Travel Tips
Survey your students: Prior to departing, we surveyed our students via an online surveying tool to find out more about them. We used Google Forms but you can use SurveyMonkey or any other app of your choice. Specifically we wanted to give them this opportunity to share with us their concerns, concerns that they may not have been comfortable sharing openly during a per-departure meeting. This anonymous survey allowed them to have a voice without being judged. On the survey, we asked general questions such as what they were most looking forward to and what their biggest fear or concern was. We asked more specific questions concerning how much money each student want comfortable spending on extras that were outside of their planned itinerary such as special meals or entrance into attractions.
The survey results provided guidelines for us on the trip and also acted as a check list of do’s and don’ts. We were successfully able to check off and visit everyone’s most wanted to visit location and we avoiding certain areas and attractions out of respect of some of our travel mates.
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Pack extra: As the faculty lead, always considering packing extra of anything possible. Yes, you have given your students packing lists and you've reminded them again and again but just pack extra. We packed extra copies of all of our students travel documents, insurance cards and contact info. This came in handy when stuck in emergencies. We kept a hard copy in a binder that I carried at all times as well as a digital copy on a drive that I could easily access on my phone or computer.
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I recommend bringing extra chargers or power adapters (if traveling to a country on a different electrical system). Otherwise, you may be left without your own when needed.
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When on daily excursions, I often packed extra water and extra cash in case students forgot or were left in an emergency situation.
Use an envelope system: Keeping track of expenses in the hustle and bustle of daily excursions can be overwhelming. Our school carefully laid out for us the policy and procedures for using our corporate credit cards and cash. They also provided a few envelopes for us to help sort our receipts as we got them. This proved to be a lifesaver when completing our expense reports post trip.
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Translation notes: Your students have worked hard on their language skills with the use of apps and any
pre-departure lessons. Take the stress of speaking a new language away by creating translation notes or cheat sheets that they can easily carry with them and refer to.
Along the same lines, I shared our residence address and emergency contact information with all the students. I recommend this be done both electronically in your group chat but also as a hard copy. Should students find themselves lost with no cellular service or phone battery left, you want to ensure they are able to get back to the residence.
Icebreakers and games: Remember that the first few days will still be awkward as students get to know each other. Travel can be long too depending where your final destination is. Prepare a few icebreakers and games to help students get to know each other and you. Better yet, have students come prepared with an icebreaker or team builder that they can lead the group in.
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Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
Create boundaries and guidelines: Living and spending 24 hours a day with a new group of people who have become your instant family for 2 weeks can be challenging to say the least. Create boundaries and guidelines for the students and for yourself. My colleague and I were great at knowing when the other needed some alone time and offered up shifts were one of us could completely walk away and the other one was still available to students. This was much needed for us to recharge and be at our best.
Some students will need more alone time than others will and all students will want a little freedom away from their professors. We created some basic rules such as always try to use a buddy system when going into town. Students needed to text, either in the group chat or privately to the faculty, to notify us when they were leaving residence, where they will be going and what time they expected to be back.
Be flexible: This was the hardest for me. I am a type A person that loves to plan! I am an event planner after all. But learning to be flexible is what travel aboard is all about. This was easier for me when I realized that every moment could be a potential teaching moment and that being flexible meant I could utilize unexpected situations as teachable moments. It helped that we traveled to a country that was much more relaxed than Canada and the culture there lent itself to flexibility.
Photo by S. Bramwell