Europe On and Off the Beaten Path
How To Backpack And Travel Safely In South America
Becoming a victim of crime is a possibility no matter where you travel nowadays - even when you stay at home! However, being aware of some of the popular scams and tricks that criminals and opportunists use to victimize tourists can help avoid problems that could ruin a good trip.South America is a popular destination for world travellers and especially for backpackers, adventure enthusiasts and those taking a gap year. The country certainly has plenty to offer and a wonderful variety of landscapes from tropical beaches to the spectacular Andes Mountains, Amazon rainforest, Iguazu Falls, active volcanoes, and fascinating wildlife of the Galapagos Islands. Many travellers choose to take in the exciting and colourful fiestas and carnivals, or visit the sites of ancient civilizations. (Tip: To avoid disappointment, tickets to visit the Inca Trail and ruins at Machu Picchu should be purchased in advance).The best travel advice is to do lots of research and set off armed with as much knowledge as possible. Take a quality guide book and Spanish and Portuguese phrase books. Chances are that nothing bad will happen but, unfortunately, travellers are vulnerable and criminals know it. They will take any opportunity to separate you from your money and possessions! The most common crimes anywhere in the world involve theft and pickpockets and theft of passports is a huge problem worldwide. Care should be taken in places where it is easy to be distracted and forget to watch your belongings, such as airports, internet cafes, on public transport or while renting a car. Avoid using public transport at night or walking alone at night in isolated areas.Thieves have been known to target tourists by pretending to be police officers, tour operators, taxi drivers, or other officials (for example, a real police officer will never ask to see your wallet!) Taxis should be booked in advance with a reputable company, when possible. So called ‘express kidnappings’ are a problem in some areas where victims have been held captive and their bank accounts emptied before they are released. Female travellers should be especially cautious, especially when walking alone at night, on public transport, and in isolated areas, as rapes have been reported. Be on guard also for spiking of drinks - a problem which has become more prevalent. Avoid accepting drinks from strangers, leaving drinks unattended, and make sure that they are poured in plain view.Be aware that many shops, bars, restaurants, and hotels may not accept credit cards in South American countries. Watch for counterfeit money and bogus ATM machines. In Peru, in particular, some ATM machines do not release credit and debit cards automatically unless a button is pushed - and instructions are not always written in English! It goes without saying that travellers should avoid all contact with illegal drugs or drug trafficking as the penalties are severe, involving imprisonment for long periods in extremely unpleasant conditions.All travellers, especially those with pre-existing medical conditions, should have a thorough check-up and necessary vaccinations before leaving home. Diseases like yellow fever, dengue fever, cholera, and malaria are problematic in many areas. Evidence of valid inoculations may be required to travel between some countries in South America.The above tips are just a sample of the knowledge travellers should be armed with before setting off. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office ‘Know before You Go’ campaign is an excellent resource for travellers. Their ‘Travel Advice by Country’ section contains current travel updates and advisories and the Travellers Checklist is another useful tool. Young travellers should pay attention to their Gap Year information. Avoid attracting the attention of police, keep the locals happy, and impress your travel companions with your awareness of local customs, laws and expected etiquette for each country.Adventure travellers and adrenalin junkies will find plenty of outdoor activities and thrills. Activities like kayaking, white water rafting, surfing, hiking, mountain biking and mountaineering are popular. Care should be taken to ensure that the correct travel insurance policy is purchased which will provide cover for any potentially hazardous sports activities. Chile and Argentina are popular destinations for downhill skiing during the UK summer months and, again; don’t forget that additional insurance coverage may be needed.Many areas in South America are remote with limited access to good emergency medical facilities. If a medical emergency should arise, medical care or evacuation and repatriation may be necessary. Without comprehensive travel insurance the costs could be astronomical and mean the end of any further world travel plans for a very long time!About the AuthorJean Andrews is a freelance writer living in the UK. She regularly contributes articles for TIA Ltd who offer backpackers travel insurance. Article Source: Content for Reprint
Top Spring Travel Deals to Europe
Planning Your Off Season Vacation
“I just got the best deal on my vacation — I’m going to Costa Rica in July!”"Ah yes… the height of the rainy season. Be sure to pack your umbrella!”Even though off-season vacationing may be less expensive, it’s important to figure out why the area isn’t a tourist destination all year long. As in the case of Costa Rica, you may find that some roads are downright impassable during the rainy season — a big downside if you plan to drive through the rainforest. Tourist seasons in other areas may be timed to major festivals or spring break vacationers — making them perfectly hospitable during the off-season. If you can make a compromise between off-season factors and your personal needs, you’ll be able to save tons of money while still enjoying the vacation of your dreams.Planning AheadThe key to getting a good deal on an off-season vacation is to plan ahead. First, choose your vacation destination and then do your research to find out when tourism is the slowest. Some areas will have clearly defined tourist seasons, while others experience a steadier flow of visitors. Areas with specific busy seasons are much more likely to give you a good deal on lodging and local activities. As soon as you’ve figured out when the best time to go is, make arrangements to get the time off of work and book your tickets as far in advance as possible.Weather ConditionsOne of the most common reasons that resort areas close down has to do with seasonal weather changes. For example, in the northeastern United States, some hotels close down completely, or are only open for limited amounts of time during the snowy winter months. That said, you may find wintertime suits your needs better than summer if you’re planning to snowshoe through the wilderness. On other hand, if you’re looking for a warmer destination during an off-peak time, you’ll want to consider a destination in the southern states.Access to Attractions Aside from weather considerations, some of the tourist attractions that you want to visit may not be open during off-season periods. This may be due to weather conditions or because of the cost of keeping a full-time staff when there are fewer visitors. Look at tourist brochures for the area you’re interested in visiting, or give the facility a call and ask if they will be open when you plan to visit. In some cases, even if they aren’t officially open, they may be willing to book a private tour for you. Party TimeFor many tropical locations like Mexico and the Caribbean, the timing of the tourist season is based primarily on the throngs of young college co-eds flocking south for spring break. Prices will be higher during the months of January through April, and destinations will be more crowded. However, most of these locations are just as lovely during the off-season. Visiting in the fall or early winter can be a great way to save money and have a quieter, more personalized vacation.Many people choose to take their vacations during off-seasons periods in order to save money. However, it’s important to realize that some of the things you hoped to have on your vacation may not be available during these times. Think carefully about what’s most important to you and plan ahead — you may be able to choose a date that’s less expensive, without compromising on the quality of your vacation.About the AuthorTropical Island Vacation is a website with complete information on weekend getaways, a romantic honeymoon, and exotic islands around the world. Article Source: Content for Reprint
Travel Safety and Security
In a recent APACS study, overseas losses from credit or debit card fraud totaled 208 million sterling - over US 400 miilion dollars - in 2007, in the UK alone.If you travel frequently, you will already understand the importance of protecting yourself from credit card fraud and theft. Newer technologies, such as chip-and-pin, are helping lower the risk of fraud in some areas around the world.In areas with lower security measures, gangs and thieves infiltrate high traffic spending areas and attach bugging devices. These bugging devices scan the magnetic strip on credit or debit cards. The stolen credit card information can then be used by the thieves to make purchases.Technology, like all things in life, is a two way street. As technologies continue to improve the quality of security required for fraud prevention, people work to hack those technologies to their advantage. Credit card companies and banks are on a continual search for new technology to help prevent fraud.Holidays are supposed to be relaxing and fun. Unfortunate incidents, such as theft or personal injury, can cause your much-anticipated holiday to become a bad experience.How do you protect yourself from fraud or theft in less technologically advanced areas? What measures can you take to ensure your personal safety as well as that of your valuables?While making travel arrangements, study a map of the area. Choose an emergency meeting spot in case someone gets lost. Print or buy a local map and make sure everyone in your group knows how to read it. Mark special points of interest on the map and always make sure everyone knows where you’re going to be.Cell phones or walkie-talkies are an invaluable resource, especially for large groups or families. The easier you can stay in touch, the more worry-free fun you will have.Take minimal luggage. The fewer bags you have to carry, the more easily you can maneuver through crowded areas and hotel hallways. Don’t pack money, jewelry, electronics or important documents in luggage. Always pack these items in your carry-on bag or not at all. The more you take with you, the more you stand to lose.Always travel in a group. When you are out and about, always have a friend with you. You are much less likely to be attacked or mugged if you have someone with you. Having a friend with you also carries the added benefit of having another set of eyes in case you’re being followed or pick pocketed. Ask hotel staff if you should avoid certain areas. If you drove to your destination or have a rental car, don’t leave personal belongings in your vehicle.Always be sure to lock your room. Even if you are simply going down the hall for a snack, it is important to lock your door. Any time you are away from your room, it is susceptible to thieves. When you are relaxing in your room, the door should be locked. Thieves and gangs have been known to test hotel room doors to see if they can enter successfully. If they do manage to open your unlocked door, they may steal your valuables or even cause harm to you or a loved one if you interrupt them in their quest for money or valuables.Use traveller’s checks and credit cards in lieu of cash when possible. After you’ve returned from your vacation, keep an eye on your credit report, as well as your credit card and bank statements.You never know when you may be the next victim of identity theft or credit card fraud. Keeping a close eye on your credit report, credit card and bank statements will give you the edge if your credit card is fraudulently charged.About the AuthorTribune Properties produce a series of European travel and holidays guides which includes Lanzarote holidays Lanzarote’s airport and flights to Lanzarote are covered, plus for those thinking of villa holidays, companies who have Lanzarote villa holidays Article Source: Content for Reprint
The First Step In Your Expatriation Adventure
The very first thing you should consider once you’ve made your mind up as to where you are going to live overseas might surprise you. The many letters we receive from potential expats always begin with the theme of cost of living. While important, most who contact us in our adopted home of Guanajuato, Mexico, never get past this economic issue. It is as though the economic issue is the most important point in the whole expatriation adventure. We answer their pleas with the statement that if you downsize your American lifestyles, live as close to “going native” as is humanly possible and comfortable for you, then you will do fine economically.However, in Mexico, we rarely, if ever, hear from those who are concerned with what we regard as the First Step-the language-when moving to a country where your native tongue is not the predominate language.I’ve also wondered if those Americans who move to any country in which English isn’t the predominate language are concerned with the linguistic issue. The answer is, apparently not. I talked recently with a retired Foreign Service Officer who not only served in the Foreign Service but also who was raised in a family where her parents were Foreign Service employees. The story she told was the same with slight variations on the same main, monolingual theme-language is at the bottom of the list when moving overseas!The expatriation phenomenon in Mexico is predominantly composed of baby-boomers who are rapidly finding out retirement in the U.S. is going to be all but impossible unless you are in Bill Gates’ will. A smaller segment of the American expats in Mexico are those who work here or who have mobile enough jobs and can have a great adventure in another land while making a living via the Internet. It’s what I do. I send stories to publishers in America and my books surf the email waves to those who want to buy my manuscripts. But, most of the Americans and some of the Canadians are “retirees” who, for the most part, never learn Spanish.Through the years of our expat adventure, we’ve discovered those American retirees who move to Mexico fall into two classes when it comes to the linguistic issue. There are those who have absolutely no intention of ever learning Spanish. I know this to be true because I’ve been told this to my face. I’ve heard this story over and over again from bilingual Americans who are truly puzzled that their fellow Americans do not want to learn Spanish. When they ask their fellow Americans why they don’t learn Spanish, they get the same answer I’ve gotten-refusal.The reasons for this are varied. Some retirees respond to the slick-shtick the real estate moguls spew in their advertising that you don’t have to know Spanish to live in such-and-such city. They will make the claims that bilingualism is so great in the city to which they are trying to get you to come and buy a house, that you won’t ever need to utter a word in Spanish. While in some cities this is true and is true because of American Cultural Imperialism, this sort of screed presents an image of Mexico that is not a reality. Many Americans are truly perplexed when they come here and don’t find English predominately spoken in places the real estate gurus have targeted as places where cheap housing and affordable living can be found.Another class of Americans who move to Mexico to retire actually gives the linguistic issue more than a passing thought. They take Spanish classes at the local adult education schools before moving to Mexico. Eventually they expatriate to Mexico and take even more classroom instruction, only to find they’ve shelled out a fortune in classes and cannot communicate much more than “Where’s the bathroom?” and “Can you make change?” Frustration sets in and the American retiree arrives at the horrible conclusion that he or she can’t learn Spanish.This is an all-too-often scene in cities like San Miguel de Allende. The expats with whom I’ve spoken and those who post in the online forums express a genuine remorse, for lack of a better term, for their continued monolingualism.This essay is targeting that group of Americans, or any monolingual expat, who still has some semblance of hope that he or she can one day communicate in Spanish and not have to be forced to live in an Americanized Mexican City that is now as expensive (if not more) as the hometown he or she left.That is, by the way, one of the great advantages of learning Spanish as an expat. You not only can live anywhere but also will have the linguistic skills to ask Mexicans who to avoid renting or buying from in a particular city. I am convinced that’s why my wife and I have repeatedly had the rare opportunity of fellowshipping with Mexicans in the privacy of their homes. This is something most expats I know have never experienced. And, think about it: How can you have any sort of social communion with someone with whom you cannot communicate?The Failure FactorThe failure factor in learning a second language is that most regard learning a new language as an academic endeavor. They think this is going to be like learning Algebra. The approach offered by educated academics is enough to send any normal person screaming from the classroom. This approach to second language acquisition is not second language acquisition at all. It is the learning something about the target language. It will equip you to read and translate into your native tongue some piece of Spanish text. But, will it assist you in speaking and comprehending the language you want to acquire? Not likely.The question that must be asked when making the decision to have a go at the target language of the country you are planning moving to and for whatever reasons, is do you want to be able to sit down with a local and chat while having dinner? Do you want to be able to engage not only in rudimentary social intercourse but do you want to be able to go to a Mexican doctor or dentist and not have to hire a translator to come along with you? In other words, do you want to be assimilated into the culture?How will spending a fortune in classes in the target language help you achieve your assimilation goal? How will attending classes that will teach you all the verb declensions of the target language and the cold, mindless memorization of out-of-context vocabulary words aid you in this quest? When your friend, spouse, or life-long companion keels over from a heart attack, how will having learned in the pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo of any verb in the Spanish language help you to rapidly explain to the emergency room physician the medical history of your loved one?In my view, based on my research, if what you want is to be able to communicate in the target language, don’t begin with a class in which you are issued a textbook, workbook, a list of grammar rules and vocabulary you have to memorize. Rather, begin with something called “Comprehensible Input.”What most try to do when taking classes in a second language is to develop the ability to speak to be understood and to understand the reply. This happens ” when a language learner comprehends words and sentences in a communicative context. These kinds of utterances are called “comprehensible input.” (Language Instructor Manual (LIM) Comprehensible Input; http://ling.ucsd.edu)I think we could all agree than no human popped out of his or her mother’s womb quoting Chaucer. Each of us, no matter what our native tongue, heard thousands of repetitions of our caretaker’s commands, pleadings, questions, descriptions, and so on before one day trying ourselves to reproduce the speech we heard repeatedly from our parents.What we were exposed to was an environment in which lots and lots of words and sentences were first heard in a meaningful context. We were not born a linguistic blank slate. At birth, we had a linguistic outline preinstalled of what language should be and hearing our parents and loved ones speak to us filled in the outline. It is hardwired into our brains to learn language and this hardwiring is not ripped out of our heads what we become adults. It’s still there, so why not use it to become proficient in a second language?” Incidentally, there is no evidence that the “biological wiring” for language acquisition changes as the infant develops into childhood and then adulthood.” (James Asher, Ph.D.)How-To BeginFirst of all, understand the difference in learning speech and learning language. One is the “biological wiring” for language acquisition at work; the other is an academic effort in which something “about” the language is learned.Secondly, understand that none of us came into the world producing in any language that we didn’t first hear. Production in our native tongue came after hearing lots and lots of speech in the target language spoken in meaningful contexts. Listening came before speaking in our native language.”Never do we observe infants in any culture or in any historical period showing language acquisition starting with production followed by comprehension.” (James J. Asher, Ph.D.)Just as when we were infants, when we try to become fluent in a second language, we have to resort to the same method that afforded us success in our native language: Listening First; Production in the language second.I am convinced, based on the science as well the personal experiences of my wife and me, that if you engage in this process, speech, and that which we all are seeking, fluency, come as the result of Comprehensible Input. And, refining speech-learning grammar-comes much later than that.Thirdly, if you are a rank beginner, will listening to Univision TV be of any use? Hardly!What is meant within the Comprehensible Input Theory is to be exposed to massive amounts of level-appropriate audio communication in the target language.You would not play tapes and CD’s of Shakespeare to teach your infant spoken fluency in your native tongue. If you were to watch a Mexican soap opera as a beginner you would most likely understand nothing.You must seek input in which the speech is understandable at the level you find yourself and work up from that point. The speed at which the speech is delivered is also paramount. Trust me when I tell you that what you will get out of a traditionally taught Spanish class will not equip you to understand street Spanish. I still have problems when listening to native speakers who are excited or angry.There are resources available to get you started in the Comprehensible Input approach to second language acquisition.Resources:The Learnables - Affordable and Successful Foreign Language CoursesThe results of The Learnables research are published in a variety of applied linguistic journals. A description of the research also appears in two books: Comprehension and Problem Solving as Strategies for Language Training, Mouton: The Hague, 1975 (authors H. Winitz and J. Reeds) and The Comprehension Approach to Foreign Language Instruction, Rowley: Mass., 1981 (editor H. Winitz)Spanish I and Spanish II Fluency Fast Classes (16 DVD set)Based on the more than 40 years of neuro-linguistic science of second language acquisition. These are actually recorded workshops that you can view in the privacy of your own home.Immersion Plus SpanishOne of the most misunderstood parts of becoming fluent in any language is the need of training your ear in the target language. What I mean is, if you cannot hear the euphony or music of the language, you will rarely, if ever, be able to understand what someone is saying to you in the target language.About the AuthorLinks to these resources can be found by Clicking Here Article Source: Content for Reprint
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