Keeping in touch on your travels

Wed, 06/09/2010 - 14:21 | Sarah Palmer

So you’re traveling abroad for your super awesome volunteer project, and you have people back home that you absolutely, positively must check in with while you’re away. And by “people back home,” I mean, “parents who get really, really worried regardless of how much you travel.” S’ok.

Always check ahead of time with your host group to see how their volunteers get in touch with family and friends. Depending on where you go, you could have easy access to your email or phone, or be in the middle of nowhere and off the grid.

Many volunteer organizations are online at their main, in-country offices. If they aren’t, then see if there are Internet cafes or WiFi hotspots in the host community. For longer projects, volunteers often take weekend trips to the country capital or to another larger city to check their email, update their blogs, or add pictures to their Facebook albums.

Skype can be used either through an Internet connection or with your cell phone. For other wireless plans, check with your current provider on whether there’s coverage in your host community, and what rates they have available. There also are inexpensive cell phones you can buy or rent for the duration of your trip—check groups like STA Travel for their offers. And finally, you can purchase a phone card that will cover the costs of your call for designated lengths of time.

Cool cool! Sorry for the lack of useful updates this month, guys. Most of the work I've done has been on interior pages. So with that said, go take a look at the Big List of volunteer organizations! We're up to 403! And by that, I mean VG lists 403 international volunteer programs with full information about each one, including where they work, what they do, what they're looking for in their volunteers, and how to get there. Go, go, go now!