Five Habits of Highly Effective Volunteers

#1: Plan Ahead If possible, it's always good to communicate with the people you will be working with overseas at least a month in advance of your trip. Figuring out exactly what your responsibilities are can be helpful and may help determine how you spend your prep time and even what you pack!

#2: Be Flexible Volunteering overseas is an opportunity that provides a vast array of new challenges and experiences. You may have to change some of your preferred habits to adapt to the local culture. You may not be able to do exactly the type of work that you were hoping for. And you may face unexpected challenges. Flexibility will help you adapt to a new, and sometimes overwhelming, experience.

#3: Have Reasonable Goals You can't save the world in six weeks. And you can't completely master a new language and cultural environment in that amount of time either. But you can do good things--and you can make a difference! If you set reasonable expectations for yourself, you'll probably have a less stressful volunteer experience.

#4: Debrief Many volunteers feel an immediate need to talk about their experiences with a friend or fellow traveler. If you are on a trip with other international volunteers, it would be a good idea to carve out a time to debrief with them once a day, sharing stories and relating challenges and difficulties faced during the day. If you are on your own, you might want to consider relating your experiences on a regular basis via e-mail with your friends and family. Journaling is also another effective tool to reflect on the day's events.

#5: Think about the Next Step A short-term service learning project can be the first step of a journey that lasts a lifetime. The moment you get on a place and head home doesn't have to be "the end" of your experience. Think about what you want your post-trip experience to be like. Are there people you met that you want to keep in touch with? Are there ways you can help the organizations you worked with overseas within your own community? Is there a unique and meaningful way that you'd like to share your story with your friends and family once you've returned home? Continue to the next page for more detailed information about planning a "post-trip" project.