Travelogger

We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

4 Times Travelers Need Attorneys

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What does an attorney and a frequent traveler or ex-pat have in common? A lot more than you think. Even in the US, every state has a variety of different laws (take recreational marijuana for example), and different degrees of punishment for convicted criminals. Travel outside the US, and you need to know exactly what laws your facing (for example, in the United Arab Emirates a man is quickly thrown in jail for even touching a woman on the elbow).

Before you travel, and especially before you move abroad, make sure you have a quality attorney on your side. Firms and lawyers specialize in different things, from product recalls to small business law, so you need to get a professional on your team who’s familiar with your travel destination. Here are a few times they’ll come in handy:
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Learn and Travel Vacations: Value of 2 in 1

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Vacations are supposed to be all enjoyment or at least that is what the most common perception is. Going on a vacation is almost like telling our body and mind to forget stresses and responsibilities. We have to admit that learning can be stressful especially if it is of the required kind. But what if we learn at our own pace as we travel leisurely? Wouldn’t that be ideal as a double value proposition?

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Where Does Education Take Place?

In the traditional sense, learning starts at home and formal education takes place in schools and other learning centers. However, there are many other places where learning can be enriched and complemented. In fact, learning can take place anywhere.

Academic learning in school is only one dimension of human learning and development. Most schools recognize the importance of exposure to the outside world and the experiences it offers for continuous learning. This is probably the reason why schools do not only encourage learning by traveling but also do so by offering courses that require traveling or immersion in a foreign land for completion.

Learn and Travel Vacations

Another learning dimension is being offered through actual vacations. Educational trips and vacation packages are slowly but surely inching its way to mainstream choices for relaxation. The secret here of course is the absence of any stressful activity such as examinations and recitations. Imagine taking a vacation where one has to memorize facts of figures to answer a test afterwards.

The kind of learning that we refer to here is the kind that takes place almost effortlessly, the kind that people absorb because they simply choose to remember and not because they were told to do so. This is the learning that occurs in an environment of leisure. Travelers choose to take home the information that made an impact and learn in the process.

The Double Value Presented

It is usually difficult to study and learn. Learning does not only come from books. Clearly, it can also com from travel.

The value presented by learn and travel vacations cannot be underestimated. Many learning acquired from travel are retained because the information is always associated with the experience. It is not only the mind that remembers but also the heart.

 

Thai Classes on the Go

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Frequent travelers may not have enough time to spend to stay put in one place . Although it is highly recommended that learners of Thai language stay for some time in Thailand to put their learning into actual practice, this will not always be possible. The most that many travelers can hope for is to take Thai classes on the go.

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The Options

Travelers who are always on the go can find a Thai class which is suitable for simultaneous learning. Thai classes on the go can either be a series of short on-site courses or online language courses. These are basically the most convenient options for people who find themselves in different places.

Many travelers find on-site courses more attractive especially to those whose style of learning requires interaction with real-life instructors. Short courses are to be preferred because of the great possibility that work schedules may interfere with long-term study schedules. It is such a useless endeavor not to be able to finish courses that have already been started because of the sudden need to leave for another country.

Online Thai classes are probably the best for some as they are able to live up to what classes on-the-go really means. Travelers can start, continue, and end in different places in the world without disrupting scheduled classes. All it would take to do this is to have a computer and reliable internet connection.

The Other Options

When scheduled online Thai classes still prove to be difficult to make time for, determined learners of the language can try using language software available in the market. This can be used over and over again for self-coaching and practice. A language app can also be installed in smartphones to help in learning while on travel.

Books can also be a fall-back if worse comes to worse and no other option is available. Speaking and conversing regularly with local Thais also makes earlier language mastery possible. Nothing is impossible really for the determined learner.

What to Look For

With a little more effort, travelers will find the most suitable language learning for their own needs. The key is to have one that is on-the-go or ready for access and use at any given time.  The study of any language is usually a long process and learners stand to benefit from using all possible means towards language mastery.

Internships In The United States: A Guide For Foreign Students

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The process of searching for an internship in the United States is the same for both domestic and foreign students. Businesses all over the country post internship opportunities on electronic job boards and on their own websites, so that’s where you should start looking.

Domestic students are encouraged to apply for eight to 10 internships; international students should apply to around 20. Why? Competition for the best internships can be intense. Add to that the fact that some businesses (especially smaller ones) won’t want to deal with the extra hassle involved with hiring an international intern, and your barriers to internship multiply.

Once you have an internship offer, the fun of international paperwork begins. How you proceed depends on your current situation.

If you’re already a college student under an F-1 visa

If you’re currently studying in the United States under an F-1 visa, you’ve already done the lion’s share of the paperwork. If your internship will fall within your study program duration, you should apply for Curricular Practical Training at your school’s international student office. CPT is authorized by the educational institution, not through some U.S. government bureaucracy, so the process can be fairly simple and quick. Authorization allows you to work as an intern for up to 20 hours a week during the school year and up to 40 hours a week during breaks.

If you’re at the end of your program, you can extend your F-1 visa by applying for Optional Practical Training (OPT). OPT allows you to extend your stay in the United States for up to 12 months (17 months for certain industries) for an internship in your field of study. The OPT process begins with a recommendation from your school and continues through the Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS). Your school’s international student office can guide you through the process.

For those living abroad: The J-1 visa

If you’re studying or recently graduated from a school outside the United States, the process for interning in the United States is longer and rougher: you need an Exchange Visitor J-1 visa. As before, you should find and land an internship in an American company first. Give yourself a good four months before you start work; acquiring a visa takes time.

Once you have an internship offer, you need a sponsor to help you get to the United States. The website for the U.S. Department of State has a list of sponsors for you to check out. Any of these sponsors can place you in an internship anywhere in the United States, regardless of their physical location.

Take some time choosing a sponsor that fits you well; you will rely on them for a lot of help and information while you’re in the United States. Aside from sponsoring you to work in the United States, your sponsor will:

  • Guide you through the application process
  • Provide an orientation before you come to the United States
  • Monitor your progress and welfare
  • Provide 24-hour emergency help

Obtaining your J-1 visa

Your sponsor will help you deal with the intricacies of obtaining a J-1 visa for you and, if needed, a J-2 visa for your spouse and/or children under 21 years old to join you. You will need to gather a number of documents to begin the visa process:

  • A DS-2019, Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status, which you will receive from your sponsor
  • A training/internship placement plan
  • Form DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application
  • A passport valid for travel to the United States
  • A 2”x2” photo of yourself

In addition to paperwork, you must demonstrate to a U.S. consular officer that you have binding ties to a residence in a foreign country, which you have no intention of abandoning, and that you are traveling to the United States for a temporary period. It is impossible to specify the exact form the evidence should take since applicants’ circumstances vary greatly.

You must meet basic insurance requirements — HCCMIS offers a free ebook to guide you through the maze of international insurance.

Finally, you must satisfy English language proficiency. (If you’ve had little trouble reading this post in English, you’re probably proficient enough.)

You apply for a visa at your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. In addition to the paperwork, you need to be interviewed by a consular officer. Please understand that visas are authorized at the behest of the United States and not by your local or national government.

Limitations of the J-1 visa

Under a J-1 visa, you’re limited in which areas you may work. Interns cannot work in unskilled or casual labor positions, in positions that require or involve childcare or elder care, in any kind of position that involves medical patient care or contact, or in positions that require more than 20 percent clerical or office support work.

The Exchange Visitor Program, of which the J-1 visa is a part, is intended to help spread knowledge around the world. When you agree to participate in an Exchange Visitor Program, you may have to commit to returning to your home country and maintaining a residence (and, presumably, using your new skills) there for two years. The two-year foreign residence requirement is based on your course of work study. Find your country on the State Department’s Exchange Visitor Skills List to find out if your subject area falls under this requirement.

Interning in the United States can involve a lot of hassle and frustration, but the time and effort you put in today can really pay off in your future, wherever it may take you.