Teaching Materials and Sharing Culture
These are suggestions only! (Please check with the FLTA Supervisor and your teaching supervisor first to see what we already have in our resource center.)
- Examples of your currency to use in class
- Actual bus tickets, movie tickets, menus, shopping receipts, brochures, etc… for use in class.
- Actual forms from your country such as to open a bank account, fill out hotel registration, airport visa forms, etc.
- Menus, bus schedules, travel brochures, maps, etc.
- Artifacts: such as traditional toys, traditional clothing, textile art (weaving, batiks, etc). FLTAs usually do a number of cultural activities and having some of artifacts is a wonderful way to engage audiences of all ages.
- Music and/or traditional instruments
- We usually do not need any books or workbooks–FLTAs have brought these for years, so we usually have some you can use here.
- Lots and lots of small, light, inexpensive souvenirs that represent your country to give to various people.
Personal
Here are some suggestions to consider.
- Remember that most things can be bought here or found to use on campus (e.g., There are pianos in many dorms and in the music school). As you are packing, think about what you can NOT get here, or what is expensive here–those are things you should bring. If you have a question about a specific item, let the FLTA Supervisor know and they find out if it’s available here and the approximate cost.
- Money—as Fulbright told you, the stipend will probably not cover trips you might want to take, or souvenirs you might want to buy. Having cash and/or an international credit card will help, especially in the beginning days as you transition to setting up a bank account and getting your first stipend. Current FLTAs suggest that $200-$300 should be enough to get started here, but make sure you have some small bills (many places won’t accept a $100 bill, but will accept a $50.00, or $20.00 bill).
- Medical records, prescriptions in English with the scientific name, not brand name.
- A list of all of your allergies.
- An extra pair of glasses or set of contact lenses.
- Adapters for electronic equipment. The only thing you can find here are adapters for US citizens to go overseas, but it is very hard to find adapters for your plugs to fit our plugs.
- Umbrella! You can buy one here, but you will probably need it the first week.
- Pictures/videos of family and friends—very important!
- Laptop/tablet (There are many computer labs on campus you can use if you don’t have one, but most FLTAs recently have found it very useful to have their own device for teaching and for their classes.)
- Clothes:
- For everyday teaching, most instructors could be described as “business casual.”
- There will also be some social events for which dressier, more formal clothes would be appropriate.
- Don’t forget different activity clothes too—swimming, hiking, biking, sports, etc.
- Don’t panic too much about clothes–you can find clothes here at all price ranges, so sometimes it’s better to wait until you’re here. (Winter clothes/coats/boots are going to be cheaper here than in many of your countries, AND you won’t have to pack them.)
- Instruments, sports equipment, hobby materials, etc. if practical. (Obviously you can’t bring a piano, but maybe you could bring a violin.)
- USB drives –the current FLTAs say they are much more expensive here than in their countries. (These are becoming less and less used with cloud storage.)