Don’t Leave Home Without It

Documents

You’ll need to bring along your university diploma, birth certificate and TEFL certificate – if you have it when you leave home – for you work permit. I’ve found that the best way to transport these is inside a plastic sleeve within a hard plastic folder, taken of course as hand luggage. If you need a Certificate of No Criminal Record from the US, make every effort to apply for it – correctly – before you leave the country.

Stuff

It’s hard to know exactly how to fill a suitcase or two for a year working abroad. Some space-saving options that are viable for traveling, like limiting yourself to two or three interchangeable outfits, seem less appealing when you will be in one location, working with the same people every day. You may want to have some clothes sent to the school and bring heavier things in your checked luggage. But keep in mind that in a year or two you will likely be making yet another big move. Clothes and most other necessities will be available locally, and shopping is half the fun of living abroad. When you pack up, consider setting aside a box or two of things you might want sent. If necessary, someone from home can locate what you need quickly and send it without going through ten or twenty boxes.

Arranging to pay your bills

I have my bills sent to my parents’ US address and leave them some signed checks to cover what needs to be paid. I have so far avoided online banking because, up to now, I would have had to do it from Internet cafes or public computers, and I just didn’t (and still don’t) know enough about it to feel confident. For many people though this will be a viable option.

If you have any credit or debit cards that will expire while you are away, arrange to get replacements earlier. Some banks won’t send cards overseas, or to particular countries, and even if they do, there is much that can go wrong. So save yourself the hassle and do it before you go.