So you wanna study abroad? Great Idea!
I’ve been lucky enough to do my fair share of traveling independently and through a study abroad so I knew wanted to integrate an aspect of travel into my Independent Learning Contract (ILC). There is a lot of planning to do this safely and smoothly. First I’ll go over my personal steps in planning my trip and then I will go through the step by step process with the Evergreen State College Study Abroad program. You’ll have to be approved by them in order to count your trip as a part of your ILC.
First Off…
From my personal travel experience I knew there was a lot of history and resources surrounding my studies of textile and natural dye techniques happening in Oaxaca, Mexico from my trip there last year. But you could easily find an area that fits your ILC focus through a simple search on the web. What I looked for in this trip considering I had a time limit for traveling was…
- flight costs
- flight length
- Country/town living costs- what are the hostels/hotels, meals and taxi’s costs?
- region accessibility– is what I am studying/ wanting to visit all relatively close together? This is important so you don’t waste time and avoid stress.
- Safety– You want to research the area you are going to intensively before you pick to travel there. Is this your first trip? Do a lot of other travelers go there?
- Are there workshops/ organizations/ individuals in the area to help you?
- weather
I’d recommend taking a good look at your bank account and deciding a minimum and maximum amount of money you can or are willing to spend. This a called a budget, but that word personally scares me. Make sure you’ll have money in your bank account for when you return. You’ll want to be able to experience the area fully, having the funds to try food and experiences while staying at hostels/hotels that have good reviews and feel safe in my opinion is imperative, especially for studying. Traveling around the world is a fun adventure, but just like in the states, anything can go terribly wrong anywhere so having a secure plan, definitely if your traveling by yourself is imperative. I’ve done it both ways, and its been very good and also very bad. Better safe than sorry.
From here you can make a decision about where to visit for your study abroad!
Here are some sites that I check first when picking/planning my trips…
For flights: Kayak, google flights or Cheapoair. I search on all the sites and usually book through Kayak because they have 48 hours for you to cancel for free which is nice while your securing everything else. Hopper is an app I’ve used to track the best price for flights.
For basic country/region costs: Lonely Planet is a good go-to, their website has costs/safety and tips all laid out for most regions. Download their app, they have awesome maps that include restaurants, hostels, sites and experiences you can use without phone connection, don’t forget to download the actual map and not just the app or else it won’t work once your out of internet. This is been a life saver, but they don’t have one for every city. From here check out individuals recent blogs.
Hotels/hostels: HostelWorld, bookings.com, Airbnb. Read all the reviews, if a place doesn’t have any reviews and you don’t know anyone who’s stayed there before, please do not even bother. Always make sure when you are reading reviews you are looking for area safety and accessibility to the sites/area you are trying to spend time in. Ideally you don’t want to be walking in dangerous areas or at night by yourself. Always google that area/hostel/hotel as well to see what else is said about it.
Other things to know:
TAXIS/TUKTUKS/travel: Know what color/type of taxi is safe, you are most likely arriving into a bigger city and either staying there or traveling to a more rural area eventually, there are normally accredited taxi’s people trust and ones that locals do not trust. Always have a specific plan for getting off the airplane. Ask your hotel or hostel if they provide transportation, this is a relief until you an become more accounted to the area. Transportation is where a lot of scams or even more dangerous things can happen, so spend a good amount of time researching this. For example in Mexico city there is a que(line) that you wait in at the airport for a reliable fare priced taxi, just wait. If you rent a scooter or buy a motorcycle, always wear a helmet. seriously ALWAYS wear a helmet, I have been in a motorcycle accident abroad. WEAR A HELMET. Also its always good to put a small first aid kit on your handlebars. 🙂
Money: Have back-up debit cards, credit cards are good too, but they need to be able to work in ATM’s so you can withdraw money. Also exchange your money in the airport. Keep your money/cards in various spots, a little in your pocket, in your small bag and some spread in other areas in your bigger bag. If something gets stolen you HAVE to have back-ups. Also in my experience it’s good to carry some quick cash in case you are in a situation where someone wants a bribe. You want to not pull out all of your money, just a bit.
ID’s: make copies of your ID’s, including passports, keep these hidden in a safe place separate from your actual ID’s. I always scan a copy/take a picture of each, including my debit cards and send this to my parents and a friend that I know will be there if I need them.
Plan by the time change– If you are traveling far the first day you might be too exhausted to do much and need time to acclimate to the time change, have a place to stay and rest before you make your next journey. Also plan for the same when you return back to the states, it takes a lot of time to re-adjust to different time zones… and life.
Pack light: bring clothes that you might totally destroy or loose. Bring clothes for the weather, always have a rain poncho. Don’t bring too much, your going to find things there you want to buy and can hurt your back carrying around huge bags. Be yourself but respect the cultures you are visiting. RESEARCH this.
—-It’s good to make friends and go on adventures with them, but know where you are going, sadly people we think we can trust can still turn out to not be who we thought.
How to get approved for your travel through Evergreen:
- Step one- email the study abroad program, let them know you are thinking about or planning a trip—–studyabroad@evergreen.edu
- Check the website: https://www.evergreen.edu/studyabroad/ It has everything you need on it.
- Call/email to make sure you can attend a travel workshop or try and set up a meeting for a personal workshop, you HAVE to get this done in order to be approved so get this figured out first even if you don’t have everything planned. https://www.evergreen.edu/studyabroad/workshops2
- Make sure you have written in your travel plan/work into your ILC contract and checked the box on your contract for travel outside of the country. Here is the contract page: https://evergreen.edu/individualstudy/individuallearningcontracts
- fill out all the required forms they can be found at: https://www.evergreen.edu/studyabroad/forms -some of these can be filled out online which is easiest.
- Get travel insurance, I use WorldNomads for travel insurance. https://www.worldnomads.com/usa/travel-insurance/?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=usa_brand_search_world_nomads_exact&utm_term=world+nomads&utm_content=exact&msclkid=4ce1e4c9cfb6102cc4febf00ee98d952
To know/bring for your Study Abroad meeting:
- Know the names of the organizations you are working with and/or hotel you are staying at
- Bring your passport or a copy.
- Copy of your travel insurance
- copy of flight details
- Look into safety tips and traveling in the area your going, they are going to ask you some general questions on this.
After your meeting you will need to pay a 100$ fee for studying abroad. Once you’ve paid and your contract has been approved by the study abroad program
Getting approved to study abroad can be a fairly simple task if you really want it to happen. Start working on all of this as soon as you have the idea to travel for school. Take advantage of this unique opportunity and adventure with a purpose. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!
