foreign place, walking around at night can be dangerous. Particularly if you suddenly lose your way.
Visa
You must check whether or not you need a visa to enter the Latin American or Asian country you plan to visit before you fly. You might get turned away at the airport if you don’t meet the necessary visa requirements. In some Latin American countries, depending on your nationality, you might have to pay a Reciprocity Fee when you arrive at the foreign airport, before they allow you to enter the country. Again, be prepared, and find out whether or not you will be liable to pay any fees upon arrival. Connecting Worlds is happy to help you investigate.
Insurance
Anyone participating in one of our programs must have a valid medical insurance policy, which covers sickness, accidents, and third party liabilities. It is also a prerequisite that the medical insurance cover includes medical evacuation and repatriation.
Medications & Vaccinations
Anyone who takes regular prescription drugs should see their doctor before their trip. Connecting Worlds advises that you to bring a little more medication than you think you’ll need to cover you on your stay abroad, just to be on the safe-side and in case you decide to extend your trip and visit a few places before returning home. Lots of people fall in love with Latin America when they participate on one of our programs, so be prepared for not wanting to leave. To ensure that there are no problems with your medications whilst in Latin America, you must have either a copy of the prescription or a signed, stamped note from your doctor. Knowing the generic names, and not just the brands, of each medication is also recommended.
Depending on the country and region you choose to visit, you might have to get a vaccination from a local clinic before you fly. Again, Connecting Worlds is here to help you, but we also recommend you do a little investigation yourself so that you are thoroughly informed. Some vaccinations are advised, but are not mandatory. There are people who choose not to get vaccinated because of a disbelief in westernised medicine techniques. Unless mandatory before entering the country, no-one can force you to get vaccinated, but you should be thoroughly aware of all risks before making any decisions.
Air Tickets
If you want to find cheap airline tickets, Connecting Worlds recommends the following:
1. Book in advance.
2. Travel during the week, not on the weekend.
3. Avoid traveling on days before an important date - which means you should check the cultural calendar of the country which you’re flying too as well.
4. Check secondary airports for even lower prices, as most destinations have secondary airports for low cost airlines. Choosing these airports will give you more of a chance to find lower fares.
5. Use a price comparison service on the Internet.
Final thoughts
In the last few weeks, days, hours, before you leave for your trip, Connecting Worlds suggest you dedicate some time to the following tasks...
Check the weather, as a suitcase packed with the wrong clothing can turn the trip of a lifetime into a neverending disaster.
Read up a little about the local culture.
Determine your budget.
Volunteer Fundraising Tips
You might be really interested in committing to one of our international exchange programs, but the cost of such a venture could also be the only thing holding you back. At Connecting Worlds, we have to include costs to sign up to our programs in order to offer a high quality service to our participants and tend to the needs of the local communities who agree to receive our foreign guests, namely… you.
But there are ways around the cost issue. One idea is to implement a few fundraising ideas back home in order to fund your project. The question is how to do. Here are a few tips:
1. Who should you ask?
Friends and family, local organisations based in your community, your college or university, or businesses who might be interested in investing.
2. How should you ask them?
You need to think about what could possibly interest the different various groups above about the project you’re hoping to fund. For example, friends and family might help sponsor you because they love and care for you and know how much the experience would be to you, but that’s not going to work with everyone.
When approaching organisations in your local community, it’s probably a good idea to talk with those who already support projects of a similar nature. If you intend to visit Brazil in order to work with homeless children, try getting in touch with organisations that work with homeless people in your community. They might not be able to fund you directly, but they might have contacts for sponsors who help them with their projects, for example.
When asking for financially support from your university or college, you should approach the subject from an educational point of view. You need to show how this experience will enrich your study experience. You could also draw up a plan of how you could help to spread the word about the financial support your educational institution offers you, should they choose to show their support.
Businesses will really respond to proposals which help them to project themselves in a positive light via the press and/or social media. You could draw up a contract which would include a variety of promises to that business in terms of marketing and publicity - for example, posting regularly via social media information about your experience with the business’ logo on all photos as an official sponsor.
3. Try an online donation campaign
There are lots of crowdfunding websites out there that help people raise funds for all kinds of projects. You could try signing up to one of those sites in order to help fund your place on one of our programs. These sites normally require a short video and a series of different prizes you can offer to people who sponsor you.
These prizes don’t have to cost you anything either. They could be special mentions via social media sites for people who sponsor you, a selection of photos in an online album for donors upon your return, perhaps even a mention about the sponsorship on a blog that you could create to document your experience. Be creative and see what kind of response you get!
These are just a few ideas to get you started, but there are many ways to raise the funds for all kinds of programs on offer. If anyone has ideas fundraising ideas they want to share with us on this page, don’t hesitate in getting in touch.
