Notes on Traveling Abroad

We will go over these things again when we are traveling, but I thought I'd jot down a few things to keep in mind while we are in the DR.

STAY WITH THE GROUP. There will never be a time during this trip when you will be allowed to wander around by yourself, so let's just get used to being together! There may be times when we will divide into smaller groups; each group will be accompanied by an adult. I know we've had less strict policies on other trips, but on those trips we were in the US, where we had less risk and the ability to reach each other by cell phone.

Be careful with your money and the copy of your passport that you will be carrying (the actual passports will be in a safe). There is a lot of pick-pocketing in the DR, so keep these things in a belt or neck pouch under your clothing. Do not carry a lot of cash, or keep it spread around in different places so that even if one section is stolen, you still have the rest.

Do not drink the water unless it is purified. Bottled water is fine, and I will have water treatment tablets/drops just in case. Use bottled/purified water to brush your teeth. Avoid swallowing water in the shower. Do not eat fruit (apples, pears, etc.) that has been washed in unpurified water. Oranges and other fruits that have to be peeled are fine to eat. Do not order drinks with ice in them unless you know that the restaurant uses purified water (most of them do. You may think I'm being overzealous, but believe me, you do not want to deal with any of the things you can get from unsafe water.

Be open to the unexpected. Plans will change, things will go wrong, the food will be unfamiliar, you will encounter things that are foreign to you, communication will fail, and you will likely have to do at least one thing that you don't want to do (and probably more than one). We are all in the same boat. Being uncomfortable is part of the deal with mission trips, especially ones in developing countries. You will be less uncomfortable if you just go with it, and the differences can even be fun if you treat them like an adventure instead of a trial. All of that said, if you feel extremely uncomfortable with anything we're doing, please feel free to talk to me or one of the other adults about it. We want you to have fun!