1. It's all about the learning that takes place in your classroom, and teaching does not equal learning. It's normal as a novice teacher to be focused on developing and improving your own practice, but never lose sight of the students!  

2. Remember that students will have different 'default' learning styles (just like you!) and make sure that in every class you have a variety of activities that will appeal to the Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic learner. 

3. Always start class with a fun warmer, it's your best chance to get the students engaged and on-task.

4. Instructions. Instructions. Instructions. Plan them. Write them down in appropriately graded language and deliver them in lock-step.

5. Give students time to answer your questions, seconds may seem like hours to you, but time is going way too fast for the student struggling with his/her answer!  

6. Learn the names of your students, and encourage them to learn each others as soon as possible. Names have power and their use shows respect for the individual, which in turn helps to foster a positive classroom environment.  

7. Never tell students something that they can tell you! Elicit, elicit, elicit!

8. Don't turn your back to the students for any length of time. If you need to write a lot on the board, think about preparing the text on a poster beforehand, or write it on the board and cover it before class starts.  

9. Be excited. If you are not interested in what you are teaching, why should the students be?

10. Always be learning. Whether it's the local language, salsa dancing or yoga, a good teacher should always be a student. 

1. When travelling off the beaten track alone (my speciality!) always let someone know where you are going, and when you are planning to be back. It's good to arrange to make contact at certain times, so that you can check in regularly and save friends and family from unnecessary worry.  

2.  Get yourself a portable solar power charger so even if you are miles away from a reliable electricity source you can still recharge your mobile phone. They are cheap, pocket-sized and might just save your life!  

3.  Avoid cults. In the case of the Moonies that means beware of smiling people who sing in strange places and invite you back to their centre for tea, biscuits and a chat with a missionary...  

4.  Stay with local people if you can. Couch surfing has taken off in a big way in some of the most unlikely places, and it's a great introduction to life beyond the tourist trail. 

5.  Travel by local forms of transport, even if you can afford the deluxe version. It's a great way of finding out about the local culture, up close and personal. In Yemen it means sitting next to men bristling with daggers and AK47s, but you get used to it... 

6.  Try anything (legal) once. Sheep's head, monkey brains, miniature octopi, snails - they won't kill you, and you might even develop a taste for them. Same goes with local dances, wedding parties or other community rituals. Just do it!

7. Always ask permission before taking photographs of people. People in many cultures will be offended, and in others you could receive demands for money, or get dragged to the local police station (although in my experience that usually happens when you photograph buildings...)  

8. If you are planning to stay in one place for three months or more, it is a good idea to register with your Embassy, if they have representation. Being on an Embassy list usually means you will be contacted in the event of serious security threats, and included in the calculations for evacuations, should a life-threatening situation arise.

9. Learn as much of the local language as you can, and be aware of the political connotations of any of the other languages you speak in the locality (it was not a good idea to speak Russian in Lithuania after the collapse of the Soviet Union, for example and speaking Polish was safer).  

10. Enjoy!