Health & Safety on Your Gap Year by Megan Lee Amidst all your day dreamings for the amazing adventures you are going to have on your gap year (picture it: breakfast picnicking in front of Angkor Wat at sunrise, making a tangible difference in a small Tanzanian community, tracking wombats and other wild animals in the Outback…) it is easy to skim over preparing your mind and heart for potential disaster, or serious safety issue. But let’s be real. Being proactive in ensuring your safety is a great path toward success. Here are a few tips to ensure your gap…
Safety
Why we Discourage Orphanage Volunteering and What to do Instead by GYA Admin Last month World Nomads published an excellent article about orphanage tourism and why it should be avoided. At the GYA we are heavily invested in raising the ethical bar on service learning, across the board for gap year programs and students. That’s one of the primary goals of our accreditation process and one of the reasons that we encourage gap year counselors and students to thoroughly vet the organizations they choose to partner with around the world. Having good intentions is not enough. We are responsible for…
Gap Year Safety: Wear Vagaband by a gap year parent As the parent of four kidults, I’ll admit that I worry. As lifestyle travelers for most of their formative years my kids are better prepared than some when they take off to travel solo, but they’re still solo. They’re still inexperienced. They’re still without a safety net. They’re still out there, without me. Statistically, I know the odds are in their favor. In every scrape thus far they’ve figured it out and lived to laugh about the adventure. We’ve taught them to over prepare and manage the risks as they…
Everyone Can Travel: Taking a Gap Year for Persons With Disabilities by Hannah Miller and Juanita Lillie We reached out to Juanita Lillie from Abroad With Disabilities, a Michigan non-profit that empowers persons with disabilities to go abroad, to co-author this post with us. Enjoy her take on travel with a disability! JUANITA LILLIE ON THE BENEFITS OF A GAP YEAR: “I am a woman of color with a disability. Many of my readers likely have disabilities or impairments as well as identities related to gender, sexual orientation, race, or the label of first generation student. I went abroad twice,…
Gap Year Travel Safety by Hannah Miller Traveling safely is no joke. In all honesty, half of our lists here have been learned the hard way – so please take our word from it that if the fire is hot, there’s no need to burn yourself to be sure. International & Domestic Check the medical situation Does the region you’re visiting recommend certain vaccinations or medical supplies be on hand before you arrive? Do you have any personal medical concerns that need to be addressed before you travel? Keep in mind some medications (like malaria pills) will need to be…