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Chuckie O
Joined: 14 May 2011
Posts: 11
Location: Earth, Outer crust
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 Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 5:21 am Post subject: Electronics abroad |
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Hi all. When I go to eastern europe, I have a grand design (delusion?) to explore the areas I'll be teaching in. By explore, I mean go hiking in the mountains, skiing at the local slopes, tour the cities, etc etc. While doing this I plan to take pictures, film, and write it all down, either in a blog or a book. So I have 2 Questions for anyone who has been over to the Krakow / prague / Bratislava etc areas:
1) Is this even feasible on a teacher's salary? And will there be enough time to acomplish these things while teaching?
2) Will it be logical to cart around a small laptop, internet phone, I pod, camera, and vid camera to do all these things with? what kind of electronics are common over there, and will I get jacked for my stuff?
any help on this subject would be most welcome, thanks |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 7:00 am Post subject: Re: Electronics abroad |
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| Chuckie O wrote: |
Hi all. When I go to eastern europe, I have a grand design (delusion?) to explore the areas I'll be teaching in. By explore, I mean go hiking in the mountains, skiing at the local slopes, tour the cities, etc etc. While doing this I plan to take pictures, film, and write it all down, either in a blog or a book. So I have 2 Questions for anyone who has been over to the Krakow / prague / Bratislava etc areas:
1) Is this even feasible on a teacher's salary? And will there be enough time to acomplish these things while teaching?
2) Will it be logical to cart around a small laptop, internet phone, I pod, camera, and vid camera to do all these things with? what kind of electronics are common over there, and will I get jacked for my stuff?
any help on this subject would be most welcome, thanks |
I'm guessing from the nature of your questions that you are American.
don't believe everything you watch on "Fox News" or CNN.
1) No, by and large you will not be able to afford most of that on an ESL teacher's salary. Bring lots of money with you if those activities are you goal.
2) Just remember that after you leave north America your baggage allowance is 20kg or less on flights and if you are back-packing it means that all those electronics give you a lot of extra weight to drag around.
2a) Will you get "jacked" for your stuff = unlikely, unless you hang around in cheap hostels and/or with low-life characters. A little common sense goes a long way.
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 11:59 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| When I go to eastern europe, I have a grand design (delusion?) to explore the areas I'll be teaching in. By explore, I mean go hiking in the mountains, skiing at the local slopes, tour the cities, etc etc. While doing this I plan to take pictures, film, and write it all down, either in a blog or a book. So I have 2 Questions for anyone who has been over to the Krakow / prague / Bratislava etc areas: |
Actually, teachers in these areas do earn enough to enjoy the country they're in. It's feasible to tour other cities in the region, to enjoy some skiing occasionally (equipment rentals are't outrageous), hiking of course. Public transit (trains, busses) is relatively cheap, and it's feasible to find reasonable accomodation, if you think hostels and pensions at the two-star level.
There are enough long weekends and holidays to do quite a lot, as a teacher.
What is out of most people's price range is to travel much outside of the country you're working in - that gets pricey, particularly if you have your eyes on Western Europe.
As for the equipment, that's more problematic. You will want to bring it all with you - electronics are often more - not less - expensive here than in the US. Are you proposing to lug it all around every tme, though? You'll also need to consider the current converters.
One more point: there may not be a huge level of public interest in your records of your travels. There's a giant body of such work out there already. If it's for your personal satisfaction, go for it - but unless you find some totally unique angle on it, you'll have a lot of competition for interest from the public. |
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Chuckie O
Joined: 14 May 2011
Posts: 11
Location: Earth, Outer crust
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| Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 1:51 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the info! I forgot about the sockets that are used in Europe. Is it possible to just have adapters to add onto the U.S. equipment? I suppose I'd have to do that.
By the way, does anyone have any ideas about electronics that encompass 2 or more functions together? |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 4:33 am Post subject: |
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| Chuckie O wrote: |
Thanks for the info! I forgot about the sockets that are used in Europe. Is it possible to just have adapters to add onto the U.S. equipment? I suppose I'd have to do that.
By the way, does anyone have any ideas about electronics that encompass 2 or more functions together? |
Most travel electronics are dual voltage but CHECK to be sure BEFORE you plug them in. IF the power label reads "Input 110-240VAC" then you are fine.
If it reads "Input 110-125VAC" then leave them at home because the necessary power transformer is heavy and more trouble than it is worth if you are dragging them around everywhere.
Plug adapters are widely available in most places you find power bars or in hardware shops.
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 5:43 am Post subject: |
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| YOu can get a nifty plug adaptor that's good worldwide. It's small and easy to carry. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 6:37 am Post subject: |
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| naturegirl321 wrote: |
| YOu can get a nifty plug adaptor that's good worldwide. It's small and easy to carry. |
But it does NOT deal with the voltage issue. It just lets you change plug tips.
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 1:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Exactly. You need the bigger 'box' unit to convert current. It is a bit cumbersome. |
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JDYoung
Joined: 21 Apr 2003
Posts: 157
Location: Dongbei
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| Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:38 am Post subject: |
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I can't comment on Krakow or Bratislava but I can on the Czech Republic. If you are, indeed, American are you aware that these countries are in the European Union? It's almost impossible for a non-EU member citizen to work there legally. I (Canadian) managed it in 2007 because I went to a small school in a small town with an owner that had connections. Even she won't do the extra paperwork now.
If you can get there and work, you can combine some of your desired electronic functions into fewer devices but you will have to make compromises. One of the newer tablet computers with an extra keyboard and with built-in camera functions could cover most needs but you'd be holding up a big screened gizmo just to take a snapshot. |
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