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Prepare Yourself
What do I take with me?
How long are you going away for? Where are you going to? What are you going to do? What are the necessities and what can you do without? These are important questions that you need to consider to help you draw up a list of things to take with you. You will have to make compromises and maybe be ruthless with what you leave behind. You need to consider whether you will be located in just one place, perhaps teaching English in a city somewhere with little intention to travel extensively, in which case you could possibly get away with a suitcase and pack more. If, however, you are going to be doing voluntary work in a jungle or on the move then a sturdy waterproof backpack is definitely needed and you will be very restricted with what you can fit into that. So what are the essentials?
- comfortable and appropriate clothing for the trip
- necessary medicines and first aid kit relevant to the trip
- money, passport, tickets, travel insurance details
- list of important telephone numbers
Then of course there are the non-essential things that help to keep you sane, which can include any of the following:
- ipod/mp3 player (find the cheapest prices through a price comparison site like Kelkoo
).
- digital camera
- books
- lucky mascot...
- things you can't live without
- things you know you can't get where you are going but know you will crave...
We have drawn up some example packing checklists in our checklists section, so feel free to browse those for ideas of what to take and what not to take. There may even be something on there that you had forgotten!
If you have any comments on this section, please do not hesitate to contact us using the link in the menu bar at the top of the page.