So far, it’s been pretty painless wouldn’t you say? We’ve covered about as much as we need to about finances and preparations, and hopefully you have already spent time looking over possible travel destinations and have talked to other travelers about their experiences.

Traveling abroad can be an intense, life-enriching adventure—or it could be an experience that may make you never want to leave home again. Since I’ve seen so many of my fellow travelers make themselves miserable because they failed to learn (or simply ignored) many travel safeguards, I will now become your personal crotchety schoolmarm and over-protective parent. But for your own sake, please balance all these precautions I am about to dump on you with an open heart and mind. You’ll enjoy your strange new world even more if you do.

So here we go one last time. If you’re ready to delve right in with this final session, I’m ready to nag on the general rules of travel, remind you about cultural differences, inform you about safety and security, while encouraging you to making the absolute most of your first big travel adventure.

You must really be excited by now!