 Ready to Travel?
Today's topic is about planning. There some are things to check before heading out to a new place and I'm going to over the things I think are important to do before leaving. Making a budget is important when planning to travel. It helps against over or under-spending and also shows you the different options available in the place you're visiting. Don't go in blind unless that's your style. In order to make a proper budget, find out: Currency exchange amount (if traveling internationally) Hotel prices Transportation Possible Activities Souvenirs Extra money for emergencies Find out the currency exchange amount for that country before you leave! Then you can make a proper budget, bring the right amount to exchange, and have little to no issues abroad. Plane and tickets and hotel/room reservations should be periodically checked and booked a few months or weeks prior to travel. This gives you more options and lower prices. You want to find a hotel/room that is closest to the activities you are partaking in or that has the best view. Read the reviews if there are any. Hear what others have to say about that place. Find some articles online and read others' experience over there.Always stay ahead of the game and make the most informed decisions. What kind of transportation will you use over there? An Uber, a bus, the train, a rental car, a bicycle? Figuring these things out beforehand will cause less stress when getting around especially when you've checked prices and allotted money towards it. Sometimes this information is not found online and you might have to guess. Possible activities connect with transportation because you need to know how to get to each event or place. If an attraction is a short distance from your room or hotel, maybe walking or taking Uber would be the best option. However, if it's more than a few miles and long walks is not your style, having a designated mode of transportation (Uber, train, bus, or rental) creates less hassle. But first, you have to know where you want to visit within the place your traveling to or what activities like going to the beach, hiking, or going dancing, are available. A list of possible activities is a great idea so you already know the options around you. Extra money for emergencies is a no-brainer. You never know what might pop up while traveling. No need to bring a large amount, many places might even take your debit or credit card. If you are traveling in a group, it's very important to have group consensus as much as possible, or split people up. Everyone should be in the loop at all times even if the responsibilities are divided among yourselves. It's tough planning with multiple people who may have different interests and personalities, but there was a reason you all decided to go together and not separately. So, working together is a must. Everyone wants to have fun. Get all the boring planning out of the way (though that's my favorite part), then enjoy the trip. I hope you can incorporate these tips into your travel plans. Stay tuned next week to learn why I started blogging. *Photo by rawpixel on unsplash.com
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 Wanna travel but don't know where to go?
I feel like a lot of people have this issue. They want to explore new landscapes and cultures, but don't have a specific place in mind. They may say a continent or a country, but those are broad terms! Don't get me wrong, some adventurers know exactly what they want to do and where. This post is for those who are having a bit of trouble choosing a place to visit. What do you want to see and do? If you are spending a considerate amount of time, energy, and resources going somewhere, there has to be something worth seeing and doing. There are museums around the world, the pyramids, the Eiffel tower, and lots of historical buildings. What makes you happy and excited? Let's say you love pizza. Find the best places for pizza in your country or somewhere else. Traveling does not only mean international. Taking a roadtrip or even going out of state is considered travel. It's important to choose a place for your desire and not because it's a famous place many people visit. What if you don't end up enjoying it? I've heard great things about Hawaii, but I don't have a personal reason or desire to visit there. Just because it has great views, food, culture, and beaches, doesn't mean everyone needs to visit. Think about what makes you feel comfortable, calm, and happy. Or, maybe you want excitement, a bit of fear, and mystery. Maybe an adventure with a hint of danger? Maybe a weekend getaway at a lakeside home may be enough of travel for you. Think about what you enjoy doing. What do you want to take away from the experience? What are the outcomes? Having fun? Climbing to the top of a mountain? Being culturally aware? Trying new food? What is the purpose of the trip and the goal you are trying to achieve from going? I personally don't care for beaches. In my last post I mentioned how much I love mountains. Before I found out about the Bolivian mountains I knew I wanted to spend some times in some mountainous region with trees and waterfalls. I like being in wilderness, but that doesn't mean I'd go anywhere. Your time is precious, so don't waste it somewhere you won't enjoy. Write down the answers to some of the questions I asked and come up with a list of places that fit your criteria. Do some research and make a pros and cons list. Once you sit down and contemplate the options, you'll find the right place. Hope this helped inspire you! Stay tuned for next week's post about making travel plans. *Photo by Nathan Dumlao on unsplash.com  Got any travel plans? The first three Saturday posts for January will be about traveling. This post is all about where I'd like to go and why! I'm not a travel enthusiast and don't desire to travel the world or a bunch of countries, but here are a few places I've set my mind on to visit.  Many times I hear people want to visit Paris because it's the city of love and the Eiffel tower is there. I want to go because I would love to tour the catacombs of Paris. The catacombs hold six million people who have died. The bones are fit together like puzzle pieces along the walls like the picture above. I learned about this place from a book I read, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. It's about a high school girl who found a diary belonging to a girl that lived during the French Revolution. I have read the book twice and loved it more the second time. Being able to visit this place would make the story come alive to me.  I love mountains! It's what I love the most about California. I can see the outline of the mountains in the distance. Absolutely beautiful. I want to take a trip to Coroico, Bolivia and stay in a cabin there to enjoy the mountains, wildlife, and culture. The prices are affordable considering all you can see and do like hiking, cycling, touring rivers and waterfalls, and seeing the sights! The picture above is not from Bolivia, I couldn't find one free to use, so enjoy a picture of the French Mountains! Or is this in Germany?  Last, but certainly not least, is Morocco! I have heard great things about Morocco, specifically Marrakech. I've seen videos and pictures so it's on my travel list. Stay tuned for next week's post about travel ideas. *2nd Photo by Travis Grossen on unsplash.com *3rd Photo by Chris Holgersson on unspash.com *4th Photo by Dominik Stotter on unsplash.com  This is part two of interviewing Gilman scholarship recipients. Today, Martha will share her experience with the Gilman scholarship and studying abroad. Where did you go for the study abroad trip/what did you study?
I went to Scotland and studied the history of punk. The cities we stayed at for the program were Glasgow and Edinburgh. I was part of the Faculty Led Education Abroad Program, so we were a group of UCR students led by a UCR professor. The official name of the media and cultural studies class is Subcultural Affiliations: Transatlantic Popular Culture. What is your major? My major is creative writing, and my minor is in media and cultural studies. How did the ability to receive the Gilman Scholarship impact you? The ability to receive the Gilman Scholarship helped me to pay off the loans for my study abroad program. It helped me find ways to fund my study abroad trip. It also has given me the opportunity to connect with other professionals in order to help other first-generation students get the opportunity to study abroad. What personal or financial challenges might have prevented you from going abroad? Financially, I may not have been able to go abroad if I had not received aid. One of my loans did not arrive into my account in time and I owed $1000 that I had to pay out of my own pocket. Personally, I was terrified of traveling internationally by myself, so I almost thought of not going because I was scared that I would get lost or something. However, my fears were eased after finding other peers who have traveled international and being able to receive tips and guidance on how to navigate that. Would you have been able to finance the study abroad trip without the scholarship? I was awarded the Gilman scholarship when I returned from my trip. Without the Gilman, I planned to use loans and my refund check from spring quarter. While I would have been able to get the loans to study abroad, I would have been in more debt than I would have liked had I not received the scholarship especially as I’m going into fall quarter. Had I not received the scholarship at all, then I would be completely broke right now. What is something you know now, that you wish you knew before the trip? I wish I knew not to bring a towel, since the place I was staying at provided towels. I also wished I knew that I did not need all the stuff recommended to purchase for traveling abroad. I think the majority of my money went into buying stuff to prepare myself for an emergency, but now I have all these things like two charger adapters that I won’t use ever again. So, while it’s good to plan for an emergency, chances are that I won’t need ALL the items. Instead, I could have bought smaller quantities of the items and not stressed out so much on what to pack for the program. I also wish I knew to be more adventurous. I was scared of interacting with Scottish people because I was scared of not understanding their accents and looking like a fool. In reality, Scottish people are very nice. Throughout my study abroad program, I saw some of my classmates talking to locals and they learned so much more about their culture. I wished I would have taken that chance to not be afraid to look silly. Why is the opportunity to study abroad important to you as an individual and to students in general? The opportunity to study abroad is important to me because I would not have the opportunity to travel outside of the state again. I am a first-generation college student, and the only other person in my family who has gone to college was my cousin. She kept encouraging me to study abroad because she did not take that opportunity when she was a student. I also have other mentors and professional staff members who kept encouraging me to study abroad because they never did it and it was their biggest regret. As a student, I think the opportunity to study abroad is important because it allows us to get out of our comfort zones to experience a new culture. We are at this point of our lives were we are still learning and growing, so going abroad to meet new people, new cultures, new experiences is something that has shaped how I view the rest of my career. Many of us, students, believe that we cannot afford to study abroad. I used to think that too, but it is important for us to know that there is aid available.  If you've been following my blog for sometime, you may know I went on a study abroad trip this past summer to Brazil. What you may not know is, I received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to help finance my trip. I would not have gone on the trip without it. What is this scholarship? Well, straight from the Gilman scholarship website it says, "The U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship is a grant program that enables students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad, thereby gaining skills critical to our national security and economic competitiveness." I am grateful for this scholarship that allowed me to expand my horizons and learn about another culture while living and studying there. As a recipient of the scholarship, I had to create a Follow-up Service Project that promoted and informed others about the scholarship opportunity. I want students to be encouraged to study abroad. My project was to interview students and create a blog post about their experience. Today, you will read about Nick's experience with the Gilman Scholarship and his trip to England. Where and what did you study?
I went abroad summer of 2018 to study math in England. How did the ability to receive the Gilman Scholarship impact you? I was relieved to have received the Gilman Scholarship, covering more than half of the trip, because I knew I could afford the rest out of pocket. Even if I had not received the scholarship, I had already made up my mind to go abroad, even if it meant I would have taken out loans to finance the trip. Nothing would have prevented me from studying abroad. This scholarship made me comfortable to experience a different culture without so many financial limitations. Would you have been able to finance the study abroad trip without the scholarship? There are many cost that I didn’t think of as I went abroad, the groceries and transportation, but I still wanted to experience all the fun. I visited different cities and attractions, London Eye, Big Ben, the London Tower, and so much more. The scholarship made the whole trip even better than it would have been without it, I was humbled to completely open my mind to a whole new world. What is something you know now, that you wish you knew before the trip? The only thing I would change about my trip is how prepared I was to travel to England. I had briefly looked online for some fun attractions, but there is so much to England I didn’t know about. I wish I knew about the little holes in the wall and some of the less known, more local, places to visit. Why is the opportunity to study abroad important to you as an individual and to students in general? To fully enjoy a new culture, it is important to know what locals’ lives are like, the stores they visit, the restaurants they eat at, and their daily routines. I truly believe everyone should experience a different culture to expand their world knowledge. Its humbling experiencing life in a world you’re unfamiliar with. In the society we live in today its necessary for all students to experience this. We must become a global citizen to grow our understanding of the situations we are in today and to improve the conditions of our life. There is a history to all knowledge and we should expand what we know wherever that history may be. *Photo by Amy Humphries *  It's that time of year to write a novel in a month!
I'm actually not starting a new story, instead I am continuing a story I have had since high school. It's getting revamped. Last summer I created an outline, this past summer I resumed writing, and now during this month of November, I am participating in Nanowrimo. If you don't know what that is, I explained in this post last July when this blog was born. The story for this month is called "Her War". Here is the temporary summery until I come up with something better: It's the year 2110 and WW3 is here, but no one know how or why it started. Andrei was a photojournalist covering the beginning of the war and a Romanian diplomat and spy. Because of this, he realized the world governments were hiding something. The war didn't seem to be about nuclear weapons. A group of government officials and civilians band together to stop the war, but first, they must find Andrei. He left them a treasure hunt to find him and stop the war once and for all. However, when the group finds out the real reason for the war has less to do with nuclear weapons and more to do with people as weapons, their perspective changes. The objective transforms into a human rights fight. But can the team prove they're human? It's been difficult trying to write while in school. I have so many things to do and sometimes I forget about Nanowrimo. However, I am getting some words down and that's the important thing. This is all about challenge and fun. I'll try to post more about my progress too! I will be working on a cover soon so stay tuned for that!  There are times when we are bombarded with a multitude of opportunities and responsibilities. Sometimes it's hard to manage these things and incorporate them into our lives without running ourselves into the ground. We don't NEED to do everything or say yes to every opportunity that comes by, but sometimes it is difficult to say no. It's difficult to discern which things are most important and which can be done at a later date or not necessary at all.
Take a step back and look at what you have on your plate. In fact, write down everything you have to do. You will find that some things are necessary and probably not up for debate (work (unless you're quitting), class, family time). You will also find that there are things you can eliminate or move around if you can. If there is a event or workshop done on multiple days, switch the day(s) you go to accommodate another thing. Focus on your goals and how the opportunities and responsibilities can help you reach them. Focus on the quality of life you want. Always running around and not enjoying life? Or. Understanding your values and finding a balance. Don't forget about rest. Rest is very important to keep us energized and functioning properly. In my last post, I discussed my goals for my last quarter at college. I wanted to have fun and focus on writing. Those were the biggest things. So far, I haven't had time to write! I have a lot of readings for class, meetings for my clubs, and an internship! This "relaxing" last quarter turned hectic in less than a week and it already reminds me of junior year. However, I had a lot of fun junior year. The point is, I'm going to have to cut some things out and/or manage my time in a more meticulous manner than I have before. My studying/note-taking habits are also adapting as well. I am a flexible person so it's possible, but that doesn't make it less difficult. All of these things are easier said than done, but not impossible. * Photo by Andres F. Uran on Unsplash  It's my last year in college!
I don't have any specific goals in mind, I just want to enjoy the last few months I have in school. I'm only taking three classes classes this quarter which I haven't done in five quarters (almost two years ago)! Because of this, I have more time to focus on writing projects and joining new clubs like fencing or trying out for a dance team. It's important not to be overwhelmed in any area of your life if you can help it. Coming form summer, I want to shift more focus onto my writing and finishing up projects that have sat on the back burner for years. One book in particular, Her War, looks like it will be the next completed book. Last summer I managed to create an outline for the story so writing has been breezy. Of course, I expect myself pay attention in class and take helpful notes for my readings so I can ace my classes again. Junior year was amazing and I ended it with almost straight A's. This quarter, I'm going to relax, do academically well while learning awesome topics, and do fun things I couldn't in earlier years.  Before we dive into the pros of a beta-reader, let's define this term first.
Bookwritingbusiness.com describes it as, "Beta readers are non-professionals who read a manuscript prior to publishing or read a pre-release of a book. If a beta reader is provided a manuscript they’re often asked to read for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors. They may comment on parts of a story that are confusing or things that don’t make sense." In July 2017 I completed my novel, Our Father and since then I have edited it myself about four times. In the first week of September, I reached out to some people on Goodreads to become Beta-readers for Our Father. It's exciting to know someone else is going to read your story, but also nerve-racking because it special to me and I don't want them to think it sucks. We have the agreement of weekly updates so they will send me notes on the chapters they read. Right now I have two beta-readers, and two other ones that have fit me into their schedule for December. My first book, Illuminate my World was self-published with Createspace, but this time around I am going the traditional route. So why use beta-readers?
I am also a Beta-reader for another writer, so that experience is very interesting. I try to say as much as I can so I can help the writer. Being honest even if it sounds a little harsh (but I try not to be harsh) is necessary. This is an important project for the writer, so taking it seriously is a must. I will give an update next month some of my betas get back to me. *Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash  Many people have a fear of public speaking whether it's in front of a crowd, or a classroom. I actually enjoy public speaking, but I do get nervous. Here are some tips to help you stay calm, cool, and collected while you are speaking in front of a lot of people.
1. Find some enjoyment in your topic: If you're excited about something you want to share it so others can feel that excitement too. Your mood about the project, presentation, or speech will change. Even if you are just excited to show off the cool designs on the PowerPoint slides, it will help put that pep in your voice and give you something to focus on as you speak and present. For example, let's say you are presenting about the extinction of a certain type of animal. You might feel strongly about this subject after doing hours of research and you will want to convey that same energy during the presentation. So instead of feeling nervous, you feel determined to educate the audience on that topic and make sure they really understand why it's a problem. On the other hand, maybe you drew diagrams and pictures of the animal and they are the best pieces of art you have ever done. Showing those off will make you feel proud of the project and excited to share it with the audience. 2. Note card with important points: Writing every single line you have to say on a note card can hurt more than help. Try to memorize the details of your topic so you're not stuck staring at the note card the whole time. In high school I believe most teachers will allow you to read off the note card or your slides, but in college if you have a presentation it's less likely. Make bullet points of the important points, then while you are speaking elaborate those points with more details. 3. Scan the crowd or look above their heads/ spaces in between people: Making eye contact is tough for a lot of people whether during conversation, interviews, or a presentation. I suggest for class presentation or speeches, look over their heads or the spaces in between people's heads so it seems like you are making eye contact with various people. You can also scan through the crowd so your gaze doesn't have to settle on one person. I had a professor that would look at the wall behind us when he was speaking. It was weird but it worked for him. 4. Remember why you are doing it and what you are getting from it: If this is for a grade, remember that! You need to do well enough to get that A+. This is motivation while you are up there presenting. If this is a work project, well it makes you look like a competent employee that really cares about that job. Educating the public is important too. Not everything needs an incentive and the mere fact that you are able to inform a group of people about a topic they may have no knowledge on is great. Their minds will be enriched... as long as your information is credible. 5. It's only a few minutes of your live. Once it's over, you move on... until the next one: Sometimes when you're up there it feels like a lifetime. Those five minutes, ten minutes, or twenty minutes, feel like FOREVER. But I'm here to tell you, it's not. In fact, you may never remember those few minutes. *Poof* Gone like the wind. Hope you enjoyed these five tips to keep you relaxed and focused while presenting in front of an audience. *Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash |
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