The Gap Year Guru’s Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there an age requirement?
A: Traditionally, Gap Year candidates are taking time to expand their horizons, stepping back from the academic world after completing high school, and opening up to broader experiences around the world before entering college. You must be at least 18 years old and a high school graduate at the time of travel to be considered as a candidate for Rustic Pathways’ Gap Year programs.
Q: How does the Gap Year Program work? What is it composed of?
A: Our Scheduled Gap Year program allows you the ultimate flexibility in budget and timing. The entire Scheduled Gap Year program runs each year for nine months and is composed of 11 individual country ‘modules,’ each of which is two to four weeks long. You can travel for just a few weeks in a single country, spend a few months exploring a region of the world, or join us for the entire nine-month program. The possibilities are ample, and your specific interests can be great tools in molding your Gap Year experience. For example, if you have always wanted to journey to the South Pacific, we have Gap Year programs running in The Fiji Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. If Southeast Asia is closer to your area of interest, you can easily link our Gap Year programs running in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, and you can extend your experiences to also include our Gap Year programs in both India and China.
Q: How do I get from country to country?
A: All Gap Year students take connecting flights between countries and are responsible for arranging their own airfare. This allows you to take advantage of any frequent flyer miles you may have as well as to accrue a significant amount along the way. When you are looking into these flight arrangements, Rustic Pathways will help you organize your routes between cities and countries, so you will always have a clear understanding of the flights you need to book. As a student arranging your own flights, you will also be able to take advantage of the multitude of student airfare deals available, including “around-the-world” tickets and other regional airfare discount packages..
Q: Will someone be there to meet me at the airport?
A: It is a long-standing Rustic Pathways policy that all students are met at the airport when arriving into one of our international destinations and then escorted to the airport to depart at the conclusion of their program. Rustic Pathways ensures that our staff on the ground has all of the Gap Year students’ flight information prior to their departure from the United States. Gap Year students will be required to provide this flight information to Rustic Pathways before they begin their Gap Year program. If students will need to purchase additional international flights after having departed the USA, then our Gap Year staff will ensure that this information is properly distributed to all relevant staff well before the scheduled flights. These procedures allow Rustic Pathways to properly coordinate all international flight arrangements for our Gap Year students, and ensure that we are always there with you when you are arriving at and departing from our destinations around the globe
Q: Is health insurance included?
A: Health insurance is not included in the cost of your Gap Year program. Rustic Pathways requires all students to have valid international health coverage for the duration of their time on our Gap Year programs. Proof of health coverage must be sent to our USA Office prior to the start of your Gap Year program.
Q: What if I get sick?
A: Rustic Pathways takes all precautions available to ensure that students are traveling in a safe environment, eating well-prepared meals, and sleeping in clean, safe surroundings at all times. Furthermore, all of our Gap Year staff members are up to date on their Wilderness First Responder and First Aid certifications, which provide them with ample knowledge and the ability to deal with most illnesses and injuries. As with all international travel, sometimes foreign dishes, or just the strain of international travel, can leave you feeling a bit under the weather. Our staff members will help you deal with these instances, and we take every precaution to ensure that you receive the best medical treatment available. In cases where you may need to seek professional medical care from a hospital, we will escort you to a proper, clean, and safe medical facility to receive treatment. Our staff will stay with you while you are receiving medical care and will alert your family and keep them up to date on your medical developments. This is an extremely rare occurrence, as our first priority with all of our programs is the safety of our students.
Q: Who are my leaders?
A: Your leaders are full-time Program Managers and Country Directors for Rustic Pathways. Each leader has extensive knowledge of their region and has spent several years working on a variety of projects in country. Taken as a whole, our team members speak more than 20 languages, have traveled across more than 130 countries, hold degrees from some of the world’s top schools, and have led countless groups across some of the world’s most interesting and exotic places. While individual backgrounds are extraordinarily diverse, every person holds to a common set of values regarding the standards of the company, a single-minded dedication to excellence across our organization, and an absolute focus on the safety of our programs and the well being and enrichment of our students..
Q: Do I have free time?
A: All of our Gap Year experiences are designed to give you some free time in different locations. Time to write home, reflect on your experiences, explore by yourself — all of these are part of the journey.
Q: I am a vegetarian/vegan? Can I still come?
A: Rustic Pathways can accommodate almost all dietary restrictions. There are enough great foods and dishes in the world to satisfy all taste buds and meal preferences. It is very important that you communicate any dietary preferences to our staff prior to the start of your Gap Year program. This gives us time to put everything into place before you arrive. Special dietary needs are not usually difficult for us to arrange, but it is necessary to indicate such restrictions when you are applying. It is also extremely important to specify any food allergies you may have on your application. Again, this will allow us to make prior arrangements to ensure you get the correct diet while traveling with us.
Q: How do I stay in touch with home?
A: In almost all of the destinations you will be traveling to there will be ample Internet cafés where you can keep in touch with family and friends. All of our base houses have Internet connections, so you won’t have to worry about Internet in these locations. Some students also choose to bring along an Internet-capable phone, such as a Blackberry or i-Phone. We advise that you be careful about how much you use these devices because some international calling plans can get quite pricey.
Q: Can I bring a cell phone? Can I bring a laptop?
A: . In regards to cell phones, many students choose to bring along an international phone, some with Internet capabilities, which work in most regions of the world. As stated above, this can be an expensive option, as most international calling plans get pricey. You can also purchase an inexpensive international phone almost anywhere in the world, which you can add money to as needed. This will give you the ability to receive calls and make calls (though you will have to watch your account balance) while you are traveling. It is important to remember that a large part of your Gap Year experience is stepping outside of the world back home.Make sure you are not letting things pass you by while chatting on the phone. In regards to a laptop, this may be an unnecessary piece of equipment to carry along. It is cumbersome, not the most travel-friendly item, and may be easily enough done without. Since there are so many Internet cafés, you won’t really need it for e-mail. If you are thinking of bringing it along in order to have somewhere to store your digital photos while you travel, you may want to consider bringing along a digital storage unit instead — it’s lighter, cheaper, and easier to travel with!
Q: What do we DO on these trips?
A: This will largely depend on the specific country or region you are visiting. There are so many different aspects of our Gap Year programs; it is hard to generalize what you will be doing. This is why we have provided detailed, daily itineraries for all of the countries you can travel to on our Gap Year programs. These itineraries are the best resource to get a strong feel for what you will be doing along the journey. The itineraries are located on the individual country pages on our Gap Year website, www.rusticpathways.com/gapyear.
Q: Who are the other people on these trips?
A: Most Rustic Pathways Gap Year students come from the United States. There are also a few who journey from other countries. Some of these Gap Year studentshave participated in our summer programs as high school students, and others are joining us for the first time. Generally speaking, all of our Gap Year students are intelligent, independent, motivated, and enthusiastic young men and women looking to set forth on amazing journeys around the world. Everyone has a passion for new experiences and different cultures, and everyone is excited to be a part of this adventure!
Q: What shots/medications do I need to take to travel to these countries?
A: It is very important that you speak with your family physician in regards to this issue. Once you begin to narrow in on specific regions your Gap Year experience will take you to, your physician will be able to advise you on any immunizations or medications that are recommended for that area. Rustic Pathways can provide you with a detailed list of cities, villages, and provinces that you will be traveling to, which will help your physician decide what medications you may need.
Q: What if I love it and I want to extend my trip?
A: This is not uncommon. Many of our Gap Year students will complete their selected Gap Year programs and wish to extend their amazing journey. This is usually easily arranged, as long as your chosen Gap Year program is not already sold out and we can accommodate changing your flight arrangements. Extending a Gap Year trip is looked at on a case-by-case basis. If you decide to extend your trip, we will do everything we can to make it happen!
Q: What if I should have to come home early for personal reasons?
A: As with extending your Gap Year program, Rustic Pathways will look at this on a case-by-case basis. In order to ensure that trips run smoothly, there are certain expenses we must pay for prior to the start of the Gap Year program. Under most circumstances, families will have to forfeit some of these costs, as they are non-refundable to us as well.
Q: How long has Rustic Pathways been running trips?
A: Rustic Pathways is proudly celebrating our 26th anniversary this year. It has been a long road of laughter, service, adventure, and amazing journeys for all of us. Our roots date back originally to Australia, where the Chairman and Founder of Rustic Pathways, David Venning, began running four-wheel-drive trips through the Outback. Since then, we have proudly grown to operate in over 20 countries around the world and have been enriching our students’ lives through service, adventure, and life skills for a quarter century.
Q: What is not included in the cost of my program?
A: Rustic Pathways covers half of our Gap Year students’ lunches and dinners. We do this to give you flexibility with your free time and meal choices, and to keep our published costs at a lower rate. Other costs that are not included in the Gap Year prices includeInternet access, laundry, small snacks or beverages you may want to pick up along the way, donations to charities or temples you would like to support, and other small things that fall under the category of spending money. There are also some optional activities that are not included in the Gap Year program costs. Skydiving, bungee jumping, zip lining, etc are things some students will have a desire to participate inwhile others will not. In light of this, we remove such costs from the overall budget so that only those students who are interested will have to pay the expenses.
What if my question wasn’t answered here? Please e-mail to our Gap Year Divisional Director, Tim Porter-DeVriese at tim@rusticpathways.com. |
