Tuesday, July 17, 2007

How to Plan a Successful Spring

1. Plan Ahead
* Note that in order to prepare for a Spring Break vacation you need to allow yourself adequate time and resources to make your trip possible.
o At least 5 months prior to your Spring Break you should begin thinking about the location in which you are wanting to visit.
o Then you need to compare the different methods of travel you will be using, as well as the different places to stay.
o Now that you know where you are wanting to go, how you are going to get there and where you will be staying you need to purchase tickets for the method of travel you choose as well as reserve a room at your choice of hotels.
o You can use websites such as, hotwire.com, travelocity.com, and bookit.com for the above steps.
+ www.hotwire.com
+ www.travelocity.com
+ www.bookit.com
# Doing these steps months ahead of time will not only be good for your wallet, but it will also allow you enough time to save for other expected expenses.
2. Do the Research
* If you are traveling some where in which you have never been, it is always a good idea to make yourself familiar with that location before you arrive.
o Examples: Culture, food, entertainment, weather.
o Depending on where you are traveling to you will need to know whether you will need a Passport, a Birth Certificate, or just a Photo ID.
+ You can access this information at www.travel.state.gov
o You will also need to know whether or not you will need to do a currency exchange.
+ Example: American dollars to Pesos, Pesos to Euros, Euros to American dollars.
3. Continue to Budget for Expenses
* This is where you can make or break your trip.
o Don’t lose sight of how important this is to your trip; this should be done consistently throughout the time leading up to your break.
o Also, make sure you are taking care of and budgeting in other expected expenses.
+ Warm Weather Examples: Tanning minutes, beach apparel,outdoor recreation, personal trainer.
+ Cold Weather Examples: Climate appropriate apparel, gear, recreation, medication.
4. Get Ready
* Note this should be done the month in which you are going to be on break.
o Make sure you have all essential items necessary for your travels already taken care of.
+ Example: Passport, apparel, gear, luggage, currency.
o It is also wise to know the rules of the airline in which you will be using to limit some of the hassle involved in flying.
+ Example: What you can and can not take on a plane
o Get everything together and enjoy your Spring Break!

How to Have a Great Vacation Without Parents

1. Keep busy. Find something to do that is so fun, it will take your mind off of how much you miss your parents.
2. Write or call your parents often. Hearing their voices or getting a letter for them will make it be more bearable to be without them. If you have access to email, that would work, too.
3. Make some new friends on vacation. Sometimes you can meet the most interesting people when away from home. You could meet a best friend or a new pen pal!
4. Talk to someone if you feel absolutely miserable without your parents. Whether you're with family members or a friend and her family, no one wants you to be miserable. Talking to someone can help make you feel better.
5. Find souvenirs for your mom and dad to bring back to them. It can be fun to find special gifts for them, and they will appreciate the gesture.
6. Know that it will be good for you to more or less fend for yourself without your mom and dad stepping in to fight all your battles.
7. When you arrive home, don't tell your parents how much you hated your vacation without them, even if that is the case. Talk about the good points of your trip.

How to Host an Exchange Student

1. Prepare a room for them. Your student will feel more comfortable in your house with their own room. Adorn walls with flags and maps of their country.
2. Learn about them. Try to obtain their e-mail address, so you can begin communicating with them. The sooner, the better.
3. Try to make them feel welcome. When you see a group of friends, introduce your student to them and let them meet each other. Try and say their name with their native accent in mind.
4. Don't try and do too much. In most cases, many things in their country are the same as they are in your country. Don't point out every tiny detail you see because it will annoy them. Do not speak loudly with them. They just speak a different language - they are not mentally defective.
5. Be polite and mind you manners. However, politeness and manners differ from culture to culture. Try to learn about the exchange student's culture before hand. Discussing these differences in manner can be an important way to share knowledge of each other's cultures.
6. Spend time with them. Chances are they won't visit you for a long time, if they do visit you again. Take them to the beach. Give them Coronas and teach them games that don't exist in our culture like sand-style hopscotch. Hosting an exchange student is something you will remember for the rest of your life, and hopefully you will remain lifelong friends. There are many different cultures all over the world. Keep an open mind, even if your Mexican exchange students appear similar to your friend's Japanese exchange students. Remember, they DO NOT all look the same. Appearances can vary from region to region.

How to Register Travel With a US Consulate

1. Go to the registration home page at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/home.asp
2. click the REGISTER MY TRIP button on right hand side of page.
3. Fill in Name Address and Phone.
4. Fill in passport number and date of issue and expiration.
5. Fill in emergency contact information.
6. Add additional travelers if needed.
7. Fill in dates of arrival and departure, as well as purpose of visit.
8. Fill in destination (hotel, school, work, or whatever applies) and address.
9. Add additional destinations if required.
10. Choose to whom your information can be shared (Family, Friends, Legal Representative, Media, Medical Rep, Members of Congress and Other).
11. Add additional details if you like.
12. Proceed to confirmation page.

How to Wait for a Summer Vacation

1. Find something that you can really get into. On the weekends you might want to do something active, like rock climbing, or taking dancing lessons. If sports isn't your thing, try something else- whatever you enjoy doing. It's important to find something that you enjoy doing because time passes by really quickly.
2. Consider your close relationships. If you have a boyfriend or really close friend, it may make you less likely to want to leave. This will be a tough situation to deal with. On the other hand, a close relationship can distract your attention.
3. Learn about your school, your country, area, et cetera. Learn about its good things and what it has to offer, because when you leave, you'll appreciate your vacation a lot more, and you might learn a very valuable lesson from this.
4. Assignments, exams and homework. These can really make us feel horrible and dreary. Think of it this way- if you get through these tough times, then that summer vacation will come. In the mean time work hard at school!
5. Countdown days until summer. This shows you that time is really passing by, and fast. Trust me, this works.
6. Find things that your vacation location has to offer that your home also does. For example, if you're going to Italy, and you want to have real pizza, not that Pizza Hut, go to an old restaurant in your city. But don't do this too much. If you do, you won't appreciate your vacation spot as much.

How to Read a Map

1. Open a map and find the page where there are contents from A to Z.
2. Find the location you want. There should be a page number or map number next to it.
3. TUrn to that page and read it.
4. Find your location and follow your finger on where you want to go.
5. Walk to the desired spot and follow on with the map.

How to Prepare for Summer

1. First, buy the things you'll need like sun screen or season passes to a theme park. If you're on a tight budget then stay close to home.
2. You will feel very lazy during the summer, so don't wear a lot of makeup, but still, take care of yourself. Wear some waterproof mascara, full coverage foundation(be sure to take it off at night),add a small amount of blush to give you a shimmering glow, and don't forget lip gloss you'll want your lip gloss that blends with your lips.
3. Sign yearbooks. All you need to say is, "I hope you have a good summer and I hope to see you next year!" Then sign your first and last name. If you don't want to say much to a person you don't like all you need to do is just sign your first name.
4. Buy a camera. It's good to make a photo album so you can visit memories whenever you want.
5. At a local gym you can play badminton, volleyball, frisbee, ping pong etc. Those are some favorites. If you aren't active much, a walk in the park