Capital:
Washington, DC
Language: English
Currency: US Dollar - 1$ = 100 cents
Size:
3,720,000 square miles (9,634,755sq km)
Area
- 3.6 million sq miles
Population - 300 Million
Religions -Christianity 87% Islam 2% Judaism 2%
U.S.A Time Zones
The U.S.
is divided into four time zones: Pacific, Mountain, Central
and Eastern. When it is 9:00am Pacific Standard Time, it is
10:00am Mountain Time, 11:00am Central Time and 12:00pm Eastern
Time.
Daylight
Saving Time begins for most of the United States at 2 a.m.
on the first Sunday of April. Time reverts to Standard Time
at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday of October. Daylight Saving Time
is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico,
the Virgin Islands, and by most of Arizona (with the exception
of the Navajo Indian Reservation).
Alaska (AK) 90% of Alaska is (1 hour) behind the Pacific Time
Zone, while the far reaches of the Aleutian Islands and St.
Lawrence Island enter Hawaii-Aleutian time. Arizona (AZ) (in
summer) is on Pacific Time, (in winter) on Mountain Time Exceptions
Parts of Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and
Texas are in two time zones.
Important
Telephone Numbers
· Dial
911 for emergencies (Police, Fire, Ambulance)
· To call outside of the USA dial - 011 + Country code +
Area code + Local Number
· Call 1+800+555-1212 for info on toll-free numbers in the
USA
International
Time Zones
Please
note that the USA is behind European time, when it is 12:00pm
in London, it is 6:00am in New York.
Costs
The US
is relativley cheap compared to Western Europe. Grab a thick
slice of pizza at a food stall, a bagel for breakfast or even
visit a fast food outlet and you shouldn't be spending any
more than $3. Hostel prices vary, but are usually around $20.
Sample air fare prices depend on the time of year. Sample
flights from New York to Chicago $120, Las Vegas $130, Miami
$100.
Main
Tourist Attractions
·
Grand Canyon - It'll blow you away.
·
Niagra Falls - One of the premier tourist attractions
·
New York City - A 24 hour city full of life.
·
Las Vegas - Surreal, must be seen to be believed.
·
New Orleans - Music, Mardi Gras and being redeveloped.
·
Death Valley - Second hottest place on Earth.
·
Badlands - Dakota and Nebraska stunning landscape
Recommendations
The Grand
Canyon is breathtaking! Hitchiking around the USA is not recommended,
it is considered especially unwise.
"Use
your time after camp wisely, I went and stayed with some of
our American staff in Texas, then worked my way back up to
New York, have a flexible timeline and leave your options
open." Julie,
Counselor, PA.
"I
encorporated summer camp as the start of my Gap Year, you
can get cheap flights from the USA South then West before
going back to Europe!" Ben,
Sweden, 2006.
America
is the land of theme parks, the most awe-inspiring park has
got to be Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles, California.
This is not a theme park so much as it's an extreme park,
and it's home to one jaw dropping rollercoaster - The Viper,
otherwise known as the largest looping rollercoaster in the
world.
But wait,
the Viper is set to lose this title to an even taller and
faster opponent with the planned unveiling of The KingDa Ka.
Towering at 456 feet and launching you screaming at over 127
MPH, America's theme parks just keep getting bigger, faster
and meaner....almost out of control. So make sure your camp
is based around the Los Angeles area if you decide to take
the plunge.
For more
advice and travel information visit our Message
Forum
Why not
encorprate working
at a summer camp as part of a gap
year? Visit our partner website's One
World 365 or Gap
Year Worldwide for more information.
Essentials
Visit
Online Store
Public
Holidays 2007
· New
Year - 01.01
· Martin Luther King's Birthday - 15.01
· Washington's Birthday - 19.02
· Memorial Day - 28.05
· Independence Day - 04.07
· Labor Day - *03.09
· Columbus Day - 08.10
· Veteran's Day - 11.11
· Thanksgiving Day - 22.11
· Christmas Day - 25.12
Tax
Sales
taxes in the USA: Sales taxes are levied by state and local
governments, not by the federal government. They therefore
vary considerably not only from state to state but among local
jurisdictions within a state.Taxable
items also variy from state to state. Different taxes (often
called a visitor's and convention tax) may apply to hotel
rooms and restaurant meals and sometimes to auto rentals,
and these items may be taxed even in states with no sales
tax. The tax is not included in the sales price but is added
at the cash register. There are no refunds of sales taxes
for visitors, except in Lousiana. Delaware is a tax free state.
US
State Abbreviation Codes (see map above)
·
Alabama AL
· Alaska
AK
· Arizona AZ
· Arkansas AR
· California CA
· Colorado CO
· Connecticut CT
· Delaware DE
· Florida FL
· Georgia GA
· Hawaii HI
· Idaho ID
· Illinois IL
· Indiana IN
· Iowa IA
· Kansas KS
· Kentucky KY
· Louisiana LA
· Maine ME
· Maryland MD
· Massachusetts MA
· Michigan MI
· Minnesota MN
· Mississippi MS
· Missouri MO
· Montana MT
· Nebraska NE
· Nevada NV
· New Hampshire NH
· New Jersey NJ
· New Mexico NM
· New York NY
· North Carolina NC
· North Dakota ND
· Ohio OH
· Oklahoma OK
· Oregon OR
· Pennsylvania PA
· Rhode Island RI
· South Carolina SC
· South Dakota SD
· Tennessee TN
· Texas TX
· Utah UT
· Vermont VT
· Virginia VA
· Washington WA
· West Virginia WV
· Wisconsin WI
· Wyoming WY
Accommodation
If you
are going travelling after working at camp, you might need
to book accommodation in advance, we have teamed up with Hostelbookers and can now find worldwide.
Travel
Equipment
|
|
Summer
Camp Worldwide users get a 10% discount from the travel
shop Homeway - Travel with Care
Website:
www.travelwithcare.com
|
