HOW TO TRAVEL THE WORLD AS A COLLEGE STUDENT

If you have an itch to travel but can't even afford to buy name brand toilet paper, here are a few ways that you can see the world.

Make friends and connections with people from all around the world when you are in high school and college

• Join clubs & organizations

• Work in the international center on campus

• Participate in cultural events on campus

• Get to know foreign exchange students and offer to show them something cool about your lifestyle

Study Abroad

• Almost every college and every department has a study abroad program. At public universities there are lots of study abroad programs

• Most study abroad programs through the Universities offer scholarships! Talk to your professors and advisors in your specific department at the University to see what is offered to you. Study abroad programs could range from 3 weeks to a semester so you will need to get all the information you can to see what program would work for you the best.

• Look into other programs online if your college doesn’t have a study abroad program: gooverseas.com, greenhearttravel.com, goabroad.com, etc.

Teach English Abroad

• Depending on what country you are wanting to visit, there are different opportunities to teach English abroad that don’t require you to have teaching experience or even know the country’s language

• Look into the specific country you are wanting to go to and see what programs the schools there offer. For instance, in Spain, there are different options for teaching English. Auxiliares de Conversacion ( https://www.conversaspain.com/auxiliares-de-conversacion/ ) and Meddeas ( https://www.meddeas.com/ ) are the two that I have looked into the most and they are similar in ways but also have some differences.

• Some programs are paid and some are volunteer and require you to pay to go so make sure you have considered the pros and cons beforehand

Homestays

• Some programs such as Greenheart Travels offer homestay programs where you would be like an in house English teacher. Some adults or families want to learn English so they volunteer to house Americans and other Native English speakers for the learning experience. You would not need teaching experience for this usually but you would need to be comfortable living with a foreign family.

Volunteering

• Many countries have volunteering opportunities that you can sign up to do. Most of them probably require a lot of work rather than a vacation but if you are just wanting to get out of your normal routine and be adventurous- this could be for you. Maybe look into the Salvation Army and Peace Core to see what volunteering programs they offer.

In the end, if you want to travel you will have to work for it. The little amount of work it takes to see the world is worth it though. Once you are abroad make sure to make friendships and connect on social media with people from all over. That away, you can stay in contact with them so if you ever return, then you will have friends already!

Click this link to visit the website my classmates and I created when we did our Study Abroad in Spain in Summer 2019:

https://bethanywilson22.wixsite.com/madeinspain