The Wonders of Kindle and Amazon for Those Traveling/Living Abroad

For anyone who plans to travel for any extensive period and is struggling with giving up her 'real' books in favor of one of those new-fangled e-books, I have only one thing to say: DO IT. As a recent convert and avowed book addict, I cannot praise the wonders of this invention enough.

I cheaped out and purchased the basic Kindle. In hindsight, it probably would have made more sense to get one with a touchscreen and built-in light, considering how frequent the power outages are in this region. That being said, I assume those functions use up battery life quicker and my basic Kindle lasts for weeks of nightly reading before needing to be recharged. 

Things that make me love my Kindle

Portability.
No matter how long the book, it always fits in my purse or carry-on when traveling.

Reading by the river in Zomba

Free reads.
There are many ways to not pay a single cent for the books you read. There are thousands of literature classics that are off copyright and so can be read for free. Amazon also offers a running list of free books on their website that you can find by entering '0.00' into the search bar after selecting the 'Kindle' filter on amazon.com. In addition, Amazon has a rotating list of books that it temporarily offers for free. I find the best way to catch them is to put all the books I want to read onto my Wish List and then periodically sort them by price to see which ones are at 0.00. Only one or two are ever listed as 0.00 at a time, but it does work. Alternatively, I also signed up to receive emails from hundredzeros.com, which gives you a daily list of free books on Amazon. (At least, they are supposed to be all free, but some of them aren't, for reasons I don't understand.)
 

Alternatively, many libraries now offer e-book loans, just like checking out hard copy books. Every library is different in what it offers and how easy its service is to use. I used to cheat the 2 week system by turning off the wireless on my device so that the book couldn't be 'returned' until I was finished with it. Obviously, this only works if you don't plan on checking out any other books during that time.

Passing the long journey to Lake Malawi on public transport by reading

Versatility
If, for some reason, you don't have your Kindle device with you (or you don't want people to know you are reading a book), you can also read your e-books on the computer for free, with the Kindle PC app. In fact, a friend of mine doesn't own a Kindle device at all but has signed up with Amazon and reads books on her computer only.

Evidently, there are even more options on the newer versions of these devices that let you play games, solve puzzles, etc. While I haven't experienced those myself, I can only assume that they make the e-book even more awesome. It will never be a smartphone, but for those of use who don't relish traveling with such expensive and sought-after-by-thieves devices, this is a pretty good second choice.

I Make It Rain (Well, My Debit Card Does)

Access to your money is something that can easily make or break you when traveling internationally and yet, it is something I rarely see discussed in any detail. Guide books have gotten much better about mentioning where ATMs can be located in countries where access isn't universal and everyone has heard of traveler's cheques, but no one seems to talk about what to do if you plan to live in another country for an extended period of time or travel for more than a couple of weeks. So, I thought I'd give my two cents to anyone looking for suggestions.

First of all, it obviously depends on where you plan to travel. I can only speak to my recent experiences in Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi in the last 3 years. It also, as I learned the hard way, very much depends on what bank and/or credit card you plan to use while abroad.

Lesson 1: Don't Assume Your Regional Bank Will Be Your Friend Overseas
My first attempt to utilize my U.S. bank account while overseas was in 2010 when a friend and I were traveling around Kenya and Tanzania. At the time, I was living in Boston and had an account with Citizens Bank - which suited me just fine on U.S. soil. It did not turn out to be such a good partnership when I decided to travel, though.

I dutifully alerted my bank where I would be and the duration of my trip prior to leaving so that my debit card wouldn't be blocked. What I did not count on was having a mental block upon my first attempt to withdraw money at the Nairobi airport. In a moment of unexpected dyslexia, I couldn't remember the order of the numbers in my PIN code and subsequently locked myself out of my account. We had a train to catch, so I gave up for the moment and placed an international call to Citizens Bank trying to get them to either tell me my PIN or let me set a new one. I answered what seemed like a million questions to verify my identity and explained the situation to the representative, who happily unblocked my account...and nothing else. He informed me that there was no one in the entire bank organization who had the power to allow me to change my PIN over the phone and suggested that I visit my nearest branch to resolve the issue, despite me repeatedly telling him I was in Africa and knowing that that fact was written in my file. Thankfully, I eventually remembered my number and the trip proceeded unencumbered. Upon my return home, though, I discovered that I had been charged fees for every little thing; even to check my balance prior to withdrawing money. I immediately closed that account in retaliation.

Lesson 2: Chuck Is The Man (And Visa Really Is Everywhere You Want To Be)
In light of the above experience, I was legitimately worried about how I would fare for a year living overseas. By this time, I was using an internet bank that charged no fees at any domestic ATM, but would charge me a small fee every time to use my card in Malawi. Also, since it was a MasterCard, I knew it wouldn't be accepted in very many places. Luckily, several people who had done my program already suggested opening a Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking Account, which charges no ATM fees WORLDWIDE. (Yes, this is exciting enough to use all caps.) In order to qualify for this free checking account and associated Visa debit card, you must first open an individual brokerage account, but the bank does not require you to keep any minimum amount of money in that account. It did take a bit of time to get everything set up, but I can't praise the Charles Schwab employees highly enough. They worked with me to expedite the process and get me my card before my departure and politely walked me through my numerous questions and requests. After 6 months abroad in 4 different countries, my card has not been blocked a single time and the conversion rates are always very competitive compared to hard currency exchange rates. Bottom line, if you have the time before your trip to set it up, GET THIS CARD.

*A friend also has a Chase debit card as part of her family's Chase Private Client account that doesn't charge her fees, either.

Lesson 3: Do Your Research Before Deciding to Open An In-Country Bank Account
This won't be a consideration for most people but, if you happen to be in one country long enough to want to set up a local bank account, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before deciding on this course. I have several expat friends in Malawi who, due to the fact that they are being paid in kwacha, have had to set up local accounts and it has been an unpleasant experience all around. For one thing, it takes forever to set everything up and you actually have to set up two accounts if you want to transfer any of your paycheck back into a U.S. account - one local account where the kwacha gets deposited and another one where it can be converted into USD and transferred to your home account. And then there are the fees. I don't know the details, but I do know that Malawian banks charge fees for EVERYTHING. Even Malawians complain about it. In addition, for reasons that seem to defy logic, just about every single person in this country gets paid at the same time - around the 25th of the month. This means that just about every single person who uses that bank you set up your account with will be queuing at that bank for the next week trying to withdraw their money. You will either have to stand for hours in the rain/sun/wind battling some intense body odor and people who don't see any problem cutting in line or specifically budget to avoid this circus. Not to mention the fun when you finally reach that ATM kiosk and find out that it just ran out of bills...

Lesson 4: Shop For The Right Credit Card, Not Just With It
Back in the day when credit card companies were constantly spamming people with offers to entice them to open accounts with them, I decided to open a Capital One card because it charged no international usage fees. While I wasn't sure at the time whether or when I would ever be abroad again, I'm glad I took the initiative. I don't use the card much in Malawi because MasterCard is so rarely accepted and, even though Capital One does not charge a fee, vendors very often charge up to a 6% service fee to cover their costs associated with doing business with MasterCard. (Note: this is why, even if places in the developing world accept MasterCard, it's almost always still better to use a Visa if you have it.) For my recent vacation in the Middle East, though, it was incredibly useful.There are probably other credit cards out there that offer similar services. You just need to 'shop' around for the best deal.

Personally, I'm not a fan of carrying large amounts of USD into the country to exchange, especially after multiple people, including myself, have had stuff stolen from our luggage at Kamuzu Airport. For anyone who feels the same way, I hope this information has been helpful.