Why I started this blog

Hello readers!! I hope that everyone is having a great Monday so far. I can’t believe that the month of January is almost over. Today I want to share why I started this blog , A Word with Liu Miao.

I started this blog fall 2015. This was about 3.5 years ago and so much has happened since starting this blog. Writing has been one of my favorite things to do since I was a little kid. I used to write short stories and stories with many chapters as a kid. In high school, I discovered Youtubers and bloggers. I liked that bloggers and Youtubers shared content such as tutorials, sharing inspiring stories , life experiences or favorite products. What does this different type of content have in common? Content helps people in some form whether it be educational or making people happy.

So in the year 2015, I decided I wanted to share my thoughts, experience and knowledge to the world in someway. I decided to do it in the form of a blog. This is how A Word with Liu Miao blog was started. The name of the blog comes from my Chinese name. The “A Word with “ part was to mimic a conversation between friends such as let’s have a Word together. I tried to pick a name that didn’t force me into a certain topic to write about such as Cooking with Liu or College with Liu.( Nothing bad with blogs that are geared towards a certain audience/ topic) I wanted the ability to write about a variety of topics

Have a great week
~Liu Miao~

International Travel Tips

I have travel abroad by myself to Switzerland in 2017 and I learned some great tips that can be helpful for those who haven’t travel internationally before or for those who want to learn new tips.. It can be such an exciting and nervous time. My perspective is an American traveling internationally but many of these tips can be used for those from a different country.

• passport. This is a very important document. If you don’t have one, make sure you get it in plenty of time before your trip. If your passport is expired or close to expiring , renew it in enough time.
• Visa. Some countries require a visa to get into the country. Make sure to get one in enough time.
• Do some research about the place/places you are visiting. Try to learn customs( for example is it acceptable to handshake or give hugs), the currency, a little bit of the history. It is good to show respect to the places that you visit.
• Make sure to keep a little bit of currency from your home country with you while you are traveling so when you return to your home country, you can buy some food if there is a delay at the airport. Some people like to exchange currency or carry a card ( with the card you have to discuss with your bank at least in the USA. I am not sure if other countries offer these type of cards) or do both. It really depends where you are going since not all places take card. On my trip, I exchanged money into the currency of the country I visited.
• I looked up a map of the airports that I flew into. This was helpful so I had an idea of where I was going. Many airports are really big and some require to take a train to get to other terminals.
• Make sure you have a plug adapter for the country/ countries you are visiting. Plug adapter allows you to plug something into the plugs in other country since the shape of the plug outlet can vary.  Here is an article that lists what plug type and voltage that countries use plug type, voltage   You may need a voltage converter Voltage is the amount of electricity that goes into what you just plugged in. Some countries have a higher voltage power. Some devices are dual voltage that don't require a voltage converter. Here is a great article that explains this all in detailed voltage converter info.  I'm not an expert in this area and I would make sure to research or discuss with someone who understands this. I only brought an iPhone charger and it only required an plug adapter. I didn't bring any other devices such as a computer or hair blow dryer since I was staying with a friend and she let me use her things. If I was studying abroad, I would have brought my own computer.

I hope these tips help with your future travels. Do any of you guys have travel plans for 2019? Let me know in the comments below. 

Have a great weekend

~Liu Miao~