If you’re thinking of traveling abroad, why not go beyond visiting tourist sites and eating at local restaurants? By attending cooking classes in another country, you’ll gain skills that you can take home with you, and you’ll be able to recreate the tastes of your favorite local cuisine in your own kitchen.

This article on Concierge.com has a wonderful, in-depth article on how you can use your US passport to improve your culinary skills.  Here are several reasons you might want to attend cooking school overseas:

  • Get in touch with the locals: Most international cooking schools offer trips to local markets to collect ingredients,  giving you a chance to experience everyday life in the country you’re visiting, as well as to connect with local people.
  • Gourmet food: You can learn how to make homemade in Italy, tagines in Morocco, lavender creme brulee in Julia Child’s French cottage, and more.  Plus, you get to eat everything you learn how to make!
  • When you return home, you can “wow” your friends and family with your new cooking skills!

Of course, traveling to another country requires a US passport. As you plan your trip, make sure you allow enough time to receive your passport in the mail. Currently, it takes at least 6 weeks for a passport to come back if you apply with regular processing. If you apply for the government’s expedited service, you can expect to wait 3 weeks or longer for your US passport to arrive.

The easiest way to get a passport is to apply through a private passport expediting company. These companies will help you with the paperwork and make sure you know what documents you need to send in. Then, they’ll hand-deliver the application for you and send your passport back immediately, resulting in much faster processing times. In fact, a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can often get your passport application processed in as little as 24 hours!

Don’t wait-apply for your US passport today!