Perhaps most important of all, this website provides up-to-date information about passport and visa requirements, what to do if you lose your documents, and even a program that locates your nearest passport office. In addition, the site includes information on how to register your trip with the United States embassy, a smart choice that allows the embassy to contact you should there be any sort of emergency while abroad.

Many students often wonder what vaccines they should receive before arriving in their new country. Due to ever changing medical opinions, many travel agencies and schools are hesitant to provide information. However, this website provides information about basic requirements and links to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the foremost authority on required and recommended immunizations.

Finally, this website provides general information that every student should know, such as where to purchase travel insurance, how to secure an absentee voter ballot if you will be out of the country during an election, local laws, and current travel warnings.

The key to a great, unstressed trip is planning everything before you leave, so that you are free to enjoy your trip worry-free. This website allows you to do just that, so be sure to bookmark it and plan accordingly!

Finally, if you really want to, there is of course the vast array of typical handicrafts specially made for tourists, such as the 'Torero-posters' which are posters for bullfights, where you can get your name printed as the main torero. Or T-shirts with the famous Jerez-bull on it (if you've been to Spain, you know him), ashtrays with 'playa and sol' and multi-colored candles that for some unknown reason are abound along the costas, etc. etc. etc…

Further, you can get very nice ceramics in Spain, especially those regions that have been heavily influenced by the Mores. The tiles that you can find on the walls of typical houses, outdoor as well as indoors come in many different patterns and colors. Little tables inlayed with ceramics, decorative plates, vases and ornaments are readily available everywhere. But you can't mention Spanish ceramics without mentioning the famous Lladro art. The factory is located in Valencia but you can find the beautiful figurines in the big department store El Corte Ingles or dedicated stores in the main cities. They come with a guarantee for life but I'd still recommend to be very careful with them and take them in your hand luggage.

What people end up taking home with them depends a lot on their personal preferences of course, but also on which part of Spain was visited. Food items are on most peoples' lists. Spanish cuisine is world renowned and I think many a visitor wants the recreate the memory of a warm summer night on a terrace sipping wine and eating tapas. Vacuum wrapped chorizos, cured ham (jamon), cheeses, olives and anchovies are all readily available to take home.

English	German
Drinks	die Getraenke
Food	das Essen
Bread	das Brot
Cheese	der Kaese
Cake	der Kuchen
Water	das Wasser
Wine	der Wein
Beer	das Bier

English	German
No	Nein
Yes	Ja
Thank you	Danke
No thanks	Nein danke
Welcome	Wilkommen
Sorry	Entschuldigung
Please	Bitte
Great!	Toll!
I don't understand	Ich verstehe nicht

In the story of the nativity the three kings; Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar travel Bethlehem bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus. As we find Santa Claus in every mall and public place imaginable in the United States, the Three Kings or Three Wise Men are very present in Spain. They can be seen visiting apartment buildings, hospitals, orphanages, and Christmas markets throughout Spain.

Most of us are familiar with the twelve days of Christmas, instead of a partridge in a pear tree; Spanish children are treated to gifts and goodies by the Three Kings when they place their shoes on the doorstep (usually filled with hay to properly receive them) on the eve of the Epiphany. And when they awake on the Epiphany, January 6th find their shoes filled with presents and celebrate the day with parades.

Feliz Navidad!

In many ways Christmas traditions in Spain closely resemble those celebrated and cherished in the United States. Many families take part in the usual festivities of decorating the Christmas tree and signing carols, but there are some traditions that are different and unique during this holiday season in Spain.

A different, and certainly mentionable tradition in Spain to celebrate the winter solstice is fire jumping. Spaniards will jump over fires in hope that this will protect them from illness, these bonfires (Hogueras) can been seen mainly in the cities of Granada and Jaen.

In the United States and many other parts of the world, Santa Claus, otherwise known as: Father Christmas (England), Pere Noel (France) and Shengdan Laoren (China) is the bearer of gifts and good cheer. But in Spain it is the Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos) who come bearing gifts on January 6th as the Spanish Christmas, which continues on way after December 25th.

To be continued...

Try your hand at this fun New Year's culture quiz.

History of New Year's: The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).
Read more about the history and traditions of New Year's.

If you're going to be away for New Year's, you might want to consider where to be. Here are some customs and traditions for New Year's around the world:

Spain Before midnight, bring out the dessert -- bunches of grapes. Eat one grape with each toll of the midnight bells. This old tradition is thought to bring good luck.

Colombia build a dummy representing the Año Nuevo (the old year). It's made out of bits of old clothing from each family member and stuffed with straw and firecrackers. On a piece of paper, every family member writes a fault or a bit of bad luck that they want to get rid of. Exactly at midnight, Año Nuevo is set on fire and burns until nothing but ashes is left. That's when all of the old year's bad luck and faults disappear.

Greece serve Vasilopita (New Year's Bread) at midnight. This special bread is baked with a coin or charm hidden inside. The head of the household cuts the bread exactly at midnight and whoever receives the piece with the coin will have good fortune throughout the year. So spend the day baking Vasilopita with your kids and at midnight, welcome in the New Year with a sweet treat.

Happy Hunting!

(Source: http://www.familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,22-4272,00.html)

In addition or in lieu of, cash and/or travelers checks, I may also travel with a credit/debit card. A credit card can be your back up "just in case" emergency form of currency. Debit cards that are on the Cirrus or Plus system (MasterCard/Visa) are widely accepted at many foreign bank machines (ATM's). Please check first prior to departing to see if there are banking machines in your destination compatible with your card.

Worldwide ATM locators may be found at the AmeriSpan Get Ready page.

If you plan to travel with a credit/debit card, especially for long periods of time and/or while in multiple travel destinations it is a good idea to contact your bank/credit card company to inform them of your travels. Keeping them informed, depending on your bank, may avoid the possibility of a hold or freeze on your account. Some banks will place a hold or freeze on your account based on their suspicion that fraudulent activity is occurring on your card/account since you will not be in destinations that are seen on a frequent basis. Also if using a debit card it is very important to remember the numerical pin number, most ATM machines abroad do not have letters. I am guilty of this, I must admit the first time I traveled to Europe I was naive and lets just say thank goodness I was traveling with a friend. Live and learn.

One of my least favorite things about preparing for an upcoming trip/travel is figuring out the how much money to bring along and in what forms (for example: cash, debit card, credit card, travelers checks). This isn't always an easy task, especially if you are very unfamiliar with the destination you will be traveling to. As a world traveler I have yet to find the perfect solution or amount. It has been said that we are a global, interconnected society so for some it is hard to imagine that cold hard cash cannot be gotten from ATMs or purchases of souvenirs paid for by credit card in some nations.

Overall, it does not hurt to bring along a combination of US dollars (small amount, as sometimes the easiest currency to exchange), US dollar-denominated traveler's checks, and a credit card or ATM card (tied to Visa or MasterCard). As always there are pros and cons for each form.

Travelers checks as a form of currency have a plus and minus side. One downside is that not every establishment will accept travelers' checks. Another is the exchange process is typically more involved and usually will entail having to go to a bank and provide your original passport not a copy. The downside is not so much having to go to the bank but dealing with the banking hours in many countries, which is not as "customer service" oriented as here in the United States. If you are staying a high-end hotel they may be able to exchange travelers checks as well. The plus side is if your traveler’s checks are lost or stolen they are insured and you can recoup the losses, very important to copy down the serial numbers and give them to a friend or family member who will not traveling with you, a luxury cash does not afford us.

There are very little if any pros to traveling with cash. The general rule is to travel with as little cash as possible. If you prefer cash verse the ATM/credit card route, go with traveler's checks. It is a good idea to have some smaller denominations of US and local currency on your person upon arrival for things like taxis, tips, phone calls, and so on. Best to invest in a money belt which you can fit under your clothes verse carrying cash in wallets stored in pockets, purses and backpacks, and best when venturing out for the day to only bring as much cash as you will need for the day for public transportation, food, etc.

To be continued...

Because of the weather, bars and restaurants tend to be more open to the outdoors. Even the shops at Bayside consisted of an open air mall. There was live music (in Spanish) almost everywhere I went. Many people were up dancing and singing along. It made me sad to realize that I would have to come back home to an almost winter atmosphere where people rarely venture out in the cold unless they have to. Even though this time around I did not venture out to South Beach, I still had a great time and felt that I saw the city more the way the locals do. By hanging around the cafes, bars and live music in the evenings, I was able to get a taste of the local culture as opposed to the tourist resort culture that I had been accustomed to on prior visits to this city. There certainly was a lot of culture to be found everywhere I went.

I was surprised at how many Spanish speakers were all over the city. It was rare to walk down the street and not hear someone speaking Spanish. Even the homeless woman who asked me for money did so in English and Spanish. Nine times out of ten, someone would speak to you in Spanish first. I passed by a Spanish school in Little Havana. While there is not much to do in that area in terms of shopping or restaurants (aside from fast food), it is the perfect place to learn Spanish. Virtually every billboard is in Spanish and regardless of the time of day, people are always out an about providing a good opportunity to practice your Spanish listening and speaking skills if you wish. When I passed through the drive through at McDonalds for something to drink, the worker asked me in Spanish first. I was taken off guard, so he then asked me in English what I wanted. Later that night, I was down at the bayside shops and an Irish woman asked me why there were so many "Spaniards" living in Miami. I had to explain to her that many were from Cuba and other parts of Latin America, but I doubted that many if any were from Spain.