The group is on the final stretch of the field study trip. There have been many expereinces good and bad during the past three weeks, but overall I would consider it to be a very successful study tour. One of the primary topics focussed on throughout the past three weeks was the notion of group travel. Keeping this in mind I would like to share with you all some of the lessons learned by members of the group, and things you shold consider when deciding to travel in large groups in the future.
Thank you to the dynamic Team REK'D (Rosalyn, Erika, Kim, and D) for there contributions into this blog.
Group Travel: Things you should Know
1) Know who you will be travelling with, might help to know someone close in th group for support.
2) Know expectations and make sure rules and regulations are clear prior to deaparting country.
3) Ask others about their experiences with group travel; might give you insight on whether its for you or not.
Postive Aspects of Group Travel:
1) The ability to learn from others in the group and have more then one or two peoples perspectives.
2) Make close connections and friendships within the group that might not have happenend otherwise.
3) Being with people who share an interest in travel and education.
4) Have things planned for and organized for you ahead of time (**only if you like not being in control and having things planned for you).
5) Sharing lasting memories with people in the group.
Negative Aspects of Group Travel:
1) Restrictions in travel
- choosing what to do is a consensus decision of what the group wants to do
- have too little time to explore what oyu want to explore
- lack of privacy and independence
- being "cheap" and travelling on a tight group travel budget.
2) The ability to meet new people can be difficult with the "security blanket" of the group being there.
3) Issues arise from group conflicts and gossip
4) Conflict of interest and miscmmunication between group members.
5) Being too close for comfort
Hope this help all you future travellers in making a decision on whther or not group travel is for you. Im off to sit on the beach, drink some beers and get a sun burn.
Peace out, D
