Safety, Savvy, and Flexibility

This unit develops students’ practical skills for staying safe, blending into local environments, and making cost‑effective consumer decisions while traveling on a budget. Students will practice situational awareness, bargaining and fee-spotting, contingency planning, and communication protocols to respond to common travel problems and transitions.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze local food, transportation, and cultural norms to design a 3-day budget-conscious, culturally respectful travel itinerary that optimizes time and expenses
• Apply personal safety principles and situational awareness to identify common travel scams and demonstrate appropriate responses through role-play scenarios (e.g., theft, hustles, hidden fees)
• Demonstrate contingency planning by composing step-by-step action plans for emergencies and service disruptions (robbery, lost documents, flight changes/cancellations), including protocols for notifying family/friends
• Evaluate consumer options—such as bargaining in marketplaces versus fixed-price purchasing and changing versus canceling flights—using cost-benefit analysis to select the best course of action for sample travel scenarios