Experience the Local Culture

My, my, last week was a busy week: Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras, Carnival, Ash Wednesday, and the Chinese New Year! That many major cultural events in such a short time period reminds me how important it is to take advantage of being truly involved in the local culture when you are overseas. Don’t just be a passive outsider watching everything that goes on around you, roll your sleeves up and get involved!

Whether you are doing an international internship, teaching abroad, or doing an immersion program to learn a foreign language, it is important to take advantage of every opportunity to learn about, and become a part of, the new culture you are experiencing.

Go to the festivals, religious services, parades, etc, be a part of them if you can. Eat the foods traditionally served on those days (pancakes and doughnuts on Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday anyone?) Take the time to talk with your new friends or host family and find out how they celebrate. Remember, you’re overseas to learn, but more often then not, the lessons that stick with you most are the ones you learn simply from experiencing the culture. Take the time to share with your new friends and family how you would celebrate these holidays at home. This is a great opportunity to share cultures and learn from each other.

Go out, explore, share, and learn! That's why you're abroad! You'll learn, make memories, and have a cultural experience you'll never forget!

Love Is In the Air

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d post about one of the rarely mentioned benefits of “going global.” Whether you’re interning abroad, teaching English as a foreign language, or learning a foreign language yourself, you may just find that certain someone that you’ve been searching for.

I did, and I wasn’t even looking. I met my wife in Rome while interning at the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican. Our paths crossed for the first time just next to the fabled Spanish Steps. I was holding a gelato, she was pushing a stroller (she was an au pair, people). And the rest is, well…la storia.

(Semi-Legal Disclaimer: Global Experiences can not assist, guarantee, condone or otherwise predict the amorous outcomes that one may experience while abroad on a Global Experiences program.)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~Posted by Mike

Global Experiences provides customized international internships, teaching English abroad certification courses, fashion experiences, high school service learning programs and other unique international experiences

Show Me the Money

One of the top reasons many students choose not to study, intern or volunteer abroad is due to the cost. Most people don’t realize that companies, the government, non-profits and even their own schools are just itching to send students abroad to see and experience a world outside of their home university and have worked hard to provide funding avenues to make this possible.

Don’t give up on going abroad due to the cost before really taking a look at the options you have available. To go abroad, I myself paid a fourth of what my home institution would have cost me for the year. Not a bad deal for a priceless experience.

You can find funding everywhere from Private Funding and Scholarships to Government Funding, Institutional and University Funding, or even Public Funding. Not to mention Loans which you could pay back from a job you got using connections made on your internship abroad! Both Print Resources and Online Resources can guide you in your search. So, take heart; there is no lack of resources (or money!) available for going abroad.

Posted by Susannah

Teaching English is the next best thing, or even better!

As valuable as an international internship might be to your career development, many college students and recent graduates have not yet had a chance to gain the work experience and language skills required for the foreign marketplace. Another more immediate factor in the inability to participate in such programs is lack of finances. If you find yourself yearning for an international experience but fall into either of the above categories, you should seriously consider teaching English for a brief period as a way to gain intercultural perspectives in a professional environment while earning an income. The advantages to becoming TEFL-trained are endless:

Most affordable way to go abroad and stay for an indefinite time
Our courses located across the globe cost $1400 - $1700. At the end of 4 weeks you will have a paid job in the country of your dreams.

Free time to pursue real career interests and make connections
Most EFL teachers work only 20-25 hours per week. Think about how much time is left for you to investigate opportunities in your desired field and meet people who might be able to make your goals a reality.

Potential to save enough money to pay off student loans and other expenses
You can acquire a TEFL job in S. Korea or Taiwan in a heartbeat and make a high enough salary to save at least $1,000 per month!

And these are just a few incentives for taking a TEFL course. The benefits are much more than simply earning money while traveling. I encourage you to use it as a tool to mold your global experience on your own terms.

~posted by Jennie