Project - Plan A Trip

In this report, we want to practice:

• Combining sources into one outline
• Writing short summaries combining more than one source
• Citing websites
• Citing Japanese sources
• Writing reference lists with more than one source

We also want to learn about opportunities for going abroad while at University. If you do not learn now, by the time you decide to go it might be too late - you might be busy with job-hunting, dissertation, or you might not be able to get the TOEFL/IELTS score you need.

1) Discussion

Do you want to go abroad? Why? Is it one of these reasons?

• Travel
• Study abroad: http://www.soka.ac.jp/international/outbound/program
• Work/Internship
• Working holiday (only some countries): http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/w_holiday/
• Volunteering: http://idealist.org

2) Process

• Do some Research
• Choose something you can do while you are in university: “Volunteer”, “Internship” or “Study Abroad”
• Choose a specific place
  • e.g. if you research “Study”, choose ONE city, ONE university and a specific course
  • e.g. if you choose “Internship””, choose ONE city and ONE company
  • e.g. if you choose “Volunteer”, choose ONE organisation working in ONE area
• Find some good sources to learn about your options
  • Start with the links above.
  • Probably your other sites are the university site, and a travel site.
  • No Wikipedia or Wikitravel.
• At least three sources
• At least one Japanese source
• At least two non-Japanese sources

3) Research you need to know before you go.

• Application: What skills do you need? What forms/proof do you need?
• What scores/paperwork I need by when? (e.g. TOEFL iBT by October, Visa by December)
• Action: What will you actually do? Where will you live?
• Time: When to go, how long? What’s the weather like then?
• Transport: How to get there. How to get around.
• Language: What English level do I need? Should I learn another language?
• Cost: Flights, food & accommodation, program fees, application fees, shopping
• Travel: Other things you can do/eat/see/buy (as travel) while you are there
• Planning: What do I need to prepare? (visa/vaccine/papers/study)
• Customs: What customs/manners/cultural things do I need to know? What are people like?
• Packing:What do I need to take? (special clothes/medicine
• Warnings: Are there any dangers? (food/water/place/animal/diseases/people/time)
• Sharing: Will I need to share info about Japan? Should I prepare something?
• Should I take any gifts from Japan?
• Can you think of any more things you might need to know?

4) Think about the Outcome

• How will it help you (How is this connected to YOUR dream?
• Do you think this will help others?

5) Next, prepare to outline the pattern, with some differences

• “Studying at KJHLKJHKJL University”
• “Volunteering with X NGO”
• “Working at X company”

I will share a template. Don’t forget your citations, summary, and FC the top thing you need to do to make it happen. e.g. “In summary, I’m going to visit UBC in Canada in summer 2017, and study Marketing for one semester. To do this, I really need to save more money, so I will get a part time job soon. I also need to get my iBT TOEFL score up to 90”)

Recommended sites.

Here are some tools I use, you can try these if you’re not sure where to start.

• Finding Flights
  • Expedia: https://www.expedia.co.jp/
  • Kayak: https://www.kayak.co.jp/
  • Skyscanner: https://www.skyscanner.com
  • Google Flights: https://www.google.co.jp/flights
  • Some European budget airlines (“LCC”) DON’T always appear in search, check them separately
    • Easyjet (Europe): https://www.easyjet.com
    • Ryanair (Europe): https://www.ryanair.com
    • Asian LCCs like Scoot and AIr Asia usually appear in search, but if they don’t maybe check.
  • After finding a flight, sometimes it’s best to book through airline. Sometimes not.
• Finding trains
  • Check Seat61: http://www.seat61.com/
  • Usually you book through individual country websites.
• FInding places to stay
  • Expedia: https://www.expedia.co.jp/
  • TripAdvisor reviews: https://www.tripadvisor.com/
  • hotels.com: http://hotels.com
  • AirBNB ( http://www.airbnb.com ) are:
  • Housesitting: https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/house-sitting/
  • Hostels: hostels.com: http://hostels.com
• Finding things to do.
  • Tripadvisor for top 10s in each area: https://www.tripadvisor.com/
  • Atlas Obscura, for unusual places: http://www.atlasobscura.com
  • Just google “top ten things to do in…”
• Other tools
  • Research possible risks - FCO: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
  • Insurance: https://www.worldnomads.com/
  • Offline maps (when no data)
    • Google maps download (doesn’t always work)
    • Try maps.me: https://maps.me