As you take the time to complete all of the necessary logistics to get ready to go abroad, make sure you carve out some space for research and reflection to ensure you are mentally prepared to hit the ground running. Learn as much as you can--it will increase your effectiveness and help you get the most out of your experience. No volunteer ever complained about being too prepared!
We’ve compiled some suggested topics and resources as a starting point. Feel free to use them or find your own that are more relevant.
Learn about the country, culture and living overseas
A good place to start is to learn as much as you can about your destination. Look at the history, politics, economics, religion, current events, customs, beliefs, food and gender issues. This will help you integrate into your local community and give you context for your work. Researching the historical relationship with your home country, particularly as it relates to international development, can also be illuminating. Cultivating a willingness to learn and ask questions will be useful to you during your experience. Be prepared to continually adapt your understanding once you are on the ground.
In order to really learn about a new culture, you need to experience it. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare yourself before you leave. Try to gain exposure through research and by meeting with people from your destination country. This can be done through student groups on campus, immigrant, refugee or cultural centres in your community, your sending organization or your personal network. These people are a valuable resource for specific country-related questions and can provide a lot of insight into your experience. The arts is another interesting way to learn about culture. Check out some books, films, music or art before you leave!
In what ways does this culture differ from my own? How might I deal with these differences?
What local customs and beliefs should I be aware of? What role does religion play in daily life? What type of clothing is appropriate?
What are the traditional gender norms and dynamics? How will this affect me personally and the projects I am working on?
How will I be regarded by the people and community I am immersed in? Will my nationality, race, class, gender, education or age confer any special privilege or power that I should be aware of? How does reflecting on this make me feel? How will I work with these dynamics in-country?
Learn the language
Learning the language of your host community is one of the most important preparations you can do before you leave. Start as soon as possible, trust us. You don't have to be perfect, but the community will greatly appreciate and respect that you are making an effort to learn their language, so don't give up!
There are many ways to learn a language, and you may have access to unique strategies and resources where you live. Online courses, formal classes, text and verb books or informal exchanges with classmates or immigrants from your host country are all great ways to start. Once you are a little more advanced you could try reading magazines or newspapers or renting movies with subtitles.
Language Learning Tips
Your primary goal (in most cases) is to be able to communicate effectively. Don’t worry too much about spelling and accents at the beginning. Pronunciation and comprehension are much more important.
Learn the basics first.
Greetings: Formal and informal, please and thank you (if used)
Verb tenses: Concentrate on the present tense. Learn the most frequently used verbs first: to be, to have, to want, to need, to go, to come, etc.
Numbers: Up to 100 and then denominations of 1000;
Colors: Rainbow
Weather: Keep it simple - sun, rain, cold, hot.
Time: Need to be able to count to 60 obviously.
Understand words for morning, afternoon, and evening.
Food: Fruit, vegetables, meat.
Directions and distance: left, right, straight, turn, metres, kilometres, etc.
Animals: dog, cat, cow, horse, snake, monkey, etc;
Tools: are helpful to know if you’ll be working on a construction project – hammer, nails, shovel;
Parts of the Body: It is very helpful to know basic body parts for medical purposes and if you’ll be working with health education topics;
Common questions and commands: Where is the bathroom? How do I get to….? My name is… Who, what, why, where, when;
Adjectives/adverbs: hurt, hungry, tired, cold, happy, etc.
Bring a dictionary, pocket phrasebook or find a good translation app for your phone. It’s helpful to have something you can keep with you when on-the-spot translations are required.
Practice as much as possible and don’t worry about making mistakes! It’s the only way to learn.
Learn about the issues you will be working on
Before you leave, you should have a basic understanding of the history of international development and current trends and critiques. More specifically, you should learn as much as you can about the specific sector, topic and programs you will be working on.
If you are going through a sending organization they may provide you with preparatory resources or have suggestions of where to look. If you find anything that seems particularly helpful in your own research, be sure to bookmark or print it for later reference. If you are going to be doing any sort of training or workshop facilitation as part of your experience, be sure to check out online toolkits and facilitation guides.
Personal Reflection and Preparation
Re-visit some of the thinking you did when you decided to go abroad. Consider your initial motivations and expectations. Have these changed at all based on your preparations?.
Think about what support structures you can put in place while you are away and reflect on how you deal with stress and adversity. Brainstorm stress management techniques to help prepare yourself. Determine how you will keep in touch with family and friends while you are away.
Consider how you hope to leverage your experience so that you can be more intentional about some of your choices while you are abroad. What skills and experience are you hoping to gain or practice? Is there anyone you should network with while you are away? Can you volunteer at home prior to your departure to build your skills and effectiveness as a volunteer?
Taking the time to mentally prepare for your volunteer abroad experience will help to increase your confidence and effectiveness as a volunteer. Remember to expect the unexpected, be humble, learn as much as you can and try to make the most of your experience
Suggested Resources - People
Project contact(s) -- contact your sending or host organization for country and project information and don’t hesitate to ask as many questions as possible!
Returned participants -- possibly the best way to get a realistic sense of what day to day life will look like on the ground. Try to chat with a few different people to get a balanced view.
People from your host country -- an invaluable resource for questions about cultural norms and how to navigate different issues. A great way to practice some of your language learning too!
