The World is Your Classroom When Studying Abroad

Imagine swimming with dolphins in their natural habitat off the coast of Australia. How about spending the afternoon in a New Zealand landscape so stunningly beautiful, films such as The Lord of the Rings have filmed there? No, you aren’t on vacation: you are earning credits for Oceanography and biology while studying abroad!

It is a unique educational experience that will remain with you for the rest of your life. Many people have a very limited view of the world we live in and international travel is a relief from that.

In an article for the Huffington Post, employers across a vast spectrum of industries explained why applicants who studied abroad stood out during the application and interview process. Students grew both professionally and personally, learning intangible life skills along the way:

  • Creative problem-solving experience in unfamiliar situations
  • Adaptability within culturally diverse environments
  • Excellent listening and communication skills
  • Practical knowledge of a specific culture and language

Nicole van Renesse studied abroad in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji during her junior year spring semester at The University of Georgia. She shared a few of her MANY experiences:

In Australia, she learned about human geography and the colonization of Terra Nullius, the great unknown continent. Her group explored the Outback and Aboriginal communities, as well as the marine diversity of the Great Barrier Reef (Prior to the trip she was terrified of the ocean, Nicole is now a certified scuba diver that never wants to leave the water!). New Zealand taught her about environmental issues and how to live clean, green and pure. She hiked mountains, volcanoes and glaciers, learning the ancient language and culture of the Maori. Attending a lecture at Massey University in Wellington was an interesting highlight to the trip. While in Fiji, Nicole and her peers discovered the various ways in which cultures have impacted the environment and stayed with a family in a traditional Fijian village.

Studying abroad gives students the alluring experience of taking in the culture of a new land, one of the best ways to experience culture is to live it.

“The amount of knowledge that can be gained by experiencing another person’s perspective on life or their culture is something you cannot find in a book. This trip has truly changed the woman I have become today”

–  Nicole van Renesse, The University of Georgia

Choose from many unique programs to find the perfect fit for your personality and earn a variety of credits without ever having to step foot in a classroom. Study abroad is just as accessible as a regular college semester. The cost is even less than regular tuition and scholarships can still be applied to help fund the cost. Yes, you still have to take tests – but you may be sitting on the side of a mountain while doing so!

TravelersAlly has a unique set of plans designed specifically for Student Travelers. Get a quote today!

 

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The Buzz on the 2018 Winter Olympics

Image courtesy of olympic.org

With the opening ceremony on February ninth drawing closer, all eyes are on PyeongChang, South Korea, as the city prepares to host the 23rd Winter Olympics. NBC will broadcast the games live on TV and online.

The games are in South Korea, but North Korea has drawn attention in the headlines as tensions increase between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. Although they don’t expect to use it, The British Olympic Association said last month that it has an evacuation plan and The U.S. Olympic Committee remains in close contact with the State Department.

In an article for USA Today, USOC vice president of sport performance Kelly Skinner stated, “Every Games environment brings about unique challenges, and we have some tremendous partners in the State Department that can help us prepare. Team USA’s preparations continue in earnest. We will make sure that the athletes and the staff are safe when we’re in Korea”.

PyeongChang is about 60 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. In reference to a CNN article, the PyeongChang resort has changed its name for the Games, Capitalizing the C for the first time to avoid any possible confusion with North Korea’s capital Pyongyang.

Seoul hosted the Summer Olympics in 1988, making the 2018 Winter Olympics the second Olympic Games held in South Korea. The Games are just the beginning of a series of prestigious sporting events to be held in Asia over the next four years: Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics and Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Competition and non-competition venues have been completed, including a high-speed rail connecting PyeongChang to Incheon Airport in Seoul, construction costs estimated at $3.7 billion. The 80 mile journey by train will take about 90 minutes. Another one of the six new venues built for the Games is a $78 million stadium with a 50,000 capacity; the structure will host the opening and closing ceremonies.

Athletes will compete for a record 102 gold medals in 15 disciplines. Four events will be making their Winter Olympic Debuts, including Big Air Snowboarding: competitors performing tricks after launching from huge jumps. The event is said to give the Games a youthful vibe. Other classic events include ski jumping, cross-country skiing, figure skating, and speed skating.

According to the official Olympic website, the vision for the 2018 games is to offer the Olympic Movement and the winter sports world New Horizons: a legacy of new growth and potential that has never been seen. The unique stage on which the world’s best athletes can achieve superior performances is said to be one of the most compact in Olympic history. The combination of PyeongChang’s strategic position in Asia and its access to a young and rapidly growing youth market will without a doubt expose new generations of potential athletes to the power and excitement of winter sport.

Planning on attending the Winter Olympics? TravelersAlly will make your trip a breeze.

 

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After Burning Man -Why you should consider going next year.

To some people, camping in the high desert of Nevada for a week doesn’t sound like much of a relaxing, re energizing yearly vacation destination. To myself and 80,000 others from around the globe, it gives us butterflies every moment leading up to the gates opening before Labor Day.  This is like no trip you will ever take and the mix of art, culture, extreme elements of nature, foreign languages, and dust stir together to create pure magic. Adventure travelers come to Burning Man from every corner of the world. You will be blown away by the number of international visitors you run into and the cultural exchange of ideas that takes place.
Burning_Man_Mirrors_2015
This year was my sixth visit to the place that we call HOME. Also known as the Playa, the trip takes a lot of planning. It starts with a flight into Reno or San Francisco with whatever you can carry in your suitcases (never forget your fur jacket). You can rent a car, an RV, hitchhike, or ride the Burner Express bus 150 miles into the middle of no where with no cell service. If you rent a car or RV you will be responsible for returning it without dust in the engine, door jams, or seats, which is nearly impossible. Once you arrive onto the dry lake bed you are required to set up camp in the clock shaped city, which has a 5 mile in radius.
Burning Man 2015
Get on your bike or walk and meet your new family everywhere, they will be waiting for you regardless of their language with a universal smile and hug with your name on it. They will be ready to feed you, dance with you, share their thoughts on the universe and hand you a drink. You will spend 7 sunsets and 7 sunrises exploring miles and miles of cultures brought together to form a new human kind culture. Kindness is the name of the game and after the wooden man burns on the last day signifying a new year, you will leave no trace except for the glowing twinkle in your eyes that is unmistakably hope for the default world.
Before you make plans for going next year, check out the 10 principles here that make Burning Man a great inclusive experience for people of all backgrounds. Hopefully the founding ten principles will remain with you and explaining your trip will be similar to explaining color to a blind man. Good luck.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE COVERED FOR ALL LIFE’S ADVENTURES!

Adventure Travel Policy

Jawsome Staff Favorites for Shark Week

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Adventure travel takes on a whole new meaning each year when the Discovery Channel’s shark week kicks off.  Check out the TravelersAlly staff picks for favorite Shark Video and Shark Prank!

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Staff Favorite Shark Prank Video

Spring Break Shark Attack  – Fins up for the practical jokers at SuperHollyward and “Shark Boy” Geoff Ward for their scare tactics (until the police arrived) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  How would you have reacted?

 

 

Staff Favorite Shark Video

Sometimes the sharks BITE back and get the better of the photographers and videographers who are filming the sharks.  Great video from our friends at Animal Max who clearly had to spend some money to repair the boat!

 

 

Want More Jawsome Shark Reccomendations

Check out the Top Seven Internatiaonl Shark Encounters Blog Post.

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We promise they won’t bite!

 

 

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Seven Popular International JAWSOME Shark Encounters

In honor of the Discovery Channel’s 2015 Shark Week (began on July 5, 2015), we are profiling the top seven (7) shark encounters for scuba divers around the globe that our clients, and staff, rank as the best up close and personal trips to see a shark in the wild.

Shark_Week

As experts in the area of adventure travel, and with several staff PADI certified divers, we love the thrill of scuba diving with the chance to see the magnificent hunters of the sea.  I became PADI certified in Indonesia in the mid-nineties, and have loved diving and shark diving ever since. Any great shark dive starts with the selection of the right dive company.

 

Check out the Staff’s Favorite
Shark Video & Shark Prank Video

Check out some of the most popular dive companies and their shark encounters below.

Top & Shark Encounters for Scuba Divers Around the Globe

(7)  Grey & WhiteGrey_and_white_tip_reef_sharks Tip Reef Sharks (Great Barrier Reef, Australia) – For the advanced adventure divers wanting to photograph sharks one of the greatest locations on the planet is the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia.  Drift dive and wall dives are stunning and there is always an abundance of sharks. Check out Mike Ball Dive Expeditions for their Shark Shooter Expeditions (especially the North Horn / Osprey Reef dive departing out of Cairns).

 

(6)  Whale Sharks (Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru) –  For the luxury diver, few dive companies do it better than the ones with the Four Seasons in the Maldives.  Between June and October is the best time to dive for whale sharks and mantas.  Popular dive sites like the Baa Atoll, Thilas, and Lankan Manta Point on North Male Atoll are awe-inspiring.  Check out the PADI certified divers at the Four Seasons and their Extraordinary Experiences. (Bonus experience – Try the “Manta Ray Scientist for a Day”)

Whale_Shark

 

(5)  Bull Sharks (Playa del Carmen, Mexico) – For the experienced thrill-seeking diver, the operators at Phocea Mexico offer a great dive during season each year from November to March to get up close to bull sharks.  The bull shark (or Zambezi shark) is a very curious shark and is about 12 feet in length at its biggest,making this shark dive pure excitement.

Bull_Sharks

(4)  Hammerhead Sharks (Cocos Island, Costa Rica) – Cocos Island is one of the great dive destinations around the world.  With over a dozen great dive sites (check out Dirty Rock and  Manuelita), this destination is known for hammerhead shark diving.  It is not uncommon at Dirty Rock to see dozens, if not more hammerheads along with reef and tiger sharks.  Check out the reviews of the dive masters at Undersea Hunter.  They will help educate you on Proyecto Tiburon, the Costa Rican conservation project.

Hammerhead_Sharks

 

(3)  Caribbean Reef Sharks (Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas) – Unexso is one of the longstanding dive centers in the Bahamas that has been offering shark dives to both experienced and new divers for over 20 years.  Divers who visit Unexso’s Shark Junction will get a thrilling experience seeing experienced dive masters feed and interact with the Caribbean reef shark.  Unexso is one of our favorite picks for all of the great work it does for conservation measures.

reef_shark

 

(2)  Basking Sharks (Oban, Scotland) –  The basking shark dives are some of the more adventuresome dives you can do basking_sharkoff the coast of Scotland.  This is definitely a dry suit dive for those divers wanting to spend the better part of the day in the water.  Check in with the dive masters at Basking Shark Scotland, not only for their basking shark dives, but some of the great dives they do in Iceland in October.

 

(1) Great White Sharks (Gansbaai, South Africa) – Of course we couldn’t leave off the great white shark cage dive experience.  From South Australia to South Africa, divers all over the world want to check off this bucket list dive.  It is not inexpensive, but is surely a top dive memory for all those who dare jump into the cage with the legendary shark.  From Shark Alley to Dyer Island, check out the dive masters at Marine Dynamics for an unforgettable experience.

Great_White_Shark

TravelersAlly TIP – It goes without saying that shark diving is an extreme sport.  Make sure that you are covered for Extreme Sports on your Travel Medical Policy before you jump in the water!  Have a Jawsome summer during shark week!

 

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Send your favorite dive operator reviews & pictures of Shark Dives & you might make the next Travelers Ally Extreme Sports Blog!********************************************************************************

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