Learning Spanish in Mexico
Friday November 30, 2012
Preparatory to another year in which my travels will take me to countries where Spanish is spoken, I'm making my usual and usually unsuccessful attempts to improve my limited (okay, terrible) grasp of the language. I generally leave a confused trail of baffled waiters ("You want how many thousand wild boars for breakfast?") in my linguistically challenged wake in Latin America because I tend to forget every iota of any language I've studied when using it alone abroad.
This season, though, I added a new twist to my educational efforts (which, aside from classes, formerly included independent study like
obsessively reading phrasebooks while watching El Mariachi dubbed in Spanish): I attended a local intercambio, or exchange. Each week, a
group of folks whose native tongues are either Spanish or English and whose home countries span North and South America gathers at our local bookstore to drink coffee and speak each other's language: the Spanish speakers must speak English, and vice versa. And it's successful because learning language in the context of general life works.
Suzanne Barbezat, About's Guide to Mexico, has written a terrific piece, "Learn Spanish in Mexico," in which she mentions intercambio as one of the many tools for learning the lingo in the land where it's spoken -- Suzanne suggests taking language classes in Mexico and having your language school's administration arrange an intercambio for you with a Mexican who is learning English. Check out the rest of Suzanne's suggestions:
I found myself speaking and comprehending Spanish (for a brief and heady period, anyway) on my last trip to Mexico partially because I was traveling solo and it was sink or swim patois-wise -- I had to ask for help, and I had to talk. Intercambio is a similar principle: having to speak a language with people who will help you tends to untie your tongue and (hopefully) all that vocabulary you memorized magically emerges as conversation.
Read up, get motivated and viaja a Mexico, pronto.
More on learning Spanish in Mexico:
obsessively reading phrasebooks while watching El Mariachi dubbed in Spanish): I attended a local intercambio, or exchange. Each week, a
group of folks whose native tongues are either Spanish or English and whose home countries span North and South America gathers at our local bookstore to drink coffee and speak each other's language: the Spanish speakers must speak English, and vice versa. And it's successful because learning language in the context of general life works.
Suzanne Barbezat, About's Guide to Mexico, has written a terrific piece, "Learn Spanish in Mexico," in which she mentions intercambio as one of the many tools for learning the lingo in the land where it's spoken -- Suzanne suggests taking language classes in Mexico and having your language school's administration arrange an intercambio for you with a Mexican who is learning English. Check out the rest of Suzanne's suggestions:
I found myself speaking and comprehending Spanish (for a brief and heady period, anyway) on my last trip to Mexico partially because I was traveling solo and it was sink or swim patois-wise -- I had to ask for help, and I had to talk. Intercambio is a similar principle: having to speak a language with people who will help you tends to untie your tongue and (hopefully) all that vocabulary you memorized magically emerges as conversation.Read up, get motivated and viaja a Mexico, pronto.
More on learning Spanish in Mexico:
- Spanish School in Guanajuato
- Hablo Espanol (Or, It's a Miracle)
- Spanish Schools in San Miguel de Allende
- "Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages." -- Dave Barry
Australia Road Tripping for Backpackers
Friday November 30, 2012
It was about this time of year that we were last negotiating Australian roads' roundabouts that rounded the "wrong" way, learning to drive with the wheel on the right and the road on the left and generally dismaying other drivers down under, 
and we're thinking fondly of Australia's lovely November weather as the snow starts falling here in the US mountains. See, it's summer in Australia -- beautiful time of year for a road trip across Australia -- and here's the cool thing: backpackers can easily buy and rent cars in the land of Oz. So, want to take the wheel from the other side of the car and the road and do some serious Aussie cruising? Check out some Australian driving tips and Oz road trip pix, and learn about backpacker's cars (including renting and buying cars and vans for backpackers):
Related Reading: Australian Hostels | Plugging In Down Under | Driving Down Under
Photo © Kathleen Crislip | Student Travel Blog Home
and we're thinking fondly of Australia's lovely November weather as the snow starts falling here in the US mountains. See, it's summer in Australia -- beautiful time of year for a road trip across Australia -- and here's the cool thing: backpackers can easily buy and rent cars in the land of Oz. So, want to take the wheel from the other side of the car and the road and do some serious Aussie cruising? Check out some Australian driving tips and Oz road trip pix, and learn about backpacker's cars (including renting and buying cars and vans for backpackers):
Related Reading: Australian Hostels | Plugging In Down Under | Driving Down Under
Photo © Kathleen Crislip | Student Travel Blog HomeTake Amtrak Home for the Holidays
Sunday November 25, 2012
'Tis the season to think about travel in the US of A and student discounts, and Amtrak offers 'em -- students can travel on Amtrak at 15% off with an ISIC card. 
With airport security hassles ruling American air and holiday plane ticket prices sky high, frazzled travelers may welcome a chance to pack without worry and kick back with the view on a train trip. Learn more about riding the rails on the cheap:
Amtrak's routes can be lacking, but the ride rocks. I rode coast to coast on the train last year -- check out the resulting Amtrak photos for train travel information:
With airport security hassles ruling American air and holiday plane ticket prices sky high, frazzled travelers may welcome a chance to pack without worry and kick back with the view on a train trip. Learn more about riding the rails on the cheap:
Amtrak's routes can be lacking, but the ride rocks. I rode coast to coast on the train last year -- check out the resulting Amtrak photos for train travel information:
- Amtrak Photos (scroll under pictures to read train travel tips)
Managing Holiday Stress (Travel and Otherwise)
Friday November 23, 2012
You couldn't wait to get home for the holidays -- take a break from stressful studies and see the fam. Travel at the holidays, however much you have been looking forward to it, though, can be a stressful experience in itself, and school stuff (and fam life) can add anxiety to holiday fun. Get some tips for taking the trouble out of travel and holidays with 
helpful holiday stress management advice and don't let the crazy holiday travel scene get you going down!
helpful holiday stress management advice and don't let the crazy holiday travel scene get you going down!
- Holiday Stress Advice
- Be Ready and Reduce Air Travel Stress: Air Travel Prep
- About.com's Guide to Graduate School: Handle Your Holiday Stress
Last Minute Student Travel Discounts on Greyhound
Wednesday November 21, 2012
Has the week wandered by with your need for turkey suddenly imminent and you're not home yet? Or need to travel to a friend's place for a ride to Mom's? No worries-- know you've got a Thanksgiving travel option other than last minute air: go over the river and through the woods with a Greyhound bus student travel discount, using the Student Advantage card. You don't need the actual card if you have to buy *and* travel the same day (like Thanksgiving day) -- just order and get the card number. And the card will be handy for other discounts when you do have it in hand.
- Greyhound Bus Discounts for Students -- Read up on how to get Greyhound bus student discounts and a Student Advantage card, find Greyhound bus schedules, and get bus riding tips.
- About Student Advantage Cards
Last Minute Thanksgiving Airfare Deal: Airtran Student Standby
Wednesday November 21, 2012
Skyhigh last minute Thanksgiving airfares bringing you down? That's partly because last minute airfare's always spendy, but partly because Thanksgiving week is what's called a peak air travel time and airfares do peak accordingly. If you can leave on Thanksgiving Thursday, you've an awesome option:
standby -- absolutely worth a shot with Airtran U, Airtran's student-only standby airfares for flyers 18-22 years old. $60 one way tickets to or from many cities the eastern airline serves and $90-$120 to or from a handful of its "long haul" routes (like Seattle), but fares are blacked out Wednesday, Saturday and Monday (consider catching a bus or Amtrak back -- you can get student discounts).
Learn more:
standby -- absolutely worth a shot with Airtran U, Airtran's student-only standby airfares for flyers 18-22 years old. $60 one way tickets to or from many cities the eastern airline serves and $90-$120 to or from a handful of its "long haul" routes (like Seattle), but fares are blacked out Wednesday, Saturday and Monday (consider catching a bus or Amtrak back -- you can get student discounts).
Learn more:
- Airtran U Standby Tickets (find an Airtran route map, too)
Top 5 Money Saving Road Trip Tips
Wednesday November 21, 2012
Hitting the road home for Thanksgiving? Know that food and lodging are the biggest road trip travel budget busters, followed by unintentionally guzzling (spendy) gas... and they can all totally be avoided. 
Learn how to save money on road trips with budget food and snacks (and we're not just talking packing some turkey sammies) and get the top gas-saving tips, too:
Related Reading: Road Trip Planning 101 | American Road Food | US Road Atlases | Road Trip Photos: Impressions of the Road From States Less Traveled | Road Trip Wonders: West Virginia | Austin for Backpackers | New York for Backpackers
Student Travel blog home
Learn how to save money on road trips with budget food and snacks (and we're not just talking packing some turkey sammies) and get the top gas-saving tips, too:
Related Reading: Road Trip Planning 101 | American Road Food | US Road Atlases | Road Trip Photos: Impressions of the Road From States Less Traveled | Road Trip Wonders: West Virginia | Austin for Backpackers | New York for Backpackers
Student Travel blog home
Thanksgiving Travel Calendar - Best Priced Holiday Travel Days
Wednesday November 14, 2012
Thanksgiving can be an expensive time to travel; if your travel plans involve flying home or elsewhere around the holiday, use some smart tools like a Thanksgiving travel calendar to find the best priced travel days and planning your travel may be a breeze. Learn how to build the Thanksgiving air travel toolkit:
- Find the Best Priced Travel Days: Thanksgiving Travel Calendar and Price Forecast Graph
World Toilet Day November 19
Wednesday November 14, 2012
November 19 is World Toilet Day. You think the next part involves a sailor walking into a bar. It's a deadly serious affair, though -- among other statistics it has to share, the World Toilet Organization says, "Over a billion of the 6 billion people in the world are served by sewerage systems but much of this sewerage is discharged into rivers, lakes and the sea with little or no treatment." And the World Health Organization (WHO) tells us that 1.6 million children die each year from diarrhea.
World Toilet Day is an opportunity to shed some light on the world's sewage situations that should be of concern to global-thinking citizens; you can get involved with a myriad of field projects through the World Toilet Organization. Learn more:
Speaking of toilets:
- Toilets Around the World for Travelers - "Going" Worldwide
- The Bathroom Diaries - "True Tales of Tawdry Toilets" (Nominations for the Golden Plunger Award!)
- MizPee.com - Find Toilets in the US on Cell Phone
- What Are Hostel Bathrooms Like?
Mexico Travel Myth #4: I'll Have to Share the Bus With Chickens
Monday November 5, 2012
Mexico is becoming a student travel mecca -- it's always registered high on the indie travel radar, but backpackers are flocking South now for some truly good hostels, colonial grandeur, and Mexico sun and sand. Many myths abound about Mexico travel, though; let's debunk a few of the top Mexico travel myths...
Mexico has excellent safe and cheap long haul in-country buses, as well as a plethora of local buses ranging from not-so-converted school buses to beauty mini-vans and VW van collectivos, or shared taxis. "Chicken" buses are thus named because they head to and from rural locales and it's possible to suspect such buses thus occasionally host an animal or two, but livestock-on-bus sightings are far less common (like, seldom seen) than some travel guides would have you believe. Learn more:
Related Reading: Beginner's Mexico Travel Guide | Mexico Travel Planning FAQ | Mexico on $25 a Day | Mexico Travel Photos | Driving in Mexico
Photo © Kathleen Crislip | Student Travel blog home
Mexico has excellent safe and cheap long haul in-country buses, as well as a plethora of local buses ranging from not-so-converted school buses to beauty mini-vans and VW van collectivos, or shared taxis. "Chicken" buses are thus named because they head to and from rural locales and it's possible to suspect such buses thus occasionally host an animal or two, but livestock-on-bus sightings are far less common (like, seldom seen) than some travel guides would have you believe. Learn more:
Related Reading: Beginner's Mexico Travel Guide | Mexico Travel Planning FAQ | Mexico on $25 a Day | Mexico Travel Photos | Driving in Mexico
Photo © Kathleen Crislip | Student Travel blog home