Last Friday 03/11/2011—an 8.9 magnitude earthquake slammed the northern east coast of Japan giving rise to a 13-foot tsunami that damaged buildings, swept away cars, and terrified the Japanese people.

The large wave flushed all the infrastructures, railroads, and farms just like stones on the sand. There have been tsunami warnings in Russia, Marcus Island, and the Northern Marianas while a Tsunami watch has been issued in Guam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, and the US state of Hawaii.

Definitely, tsunamis are devastating roars of nature and a thundering anger from the sea. They are formed when an earthquake below sea level erupts; just like slamming your water bucket and waters are spilled over. Mostly, regions near the Pacific Ring of Fire such as Chile, Mexico, United States, Canada, Russia, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. These countries are often visited by earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis.

Does your gap year program include one of these countries?

If then, you must equip yourself with tsunami survival knowledge and be always prepared if anything less favorable happens. We have gathered some survival tips which can preserve your life and walk away from the dangers of the slamming tide.

1. Observe natural warnings. If you are living near a coastal area and the news reports of an earthquake then you should evacuate your self immediately to a higher place.
2. If the seashore draws back leaving stones and sand which is not very usual; then evacuate at the very moment because a tsunami is about to struck.
3. Listen to the news regarding any tsunami warnings.
4. If the tsunami caught you in the middle of the action, look the highest building as fast as you can.
5. When on the sea, move the boat as fast as you can to dock and head for the high ground or you can also move towards the open water far from the shore; there is a big chance for the tsunami to move underneath. The deeper the water; the more chances of surviving.
6. If you are on a high rise hotel, move fast to the highest floor.
7. Bring emergency supplies because everything might be swept clean.
8. Don’t forget mobile phones and extra batteries.

The first tsunami may not be the largest in the series of waves, so stay calm on your high rise location and wait until all waves has slammed. Also, tsunamis can reach up to 1000 feet or more it can travel up to connected rivers and streams. Students on gap year travel and adults alike should be present minded and avoid panicking during tsunamis. A calm mind would always bring out wise and practical decisions which can double up survival chances.

Trivia Time: How high was the largest tsunami ever recorded?

Answer: a 1720 feet tall tsunami in Lituya Bay, Alaska occurred on the night of July 9, 1958.

Your gap year is definitely your only chance to enjoy and be so far away from boring academics. Of course, you could expect that you would be missing some months of college except your university -of-choice offers deferment, then you’re good to go. But before you go on back packing, let us give you some pocket-size reminders to maximize your gap year travel.

1. Get yourself insured – safety first; the old saying can offer you a lot of reasons to apply for a backpacker’ or a long stay travel insurance.
2. Spell parsimoniousness – you just can’ beg on the streets if you spent your entire dime unwisely. Reckless spending is truly parallel to a financially problematic gap year travel; so spend your cash wisely.
3. Don’t get sick – bring with you some motion sickness drugs to help you cope with a lot vomiting during sea and air trips. You can also carry a plastic bag with you for a quick discharge.
4. 4. Have a snap shot of every moment – of course, the traveler’s best friend is its camera. Special moments can never be rewind so be sure to bring a camera with you.
5. Have some entertainment – mp3 players, playing cards, and portable media players will cut some traveling boredom along the way – especially in a sea trip. Pocket pc’s and notebooks are also cheap and good medium of communication at home.
6. Carry your translator in a pocket – perhaps a pocket language dictionary can help you with the dialect of the country. A simple “hello” would be very nice if spoken in their language.
7. Get oriented – every country has a different culture so it is a must to have some background on certain norms of the foreign land. You’ll end up in jail if you try to throw cigarette butts in Singapore or act differently in a particular country. You might consider taking a culture orientation before making your trip to ensure safety, as well as a smooth gap year.
8. Encourage a little roughness – don’t always follow what’s written on the guidebook. Your trip should be spoiled with some spontaneous spirit. But don’t’ be extremely rough that you will end up lost and wandering because you awaken Phileas Fogg’s spirit within you.
9. Take a lot of rest – gap year travel doesn’t’ encourage sleeplessness, in fact you will need a lot of rest and healthiness in order to enjoy the rest of the year.
10. Maintain morality to the maximum – the good news is, you will be interacting with so many people for the year, the bad news which should be avoided is, you might be enticed to pursue some relationships with them and get caught with emotional, mental, and physical problems along the way. You wouldn’t want to come home carrying HIV or STD with you or any unwanted pregnancy along the way.

Are you planning volunteering next year? Would you have a gap year travel in 2011?
Then you are probably interested in all events scheduled on the 11th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century.

In United States of America, 2011 will be the International Year of Forests and International Year of Chemistry. Gap year volunteering programs are designed for both events and you could collaborate with them.

2011 Cricket World Cup will be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Itf you are a cricket fan, these could be one of your gap year activities.

In April , The Universal House of Justice will announce the new Five Year Plan.

On July, 6th the International Olympic Committee will decide the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The cities of Annecy, France in the French Alps, Munich, Germany (host of the 1972 Summer Olympics), and Pyeongchang, South Korea, a two-time previous bidder, are vying for the hosting rights to the event.

Summer 2011 Sweden will be hosting the 22nd World Scout Jamboree and Madrid the XXVI World Youth Day

In Autumn you could travel to New Zealand and enjoy 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Last but not least, in 2011 Tallinn and Turku are designated as European capitals of culture by the European Union.

For the last months an online competition has been looking for a lucky winner whose final prize is to spend a gap year program at La Rioja, a wine tradition region in the north of Spain.
This contest held by La Rioja Turismo, Government’s Tourism and Environment Agency, was disseminated via online social networks and aims to provide the time and the space required for the winning candidate to develop their project.

Nere Ariztoy, a 39 year old woman from Guipúzcoa, is the winner who will have accommodation guaranteed in hotels or rural establishments around , she will also be given the technical means by which to write about their experience in a blog, receive €2,000 (gross) for expenses, and given the chance to enjoy 12 weekends and 12 meals for two in the hotel and restaurant of their choice, within the autonomous region. In addition, the successful candidate will also be able to benefit from a comprehensive program of sporting, tourist and cultural activities which includes a tasting course, three sessions of vinotherapy and free entry to every bodega linked with La Rioja Turismo.

Nere was chosen among 1500 participants, 15 semi-finalist and 8 finalist that had to compete and work hard to get the dreamed adult gap year prize: carry out a three-month campaign using social networks and any other means at their disposal to self-promote their bid to be the most voted on the competition’s official website, Write a script for the cinema, travel around and then write about it, take photographs or film the region, set up a support centre for the self-employed, or manage a modest wine oasis, are just some of the projects presented by the eight finalists who come from all around .

Nere gap year travel around La Rioja started a month ago, on October 4th .

If you are planning to spend your gap year practicing adventure sports such as bungee jumping, sky diving, skiing or white-water rafting, you should know how important it is to hire a serious company to organize this gap year activities which can offer you a good security equipment and of course a good insurance.

As this high risk activities are becoming more and more popular among student gap year travelers and students , the insurance claims have increased by more than half compared to a year earlier.
Medical expenses accounted for 52.4% of claims and 18.4% for personal effects. The average value per claim also rocketed in a year, from £77 per claim to £584 per claim, an increase of 658%.

Stuart Bensusan, of EssentialTravel.co.uk, said: “It’s logical that medical expenses would account for a high proportion of claims from backpackers when you consider the growth in popularity of adventure sports activities among gappers”

On the other hand, explanation to increase in number of claims for personal effects is quite simple; gap year students travel these days with high value and technology items such as laptops, cameras and smartphones. This gadgets make that the average value for claim is higher now than ten year ago.

In Bensusan words: “It is unnerving, particularly for parents, to hear that claims from backpackers encountering mishaps abroad are on the rise, but it goes to show how important it is for them to take out best gap year travel insurance before they leave”

To have a good insurance can make easier unfortunate situations and avoid facing extremely high treatment and repatriation bills if anything goes wrong.

When thinking about a gap year program, we usually imagine ourselves traveling around the world and learning about different cultures far away from home. However, spending a gap year at home, around the same place we use to live it is not a bad idea but a clever option itself.

Looking around your home you will probably remember about those projects you have been procrastinating about because you didn’t have enough time.

 House improvement projects. Those could be your gap year projects. You can do them yourself saving a lot of money as you will not need to hire anyone to finish them and anything you know you can google it.

 Join an education program to improve you knowledge and skills. This training could be related to any possible future job or not.

 Hobbies you had quited. Some people discover during gap year time that they can make a living from their favorite hobby, that one they quited because working life didn’t allow them to spend time on it. Gap year jobs can turn your dreamed job.

 Caring of your own kids. Some times we are so worried about providing for our family that we do not realize how important it is to spend time with our children while they are growing. The most useful and important thing we can offer to our sons and daughters is love. Spending a gap year at home will allow you to share experiences with them and let them know how much you care about them.

Next time you imagine yourself having a gap year, imagine how useful would it be to have it at home.

This story is about a friend of mine called Christopher Dingley. After graduating High School, Chris and a couple of his friends wanted to do a Gap Year Travel and so they went to some great places around the world for 5 months and did great gap year activities. On their trip, they saw amazing things and met people they will never forget…

The friends started off by visiting and travel Thailand; this is one of the most beautiful cheap places in the world. You can see a lot without spending too much money. The nightlife is also very good in Thailand. But in order to do more cultural stuff, Chris and his friends went to travel Cambodia and visit Vietnam where they saw great statues and buildings and relived the war in Vietnam by wandering through the tunnels, seeing the horrible traps from the Vietnamese people and even shooting with guns.

Afterwards, the gap year trip continued towards Singapore, Australia and especially New Zealand where they did amazing stuff. Chris told me that New Zealand was one of his best experiences and everyone has to go there if you have the opportunity. The only negative part, he said, is that it’s very expensive because you want to do as much as possible: walking in glaciers, visiting crocodile farms, going on boat trips, skydiving over the best place in the world to do so, and this is just a little summary of all the great opportunities of the South Pacific island.

At the Fiji Island, Chris and his friends experienced the slow, relaxing way of life at one of the most magical beaches in the world. They travelled extremely beautiful islands for three weeks and prepared themselves for more mainstream stuff. Because afterwards, they visited Hollywood and other attractions in Los Angeles, went to travel Mexico and they finished their perfect trip in a perfect way by going to Las Vegas and live the Las Vegas life for one night.

Talking about a good way to experience a gap year program, I think Chris and his friends topped it all

When you were having a gap year travel, one of the basic things that you need is to have enough money aside from the luggage that you should bring. Budgeting for your travel is very much important, because the currency of your money abroad is different in your country. And if you do not know how to budget your money well you will surely experience crisis abroad. Though it’s shameful to ask your mother way back home for money, there is nothing you can do but beg to them or else you cannot buy the things you wanted while you were in a gap year programs.

When going abroad there are sayings that plastic is fantastic; meaning bringing debit cards with you is nicer than bringing cash on hands. The best about bringing debit cards with you since it is very useful especially if there are emergencies like early return home or an unexpected flight. Unlike bringing cash on hands it is risky and not safe. Cards are handy, if in case it lost you can easily cancel it and it is easy to check your money online. If you want to make it safer and easy, investing a CardGuard is best recommended. It is easy to have it because if there are emergencies like you lost your one card or it was robbed you can easily cancel all the cards you have. Bringing credit cards with you in gap year is manageable.

The second thing that you should take into account when indulging into a voluntary work abroad is to plan a budget. Money really matters when going abroad therefore, you should have to budget wisely your money. Think of how much you need for your foods, accommodation, transportation and more. Don’t just buy things or spend money in the things that are not really necessary or you don’t need much. If you plan well your money for the said program you would have a great and wonderful experience abroad, both for pleasure and volunteering.

Mostly in the western countries, taking a gap year program is necessary. This program would help enhance the students to learn beyond the life they were expecting. The program would nurture them how to live in a different and beneficial way. It would help them open and widen their perspective in life. The gap year program was established to help both the parents and kids mainly about the life that their kids would have with while they were too far from their reach. Though gap year is a great program, the perils from it could never be thwarted. Depends on the gap year agency you wanted to indulge your kids, as a parent you should have to make sure your kid’s responsibility and security.

If you want to make sure your kids are in good hands the best thing that you could do is to get gap year travel insurance. Though you were not one hundred percent sure that your kids are in good hands at least your doubts would a bit ease after knowing that he/she has that gap year insurance. On the other hand, there are some tips that you can follow for your kids who were going to a gap year program.

• As a parent make sure that your kids are well prepared for their travel. Some of the destinations are helping the participants to organize their plans properly. Looking at the gap aid is a great idea too. This was established by parents who lost their daughter who were participating the gap year program. They established this to help parents prepare their kids when traveling for the said program.

• It is the responsibility of the parents in making sure that their kids are complete of all the necessary things they needed. Sometimes, there are instances that your kids will be destined in a place where they really need a tight budget. Most of them feel nervous that maybe they would run out of money, let them know that you were always at their back.

• In a gap year program your kids will be destined in another country and immersed in another culture and ways of life. Of course the laws and regulations there would be far different from your country. Explain to them or remind them of the dos and don’ts in that country so that they have a safe, memorable and worthy gap year experience.