In Part 1 I covered the basics of what type of training you will need in order to teach English abroad as well as touched upon some of the other aspects of the training process.

In Part 2 I will look at the other pieces of the preparation puzzle including travel, what to take, and what to do with the rest of your possessions.

STEP 2: TRAVEL & MOVING

The actual travel itself is by far the easiest part of the planning. You simply need to decide where you want to go and when. Load up your favorite airfare site and input your data. When I booked my flight, nine months in advance, one-way non-stop from Chicago to London I paid $126. Looking today I see that prices are slightly more than they were which is to be expected with the big changes that have taken place over the last several years in regards to travel safety. Today that same ticket is nearly $100 more.
Some of the online airfare sites include:
EasyClickTravel.com
LastMinuteTravel.com
Economy Travel
Travelocity
Hotwire
Factors to think about when booking your flight:

What season is it?

Flights are generally more expensive during the high tourism season and near the holidays. I chose to go in February because I knew it would be cheaper and my course started at the beginning of March. I also knew I would do some traveling before I arrived in Prague so I allowed myself two weeks to wander around Europe before I needed to actually be somewhere. From what I understand, flying on a Wednesday or Thursday is generally cheaper.

Where are you going?

Are you going to fly directly to your final destination or stop somewhere else and make your way from there? As I said I flew directly from Chicago to London. I spent a week in London before hopping on a plane to Venice. From there I took a train to Milan and then another to Vienna. I spent two days in each of those places before finally making the final leg of the journey by train to Prague. I chose the train because it is generally cheaper than flying and you get to see more of the places you’re passing through instead of passing over them. You also generally meet more people when taking a long train ride as opposed to a quick plane ride. The trip from Milan to Vienna was an overnight train which took care of two things at the same time: travel and accommodation.

Where are you staying?

If you are like me and want to save money on accommodation your options are somewhat limited, but they are diverse nonetheless. I belong to a website call Couch Surfing which is a network of like-minded people who like to travel and sleep on the cheap. There is a similar site called Hospitality Club which I am not a member of but know people who are, it works on a similar principle. If you don’t feel safe staying with strangers or can’t find anyone to host you through these sites you can always look into a hostel. These are generally cheaper than hotels but normally require you to share a room with strangers. Most have lockers for your possessions as well as a place to store your larger bags. Prices vary by location, season, amenities and number of beds per room. The last resort is always the standard hotels which are everywhere and normally more expensive, but nicer. When I arrived in Venice my hostel was closed, even though the website said the lobby was 24-hour, so I was forced to take what I could get. That was the Hotel Belle Epoque at around €100 a night. It hit the pocketbook rather hard but it was freezing cold and I just needed a place out of the snow and cold. Many hotels offer shuttles to airports and train stations, many hostels do not.

WHAT TO TAKE?

This question is difficult to answer. I had amassed a sizeable pile of possessions over the years and sorting through it all was the most difficult thing I have ever done. In the end I settled on a nice mix of things.

Remember, you will probably be carrying everything on your back or dragging it behind you between airports and train stations and so forth. So the very first thing you need is a good backpack or some sort of travel bag. I settled on two separate bags, an REI messenger style bag for my laptop and some other small items to act as a carryon for air travel and a big Eagle Creek backpack for everything else to be checked luggage. The Eagle Creek Switchback Max ES 25 bag has a capacity near 4300 cubic inches, a hard internal frame, roller blade style wheels and retractable handle as well as shoulder and waist straps and removable daypack which has served me well over the last two years. I haven’t even had to use the lifetime warranty on the bag to replace anything as it has never failed me. The bag itself weighs around 11 pounds but has ample storage room. Online retailers of travel bags include:
eBags.com
Moosejaw.com
WorldTraveler.com
REI

After doing several practice packs I realized that I wasn’t packing efficiently and went shopping to purchase some plastic vacuum bags. Putting all my clothes into these nearly doubled the amount of things I was able to put into it. I won’t get into the details of the packing list as it doesn’t really deal with teaching. I basically took enough clothes for all weather conditions and some accessories (laptop, MP3 player, digital camera). I will mention that I did have to take two books with me, one about English Grammar and one about How to Teach English, so leave room in the bags for those.

I suggest you purchase a power adapter/converter kit because you are bound to have something that will require power sooner or later. I would suggest one with adapters for most of the world and a power converter because not everyone uses the same voltage. The converter will allow you to plug in almost anything.

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF MY STUFF?

I was fortunate in that my mother has a house with a large basement. I asked if I could store a lot of my things there and she said “Sure, but you have to build shelves down there first,” so I did. I am still storing about ten to twelve large plastic containers of things there. Other things I sold to bolster my savings account or simply gave away. But I couldn’t part with my large video game system collection or my books. So that’s mostly what is stored now. Of course if you’re not as handy with a hammer and tape measure then you can always buy some pre-made products offered at sites like www.stacksandstacks.com
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I suggest you store whatever you want because you might hate living outside of America or teaching English or both. So you don’t want to throw everything you have away in case you need to return. I have not returned but the things wait to either be shipped somewhere or to be reunited with me back there. Now, after almost two years I am still not sure what I should do with all of it.

A lot of this portion is subjective as everyone will have a different view of what they feel is necessary for them. I would strongly recommend a laptop computer because it allowed me to do my training work wherever I wanted and not be tied to the school computers which were few and busy. The laptop has also been immeasurably useful in preparing teaching materials, tracking my teaching hours and general administration of my life.

Whether you travel before you arrive at your final destination or not, I still suggest getting the big versatile backpack similar to mine. Because someday you will need to pack all your things and move and honestly I think I might have moved straight back to America if I had not had that bag. And eventually you will want to do some travel of some sort for holiday and I can’t brag enough about the usefulness of the bag.

There is no right answer on what to store back at home. That’s why I said just store what you want. Later if you decide you do not need or want it you can always have a rummage sale or donate it to needy children or something.

In Part 3 I will talk about the course itself, settling into a different culture and beginning your teaching career. Until then, do your homework.
Part 1
Part 3
Part 4