Serving Abroad: Tools & Tips 

Volunteer Guidelines

DOs

• Research the community:  Consult your study abroad office for sample packing lists and tips. Educate yourself on the region’s culture, religious practices, gender relations, sociopolitical history, pop culture, etc.
• Consider your privilege: Many volunteers go abroad without first recognizing their own background and how others may perceive them. A good reading for this is Ivan Illich’s speech, “To Hell with Good Intentions.” Google it!
• Respect local traditions & culture: In your experiences abroad, you may encounter new cultural or local traditions unfamiliar or even uncomfortable to you. Make sure you establish a good relationship with your site coordinator and have them orient you to make these adjustments more comfortable and use them as learning opportunities. If you do run into an uncomfortable situation, contact your Bonner staff for guidance.
• Stick to the mission: Focus your service work on the community in need. Consider how your volunteering can maximally benefit your site and the people who you serve.
• Consider project sustainability: Think about your impact in the long-term and how your semester of service can contribute to a sustainable system of improvement for the community in need. Be patient however, if the organization does not have the resources or direction to think long-term.
• Focus on learning: Don’t forget about an important reason you’re going abroad--to enhance your education!

DONTs

• Judge things immediately: What you may see and experience may be totally different or strange as compared to what you’re used to. Take a moment before passing judgment, and ask any natives you may feel comfortable with to answer your questions--oftentimes, the personnel in the study abroad offices at your abroad university are trained to answer these sorts of questions!
• Forget about safety: Consult your study abroad office for lists of safety tips for the specific region you are traveling to. Check out the State Department Travel Warnings section on their website. However, don’t be too scared by what you may see; the government is hopeful in that you are fully aware of all safety precautions that should be taken. Go to this website to see your safety info: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168.html 
• Spend all of your time with other Americans: It may be tempting to stick together with other Americans, especially in countries where there is  a different language--but don’t limit yourself to other U.S. students, or else you’ll miss out on a lot of cultural opportunities.
• Wait to immerse yourself: Jump right in when you get abroad--try to meet new people, see new things, and ask lots of questions along the way. Be open, flexible, and ready to learn as much as you can about this new place.