Pre-Departure Preparations and Essentials to Take with You
Medical and Dental Appointments
It's a good idea to have had a recent physical or at least to have checked
to make sure all your vaccinations are up-to-date. It's also a good idea to
visit your dentist before you depart on any program. Being on the program
is a wonderful experience; at the same time, there are certain experiences
(like getting wisdom teeth pulled or having an appendix taken out) that are
not essential to the program.
Required Medicines
If you take any kind of medicine on a regular basis, you should bring with
you a more-than-enough supply to get you through the ENTIRE program and any
post-program travel you intend to do. It is cumbersome to try to send medicine
out of the country from the US and equally so getting into Spain. You should
have this medicine in its own "official" medicine bottle and you
might even consider a letter from your doctor explaining the necessity of
the medicine. Include in this letter, the real name of the medicine (not the
brand name) and the dosage. You can find any medication in Spain that is sold
in the US but it may be sold under a different brand name. In all cases,
you MUST inform the program leaders about taking any medicine and absolutely
tell them immediately if something should happen (such as losing it) so that
all efforts can be made to remedy the situation. Medication for allergies,
especially for severe allergic reactions such as to insect bites or bee stings,
falls in this category as well.
Glasses and Contacts
If you can, take an extra pair of glasses or contacts if you don't wear the
disposable kind. At the very least, carry a copy of your prescription requirements.
With contact solution, if your contacts require special cleaning solutions
or procedures for cleaning, it's simply easier to take enough to get you through
(and beyond) the program than to maybe not find the exact brand in Spain or
not know the composition of the solution to look for alternative brands.
Immunizations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following immunizations
for a trip to Western Europe:
- Hepatitis A or Immune globulin (IG) You are not at increased risk in Northern and Western Europe, but there is some risk in Southern Europe and the countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as in Portugal.
- Hepatitis B, if you might be exposed to blood (for example, health-care workers, have sexual contact with host nationals, stay longer than 6 months in Southern Europe, or be exposed through medical treatment.
- As needed, booster doses for tetanus-diphtheria.
Do consult with Earlham Health Services or your personal physician about vaccination schedules and your vaccination history.
Other Precautions
The CDC also recommends that you take the following precautions, no matter
what your destination:
- Wash hands often with soap and water.
- Because motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury among travelers, walk and drive defensively. Avoid travel at night if possible and always use seat belts when available. (Use of seatbelts on the highway have been mandatory in Spain for more than 25 years; the recent trend is to require seatbelt use in cities too.)
- Always use latex condoms to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. (Please see section on dating.)
- Never eat undercooked ground beef and poultry, raw eggs, and unpasteurized dairy products. Raw shellfish is particularly dangerous to persons who have liver disease or compromised immune systems.
