Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
49
going back to the local community , and
that the wor k y ou'll be doing will be a
good fit for you.
Volunteer International
(www.volunteerinternational.org) has a
helpful list of questions to ask to deter-
mine the intentions and the natur
e of a
volunteer program.
9
STAYING CONNECTED
TELEPHONES
Generally, hotel sur charges on long-dis-
tance and local calls ar e astr onomical, so
you're better off using your
cellphone
or a
public pay telephone.
Many convenience
groceries and packaging ser vices sell
pre-
paid calling cards
in denominations up to
$50; for international visitors these can be
the least expensiv e way to call home.
Many public pay phones at airpor ts now
accept American E xpress, M asterCard,
and Visa cr edit car ds.
Local calls
made
from pay phones in most locales cost
either 25¢ or 35¢ (no pennies, please).
Most long-distance and international
calls can be dialed dir ectly fr om any
phone.
For calls within the United States
and to Canada,
dial 1 followed by the area
code and the sev en-digit number .
For
other inter national calls,
dial 011 fol-
lowed by the country code, city code, and
the number you are calling.
Calls to area codes
800, 888, 877,
and
866
are toll-fr ee. H owever, calls to ar ea
codes
700
and
900
(chat lines, bulletin
boards, “dating” ser vices, and so on) can
be very expensive—usually a charge of 95¢
to $3 or more per minute, and they some-
times have minimum charges that can run
as high as $15 or mor e.
For
reversed-charge or collect calls,
and for person-to-person calls, dial the
number 0 then the area code and number;
an operator will come on the line, and you
should specify whether you are calling col-
lect, person-to-person, or both. I f y our
operator-assisted call is international, ask
for the overseas operator.
For
local directory assistance
(“infor-
mation”), dial 411; for long-distance
information, dial 1, then the appr opriate
area code and 555-1212.
CELLPHONES
Just because your cellphone works at home
doesn't mean it 'll work everywhere in the
U.S. (thanks to our nation 's fragmented
cellphone system). It's a good bet that your
phone will work in major cities, but take a
look at y our wir eless company's co verage
map on its w ebsite before heading out. I f
you need to stay in touch at a destination
where you know your phone won't work,
rent
a phone that does fr om
InTouch
USA
(
&
800/872-7626;
www .intouch
global.com) or a rental car location, but be
aware that you'll pay $1 a minute or more
for airtime.
If y ou're not fr om the U.S., y ou'll be
appalled at the poor r each of our
GSM
(Global System for Mobile Communica-
tions) wireless network,
which is used by
much of the rest of the world. Your phone
will pr obably wor k in most major U.S.
cities; it definitely won 't wor k in many
rural ar eas. To see wher e GSM phones
work in the U.S., check out www.t-mobile.
com/coverage/national_popup.asp. And
you may or may not be able to send SMS
(text messaging) home.
For visitors arriving via L AX airport, a
phone rental company called
Triptel
has a
rental kiosk located on the arriv al level of
the international terminal. The daily rental
fee is $3, and nationwide coverage is $1.25
per minute. A t the end of y our stay the
phones can be dr opped off at the airpor t
3
