Madison PDO 6-28-10

Thank you to Carrie and Connie for their many contributions to our PDO!

India in two days!

Money and Food Question (sorry....)

Okay....so I have read that "most meals while in the country" will be covered by the program. I'm curious when it states "dinner on your own" what will the average dinner cost be for us?

Just wanting to make sure I plan accordingly...to be prepared. I know you've also recommended bringing $300-$500 "spending money". Does that amount include what we'll spend on meals and tipping that was discussed? Then we plan on bringing other funds for whatever gifts/artifacts we would want to purchase to bring back with us?

Sorry to be so picky....just trying to clarify...better safe than sorry.....

Thanks for all you do!

cheers,
linda in lansing

Gifting Items - Your Thoughts?

Hey, Linda here from Lansing, Michigan. I'm just curious about what gift items some of you have gotten already, or are thinking about? I'm sort of still perplexed. I have gone to a local store "Michigania" that has lots of nice items. There is an AWESOME coffee table book, however that would get a bit heavy! There are some nice engraved pen/pencil sets with our local flower/bird, etc, there are also nice ceramic trivets for serving hot food on, nice hostessing gift I suppose. I'd love to hear some other ideas? Are nicer state specific coffee/tea mugs a good idea? Or will that be too little?

What are some thoughts on gifts for the children/students? I have heard pens/pencils....but does that mean going to Staples and buying those things? Or should be find special ones? Maybe I'm overthinking the whole thing.....love to hear others thoughts.
cheers,
linda

Trip

Getting ready for the trip.

More advice on staying in touch with home....

Connie (who will be at the PDO) just wrote me:

"One more thing:  I think I forgot to mention that several of us who had netbooks or laptops SKYPED with our families during the trip.  It was easy to do with the connections at the hotels.

Also, I saw an ad for a CYSCO (sp?) wireless modem that looks like a thumb drive, and perhaps people will want that.  A friend of mine in India had one last year and he could access the internet via a satellite anywhere....  Amazing technology!"

Picture of an STD/ISD booth - call home from here!

More advice from Past Participant

Good Friday Morning.....

I asked a past participant about her experience with using emails and phones on the program and here was her reply:

"Many people brought netbooks or small laptops with them to communicate with people at home. I did not have a netbook at the time, but wish I had. I had access to internet in almost all hotels but it was expensive [I have asked her to let us know how much was expensive]. Personally, I would have rather been able to type up an email on my laptop an then send it using the smallest increment of internet time. (Most hotels charged by the minute.) Some even charged for the time it took to write an email in a word program because the hotels charged for the use of the computer.
Many people were also trying to write blogs, which was easier to do when they had a personal netbook. As for myself, I splurged on the hotel internet costs about twice a week. I also had international cell phone service that I only used a couple times."

Answering some questions

Hello Everyone,
Yesterday I had a phone call with a participant who asked some good questions, and I wanted to share my responses with you:

Q: are sleeveless shirts appropriate for women? what about the length of skirts?
A: You will see some Indian women wearing sleeveless shirts and blouses - however it is not the norm. It is very rare to see and Indian women in a mini-skirt although in big cities (Bombay) you might see some young women with short skirts. I always advise women to wear more moderate lengths at the knee or mid-calf. It is not appropriate to wear sleeveless shirts or short skirts if you are visiting religious sites. It is also important that your shirts and skirts are not see-through.

Q: should I bring my own cell phone or buy one in India?
A: You need to check with your cell phone provider if your cell phone can be "unlocked" for use in a foreign country. If so, you will be able to purchase a sim card fairly easily. It is possible to buy used cell phones in India - but I am not sure if you will have the time to take care of this as there is a process in enrolling in a plan, etc. All over India you will find "STD/ISD" signs which indicate that the shop/store has a pay phone that you can use to call internationally. This is fairly cheap and easy and these shops/stores are open at all hours of the day and night. You will also have phones in your hotel rooms but do be aware that hotels have a surcharge and will charge a higher fee than the independent shops. What I have advised people in the past is to make a very quick call home from the hotel - and then give the number for your family/friend to call you back (be sure to give them your room number).

Q: are there laundry facilities available in hotels in India?
A: You will be staying in 3-5 star hotels all across India. I can not tell you 100% that all hotels will have laundry facilities - but for sure many will. It is important that you have at least 2-nights in a hotel to use these services as mostly clothes are line-dried. Do be aware that in India anything that you send to the dhobi (laundry person in Hindi) will be ironed. So, do not give anything that should not be ironed. Also, be aware that some dhobis use a "whitening" soultion that sometimes makes whites turn a bit blue.