Communication

Hey parents!

Your daughters are gathering here in Miami.  The excitement is growing to a fever pitch!  It's fun seeing them and watching them start to get to know each other.  Your daughters will call you when they arrive in Miami and then again when they arrive in Quito so you can rest easily.  Remember the flight to Ecuador gets in after 9 PM EST, so it might be a little late by the time they get to a phone (for East Coasters).  

I wanted you to check out the blog so that you could see how easy it is.  It's a place for you to communicate amongst yourselves, to ask questions, to reassure one another, and to share information.  Once you post a message, other parents can view it and choose to respond to it or not.  See what you think. 

Communication with Home

During the first two weeks, we request that your daughters only call you once – to let you know they are overseas and share their first impressions with you.  The first two weeks are a time of bonding with the group, and it is important that they share this time with the people overseas – not only talking with your family and friends back home.  After the first two weeks, students can call family and friends during their free time.  Because we are staying in other people’s homes and hostels, we ask the phone contact be predominantly student initiated.  

 Overseas mail:  We have purchased memberships for all of the students with the South American Explorer’s Club. We will be receiving mail at the South American Explorers Clubhouses in Quito, Lima, and Cusco. Because of the nature of the South American postal services and Clubhouse policies, it is best not to send large packages, as they are sometimes quite expensive and challenging to retrieve from the post office. Also, plan ahead and mail small packages and letters early to ensure they are waiting for your daughter when we arrive in a city.  

Please send all letters to:

 Feb. 2 - Mar. 1

The Traveling School

(Your daughter’s name)

South American Explorers Club

Apartado 17-21-431

Elroy Alfaro

Quito, Ecuador

 

March 1 - Apr. 15

The Traveling School

(Your daughter’s name)

South American Explorers Club

Apartado 500

Cusco, Peru

 

Sorry, we will not be able to receive mail in Bolivia. You will also be able to send the girls letters with their host families. 

Call or email me if you have questions!

Jennifer

Best buy on calling card?

Hi all! We were at Costco today and they sell Verizon cards at the Seattle area stores. Unfortunately, there was no information about rates on the package and when I called Verizon tonight, they couldn't help me unless I had the access number and PIN. In looking at the MCI info online, it looks like calls from Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are $0.60, $0.50, $0.60, respectively. Anyone found a better deal or know what the Costco rates are? Thanks!

Ideas for staying in touch

I thought I'd pass along a few things we did (or wish we had done) before leaving last semester that made communications easier (long, but hopefully helpful):

• Discuss whether the first call on any given day should be to mom's cell, dad's cell, home, work, etc. Sometimes the girls only have a few minutes to call. Hitting voicemail is frustrating for all and takes precious minutes from any subsequent call, if one is even possible.
• Encourage messages if she hits voicemail or when she has the opportunity to call but knows you're not available. "Hi, I'm having a BLAST!!!" is much better than waiting another week to hear her voice. Plus, you can play it back over and over and over. :-)
• If your daughter will call more than one place (mom's house, dad's house, older siblings, etc), let her know those of you back home will communicate with each other (she repeats less; you get more updates). And, she won't be as likely to pass up making any phone call because she doesn't have time to make two phone calls.
• Discuss time differences and best times to call (but know they may not have options and call when the opportunity presents itself).
• Write down your daughter's calling card number and pin so you can check available minutes and reload before it runs out.
• Have your daughter create a blog so she can post news and stories for people back home. Although Jenna was only able to post twice, I added a few of her emails and photos the teachers sent.
• Create a separate blog for friends and family to post news from home, photos, etc (we made this by invitation only). This provides a single place for her to read updates when Internet time is limited. Jenna said Facebook and MySpace don't work as well.
• Make sure your daughter adds all email addresses to her contact list, and if possible, creates email groups (family, friends, teachers, etc) to save precious email time.
• Share what you hear from your daughter on this blog -- other parents will love you! Not all girls call or email at the same time or share the same stories.
• Know that no news is good news -- if she's homesick, sick or hurt, you'll hear (hopefully none of us will hear any of these things).

This all said, know that you will ache for the next phone call and email, and no matter how often you hear from your daughter, those calls and emails won't be as frequent, as long, or have as many details as you'd like. But, when you do hear from her, oh, it is wonderful!

Hello Parents & Travelers

Lizzie is so excited, especially since it's been snowing everyday in the Colorado Mountains, warmth and sunshine will be as welcome as the adventures to come. Wishing you all a wonderful trip. Lisa Stoll

Yea!

Thanks to Gen for getting the blog going. This is definitely new to me but cool. Parents with daughters who have done this before, be sure to pipe up and share what you know. Parents who are new to TTS, feel free to ask your questions. May the conversations begin!

Hola to all of us staying home!

Hi everyone who has girls heading off to South America next week.
I think that they will have an amazing time. Sarah has almost
everything on the required list, though there's still a few items she
needs. Hope it all fits in the backpack we bought. I'm thinking of
mailing the first "Care"package the end of this week. What are others doing?

Patrice(Sarah's mom)

Welcome to the TTS11 Student and Parent Blog!

Hi everyone-

Only 10 more days until the backpacks are packed and everyone comes faces to face in Miami - what an adventure! Please use this space to ask questions, post comments, and interact with other families who are preparing for the same adventure! Check out TTS 9 and TTS10 blogs on this same site for previous postings from previous semesters.

We're going to be speaking Spanish and eating guinea pig before you know it! :)

All the best,
Gennifre Hartman
Executive Director
The Traveling School

Hey

Wow this is awesome! I just wanted to sey Hey to everyone! And I am soo excited!!! But definitely nervous...less than two weeks!!! woohoo.