Preparing for your Overseas Experience
It's been said that the most exciting part of going abroad is preparing for the trip deciding where to go, planning your itinerary, applying for visas, reading about the country, planning what clothes to take, contacting anyone you know from that particular country, making plans to meet up, etc. Making good preparation prior to your trip helps to ensure that you make the most out of your journey. Of course, you can expect that there'll be kinks along the way but being prepared beforehand helps minimize them and lets you concentrate what you want to accomplish on your trip whatever it may be.
Choosing Your Style of Travel
One should begin by collecting brochures on the country or countries you intend to visit. You can obtan these at local tourism offices. You can also peruse catalogs of the various programs that interest you. Thee can be obtained by writing to various organizations that provide information on courses or special programs overseas like BUNAC or CIEE. If you plan to take an academic year, contact the nearest embassy or consulate for information about their educational system.
Language Preparation
Once you have decided which country to visit or study, you should plan a program of training in the appropriate language. It will be useful to learn to speak the language even if it's just a few simple phrases. It will endear you with the locals and help you find your way around specially if you are going to a place where no one understands nor speaks English.
Take advantage of language classes offered at your university and make use of language laboratories in your school. Certain embassies and consulates have their own cultural centers where they provide courses on their national language. Check out bookstores for language tapes.
Fluency or a working knowledge of a foreign language pays off in the long run. But if you have less time for language training before your trip, stress should be placed on conversation.
Becoming an Expert in Two Countries
Learn as much as you can about your own country and the country (or countries) you are visiting. People in other countries are more political than what we would normally expect. Conversations usually tend to lead to politics because it's from the news that people get their ideas about other countries.
Read as widely as you can about the country the facts and figures, its people, their literature, their arts. Have a knowledge of its history and culture. Be familiar with the customs and traditions. This will help you have a feeling and temperament of the place. Sometimes knowing who the country's popular singer is, helps you fit in with the crowd. Where to find the answers: visit the library and check out back issues of the National Geographic. Get a hold of an encyclopedia and note down any important points.
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