Overseas with an Ipad (2)

I am currently in New Zealand leading a Lewis & Clark College overseas program and have been using the ipad in various capacities.  As our program has some fluidity in timing of activities, the calender function of the ipad has been very useful in planning activities.  I am using google cal so this is synched to all of my other electronic devices (when all have WiFi).  However, many of the other uses I have for the ipad such as monitoring the programs "digital journal", accessing the scientific literature and other course documents, and acquiring information for the program requires internet access.  While this is seamless on a university campus, like many of our overseas programs, much of our time is spent out in the field.  In New Zealand, WiFi is hard to come by and extremely expensive, requiring the purchase of access codes that only work on a single device at a time.  Thus it has been extremely frustrating using the ipad "off campus" at times when I thought it would be most useful (see prior post).  I brought along an Apple Airport that I can use to set up a local hotspots, but most accommodations in New Zealand lack Ethernet jacks precluding this option.  Thus, for those thinking of using an ipad on an overseas program I strongly recommend the option of an ipad with 3G connectivity (which is quite prevalent and has been the major way that I am staying connected with my laptop).  It is quite easy to purchase data plans that would allow access of the web for the ipad.