Japan Flight Give Away Not to Go Ahead

This autumn there were many reports about the Japan Tourism Agency proposing to give away 10,000 free flights to Japan in 2012. After the proposal was reported, people from around the world sent messages to Japan National Tourism Organization saying they would like to participate in the programme to visit Japan and to help revitalize Japan’s tourism industry following the March 2011 earthquake. So it is with regret that the Japanese Government announced the budget for this proposal has been declined, so the flight give away will not be going ahead.

Thanks to the support of the international community, Japan is making vigorous progress towards reconstruction in the earthquake and tsunami affected northeast of Japan, but recovery from the earthquake continues to be a pressing issue.

“We realise that this announcement is going to disappoint thousands of people around the world, but we hope people will understand how insensitive it would appear for the Japanese Government to give people free flights to Japan when the cities, towns and villages devastated by the tsunami are still in desperate need of funding for reconstruction. We also would not want people thinking that the generous donations given from around the world to aide those affected by the disaster was being spent on giving people free flights.

The places most popular with visitors to Japan – Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone, Osaka, Hiroshima, Sapporo and Okinawa – were outside the earthquake and tsunami affected areas. Please do not let the fact that there will be no free flights put you off visiting Japan. There are lots of great deals available and Japan is ready and waiting to welcome back visitors more warmly than ever before,” said Kylie Clark, Head of PR & Marketing, Japan National Tourism Organization.

To find out more about the deals available on flights and holidays to Japan, please visit www.seejapan.co.uk.

For more information about this matter, please visit the Japan Tourism Agency website at www.visitjapan.jp and Japan National Tourism Organization’s global website at www.jnto.go.jp. The Japan Tourism Agency statement on this annoucement can be viewed here.

AFSA high school essay contest to win a visit DC & a Semester at Sea trip

Since 1999, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) has sponsored a nationwide high school essay contest for students whose parents are not in the Foreign Service in order to create interest in the Foreign Service among the best and brightest high school students in the U.S. In the years since the contest began, AFSA has received thousands of submissions from all over the country – all over the world, even – and they are continually impressed with the caliber of writing and research performed by these students.

For the 2012 contest, AFSA is tremendously proud to announce two generous sponsorships. Global consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton will be the official underwriter of the contest, making possible the $2,500 prize and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the winner and his or her parents, where they will meet the Secretary of State. Also this year, the Semester at Sea program will provide an all-expense paid educational voyage to the winner (to be used once the winner enters an accredited university).

The following links explain more about the contest. Remember that the deadline for submissions is April 15, 2012.

• 2012 Essay Topic
• Rules and Guidelines
• Registration Form
• Past Winning Essays
• Description of the Foreign Service
• Oral Histories and Country Readers
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Semester at Sea
• Educational Voyage Details

Note: The AFSA National High School Essay contest is open to students whose parents are not in the American Foreign Service, and who must be U.S. citizens. For students whose parents are in the U.S. Foreign Service, please click here to explore other scholarship opportunities that you would qualify for.

For more information about AFSA’s National High School Essay Contest, please contact Coordinator for Special Awards and Outreach Perri Green at green@afsa.org or 202-719-9700.

To learn more about AFSA, explore the links below:

• Internships at AFSA
• Inside a U.S. Embassy
• AFSA Scholarships
• FSJ Student Subscriptions
• Schools Supplement
• AFSA Reading List
• Foreign Service Careers
• AFSA on Facebook
• AFSA on Twitter
• AFSA on YouTube
• Foreign Service Youth Foundation

Win a free trip to Japan – enter by Dec. 30

JAPAN PARTY EXPRESS SWEEPSTAKES:
Like them to Win A Free Trip to Japan!

A trip to Japan is an unforgettable experience. Visiting Japan with three of your closest friends, now that’s something extra special – Join the JAPAN PARTY EXPRESS FACEBOOK SWEEPSTAKES for a chance to win a free trip for four.

Simply like their Facebook Page, enter the sweepstakes, choose your journey and invite three of your best buddies to climb aboard. Click here to visit their Facebook Page and climb aboard. But hurry, all trains must leave the station by December 30th.

Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching

Sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State, the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching program recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching in the U.S.and abroad. It is part of the overall Fulbright Program, named in honor of Senator William Fulbright, which promotes mutual understanding among people of the United States and other countries. The program sends highly accomplished primary and secondary teachers from the U.S. abroad and brings international teachers to the U.S for a three to six month long program. Participating countries in 2012-2013 are: Argentina, Finland, India, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

This highly prestigious program will provide U.S. award recipients with the opportunity to study in an overseas research center or university. International participants will gather at a single U.S. university college of education which will provide a broad range of education classes and faculty support. Participants can take advanced undergraduate or graduate level classes, conduct research, design and lead seminars for host country teachers and students, and engage in other teaching related activities. Grantees will propose an action-based research project at the time of application that should encourage cross-cultural dialogue, reflection, and support teaching activities. In conjunction with a host institution mentor, each grantee will design program activities that will enhance the action-based research project and contribute to its successful completion. Upon returning home, teachers will be expected to share the knowledge and experience gained on the program with teachers and students in their home schools and within their communities.

Grantees will be expected to produce a final action-based research project at the end of the program, with the form and content of the project proposed by the applicant at the time of application; projects should encourage cross-cultural dialogue and support future teaching activities. Participants should be creative in developing program activities that will enhance their project and contribute to its successful implementation. Each international teacher will be encouraged to give presentations on their project activities, and to compile written reflections and photographic or other records of their U.S. experiences.

Program costs such as tuition, room and board, and transportation are covered by the grant; participants will receive a maintenance allowance designed to assist with the costs of food and lodging during the program. Distinguished Teachers will also have the opportunity to apply for professional development funds to support development and research, or cover the expenses of attending a conference or workshop related to their fields of teaching expertise. Dependents may accompany program participants; all dependents’ expenses, however, will be paid for by the grantee.

Deadline is December 15, 2011. More info on the following below can be found on the program link here:

• Eligibility
• Application
• Participating countries
• Information for non-U.S. citizens

How to Find the Best Airfares

It used to be all so simple, back when airfares changed so infrequently that airlines actually printed them on their schedules. You’d call your favorite travel agent to find the best deal, pack your bags and jet off. And there were only two kinds of fares: coach and first class. Now, with airfares changing literally by the second and an alphabet soup of different offers, finding the “best” deal is a challenge. This step-by-step guide will get you ready for takeoff.

Sign up for free airfare alerts 
Why do all the work hunting down a low airfare yourself when you can have someone else do it for free? Many airfare search and listing sites, such as TripAdvisor.com/Flights, Travelocity.com, Hotwire.com, Bing.com/travel, and, of course, Airfarewatchdog.com and SmarterTravel offer email airfare alerts when prices go down. This chart compares many of the leading airfare alert sites. (By the way, only Airfarewatchdog and SmarterTravel list fares on Southwest Airlines).

Learn about sales on Twitter
Because some of the best unadvertised airfare sales last only a few hours (even if they’re good for travel over a long period), even the best-intentioned email alert can be too late. The beauty of Twitter is that it’s instantaneous. Many airlines and alert sites now tweet these deals instead of emailing them.

Get email from your airlines
Next: Sign up for emails and frequent flyer programs. Airlines are trying to woo customers to book directly with them by offering special deals when you subscribe. Sign up for emails from foreign-based airlines and from US-based carriers.

Next step: are you a flexible travel date flyer?
Doesn’t really matter when you go as long as it’s cheap? Some websites offer flexible date search up to 330 days ahead; others (mostly those powered by a company called ITA Software) only do searches in 30-day increments. Read more about flexible travel date searching.

These sites can be helpful if your dates are set, but you also might want to try “meta search” sites such as Kayak.com, Tripadvisor.com/flights, and Momondo.com. Warning: None of them include Southwest’s fares, however, or fares on the smaller but growing Allegiant Airlines.

“Meta search” vs. online travel agency
So what’s the difference? For one thing, online travel agencies such as Expedia have toll-free numbers with agents standing by to help you book or re-book a flight; meta-search sites don’t. But there are many other differences.

Airline websites sometimes have the best fares
Increasingly, airlines aren’t sharing their very best fares with third-party sites such as Kayak. Case in point: recent fares to London from the West Coast for $420 round-trip including tax were only available on Spanish airline Iberia’s website (similar fares were twice that elsewhere). So once you’ve found a fare, definitely check airline sites directly.

Watch out for promo codes
From time to time, you’ll receive promo codes in your email because you signed up for email from your favorite airlines and online travel agencies. These codes can only be redeemed if you book directly on the airlines’ websites, another way they try to cut out the middleman. (Airfarewatchdog lists any promo codes we find on the Airfarewatchblog).

When to use your miles
Rather than cashing in 25,000 or even 50,000 miles for a domestic economy class ticket that might have cost you $250 or $300, why not splurge for a trip to Europe (50,000 miles on some airlines) that might cost many times more? Or upgrade your $400 economy class seat to a $2,800 business class fare for 30,000 miles on domestic routes? A general rule: if the economy class fare is $400 or more, spending 25,000 miles is a good deal. Less than that, you might be better offering paying cash and saving your miles.

Getting the best last-minute airfares
You’ll often get the best fares if you book at least seven to 21 days ahead of departure. Otherwise, your best bet is Priceline.com’s “Name your own price” feature or Hotwire.com. Also take a look at Lastminute.com which packages last minute airfares with hotel and rental car deals—sometimes for less than what you’d pay for airfare alone.

When to use a real live travel agent
As good as do-it-yourself online sources can be, your friendly neighborhood travel agent may have some tricks up her sleeve to save you money. Let’s say, for example, that you get an airfare alert that fares from Houston to Honolulu are $800 round-trip. But who knew that Dallas to Honolulu, same dates, is $300? Or that you can fly from Houston to Dallas for $100 and connect onward? A savvy travel agent.

Getting a refund when the fare drops after you buy
Several domestic US airlines will give you a full refund’ in the form of a voucher good for future travel’ if the airfare drops between the time you buy and time you fly – if and only if you fly on the same itinerary. Find details in this chart.

Factor in the fees
A low fare on one airline could turn out to be not so low once fees are added on. Airlines are making most of their profits these days not from selling you airfares but with all those fees for baggage and other perks. In addition to checked bag fees (chart), there are even fees for using your frequent flyer miles and for other services, such as changing a travel date or bringing a pet on board.

Is there a “magic” hour or day to buy?
In a word’ no. It’s true that the airlines’ weekend deals come out Monday to Wednesday, and some airlines announce their sales early in the week, but if you limit yourself to searching just on those days’ you’ll miss out. A good fare can pop up any moment of the week.

Best days to travel
Although a low airfare can appear at any time, one thing’s for certain: it’s cheaper to fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Saturday is also a low-fare day. If traveling internationally, Monday to Wednesday is often the sweet spot.

Airfare predictions
Speaking of “when to buy’” Bing.com/travel purports to offer accurate airfare predictions’ indicating whether the site thinks a fare will go up or down, and it’s certainly worth a try, but it’s not always accurate. To see if an airfare is currently on the high or low side, do a web search for “historic airfares” to see airfare trends on a particular route. Two useful sites:Farereport.com and Kayak.com/trends.

This piece was accessed from http://bit.ly/td1OEd on November 12, 2011, and was written by George Hobica. George Hobica is the founder of the site, Airfarewatchdog. You can follow George on Twitter.

Study Greek in Greece Scholarship

The State Scholarships Foundation (Ι.Κ.Υ.) announces that it will offer up to sixty (60) scholarships to foreigners (or foreign nationals of Greek descent) from countries worldwide in order to attend courses and seminars in the Modern Greek Language and Culture.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must:
1. Be nationals of any country of the world except Greece.
2. Hold a graduate degree from a foreign University in Humanities, Social and Political Sciences. Eligible to apply are also university graduates who teach the Greek as a foreign language.
3. Not exceed the fortieth (40th) year of age (date of birth after 1971).
4. Have at least a basic knowledge of the Greek language.

Applicants must meet the above requirements by the application deadline.

DOCUMENTS TO BE SUBMITTED

1. An application form with (one recent photograph – if any).
2. A curriculum vitae.
3. Certified copies of University Diplomas – Degrees.
4. Certificates indicating the knowledge of Greek and English or French language.
5. Two (2) letters of reference.
6. A written evidence of employment as a teacher of Greek, if any.
7. A birth certificate.
8. A recent health certificate by a state hospital.
9. A copy of the passport/identity card (where applicable).

Applicants should submit their application form and their CV via our electronic application system (www.iky.gr),whereas the remaining documentation is to be sent by post. If for any reason the electronic submission is not possible, then the application form with all documentation requested will be submitted through the Greek Diplomatic Authorities or by post.

All the documentation submitted must be written or translated into Greek, English or French. In addition, documents numbered 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9 must be certified by the Greek Diplomatic Authorities (the Greek Embassy or Consulate) only in cases where the candidate’s state of origin is not a member of the Hague Convention (Apostille) of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents.

Applicants must submit only certified copies of the original documents as these will not be returned. Incomplete, inaccurate or illegible application files will not be taken into consideration. Applicants who are or have been on a scholarship by the I.K.Y. will be excluded from the programme. Applications by undergraduates who have not yet obtained their University degree will not be considered.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
The electronic application deadline is 15 November 2011. The remaining documentation required has to be sent by 30 November 2011 by post. Applicants will be notified of the outcome in late December 2011.

DURATION OF THE SCHOLARSHIP
The duration of this scholarship is five (5) months and is offered only for a special course in the Modern Greek Language and Culture organized mainly at one of the following Greek Universities: Athens University, Thessaloniki University, Ioanninna University, Patras University, Crete University. The University, which will hold this course, will be decided by the I.K.Y after the selection process. The courses start on 9th January 2012 and end on 8th June 2012. After completion of the programme of studies the Greek University will provide students with a certificate of attendance.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The scholarship covers the following:
a. Free meals and accommodation (in University residence or in purpose-built flats provided by the University which will undertake the programme).
b. Tuition fees and other relevant costs.
c. Free medical care (under the National Health Service) in case of emergency.
d. A monthly allowance of €150,00 (net amount) for personal expenses.
e. €200,00 for initial expenses.

OBLIGATIONS OF THE SCHOLARS
Scholarship holders must regularly attend the courses and participate in all activities of the programme of studies.

You can download the application here. View the original blog post here.

Amazing Race Casting Call

The CBS television show The Amazing Race is looking for pairs to apply to be on their next taping.

Click here for information and how to apply. The deadline to apply is midnight, December 1, 2011. If you miss the deadline, the show sometimes travels around the country to have in-person open casting calls. Check here for dates and locations.

The TV show The Amazing Race is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning adventure reality series hosted by Emmy-nominated host Phil Keoghan, which pits teams, each comprised of two members, against each other on a trek around the world. At every destination, each team competes in a series of challenges, some mental and some physical, and only when the tasks are completed do they learn of their next location. Teams who are the farthest behind are gradually eliminated as the competition progresses, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning $1 million.

From their FAQ section:

What is the minimum age requirement? Applicants must be 21 to apply.

Do I need to be a US Citizen? YES. As of now, Canadians are not eligible.

When will I find out if I make it to the next round of casting? We are once again accepting submissions. These will be considered for the 2012 casting season. Calls will most likely go out in January 2012.

Will I be contacted regardless of whether or not I make it to the next round? Due to the large amount of submissions, we are unable to contact each person individually.

When do they film this upcoming season? The filiming dates for the season we are casting is late May or early June 2012.

I have applied before, do I need to fill out another application and submit another video? Yes. After we cast each season, those tapes and applications go into storage and you need to re-apply and re-submit a new video each season.

Can I apply with the same person as I applied with before? Yes.

Can I apply with a new person, even if I have applied with someone else in the past? Yes.

Can I apply more than once this season, with several different teammates? You can, however we advise that you pick the person that would make the best and most interesting teammate. This is a show about relationships, as well as a race around the world, so your teammate should be someone close to you, probably not the co-worker that you have only known for 3 months.

I am not able to upload my video, are there any special requirements to do so? Please ensure your video is less than 30MB and in one of the following file formats : mpg, mpeg, flv, avi, mp4, mov, 3gp, wmv, mv4

Alfa Fellowship Program in Russia

The Alfa Fellowship Program is a high-level professional development exchange program placing qualified young professionals in work assignments at leading organizations in Russia in the fields of business, economics, journalism, law, and public policy. The program accepts up to 10 American and 5 British citizens per year. Key goals of the Alfa Fellowship Program are expanding networks of American, British and Russian professionals, developing greater intercultural understanding, and advancing U.S./Russian and U.K./Russian relations.

The program includes language training, seminar programs, and extended professional experience. Fellows receive travel, free housing, monthly stipends, and insurance.

Program Highlights

Drawing upon extensive contacts throughout industry, media, government, and nonprofit institutions in Russia, the Alfa Fellowship Program works together with participants to identify suitable work placements at leading institutions in Russia in business, media, and civil society. The Alfa Fellowship Program endeavors to secure positions that meet the interests of both the participants and host institutions. Fellows’ progress is closely monitored by the Fund for International Fellowships and Cultural Dialogue in Moscow.

In addition to individualized professional assignments, the Alfa Fellowship Program includes:

• Four-month Russian language tutoring program in the U.S./U.K.
• Four-month Russian language course in Moscow
• Orientation seminar in Washington, D.C., with accommodation and roundtrip travel included
• Housing in Moscow for the duration of the program
• Monthly stipend
• Limited international health, accident, and liability insurance
• Moscow seminar program
• Three regional excursions throughout Russia and one to a neighboring country

Application Deadline

December 1, 2011 for the 2012-2013 program year.

EarthCorps Progam

EarthCorps offers a 6-month service learning program in Seattle, Washington, USA, that brings together emerging environmental leaders to learn the fundamentals of
* Environmental Service
* Community Building
* Leadership

EARTHCORPS CHARGES NO TUITION OR FEES for its services and in fact supplies insurance, individual homestay families, food, gear and a monthly stipend to all international participants. EarthCorps provides additional support in acquiring US J-1 Trainee visas.

EarthCorps has established the following minimum criteria to be considered for the program:
* 18-25 years of age
* Conversational English
* No Criminal Record

BEFORE YOU NOMINATE please note that EarthCorps is required by the US government to ensure that every applicant meets strict criteria in order to qualify for a US J-1 Trainee visa. Please make sure your candidate meets the following minimum criteria:

* 4 year college degree in the environmental field and 1 year of relevant work experience

-OR-

* 5 years of work experience in the environmental field

These criteria are used to meet US government regulations regarding the J-1 Trainee visa. Team members from the USA may have less experience when entering the program.

DEADLINES AND START DATES:
* Application deadline: November 18, 2011
* Participant selection: January 2012
* Visa processing: February – May 2012
* Travel confirmation: May 2012
* EarthCorps Program start date: June 2012
* EarthCorps Program graduation: mid-December 2012

TO APPLY:
Candidates should be referred to EarthCorps by an environmental organization (i.e. NGO, community group, university or student club). Materials are available online at: http://earthcorps.org/join_international.php  Separate application materials for the candidate will be sent after confirmation of their nomination.

MORE INFO:

• Facebook page
• Alumni profiles
• Current participant profiles
• What to expect
• Watch the “A day in the life” of Earthcorps video below:

Young Turkey / Young America Program

Young Turkey/Young America – A New Relationship for a New Age is designed to support and to promote the participation of young Turkish leaders in transatlantic dialogue on foreign policy issues.

This customized, in-depth, four-part program emphasizes professional training and adult experiential learning. Through the program, 20 young emerging leaders from Turkey and 20 young emerging leaders from the US will gain knowledge and leadership skills to become more engaged in their communities, and get to know each other’s country, as well as learn about each group member’s ethnically, religiously, and nationally diverse background.

World Learning created a consortium including the Foreign Policy Platform (FPP-Turkey), and support from various sources, including FPP-US, previous grantees, and Turkish organizations, to implement the project.

The program will create new links between emerging leaders who are ages 21-35 and who either live in Turkey or the United States who will work together on policy formulation issues. The program’s four phases are:

• pre-departure orientation;
• the US experiential program;
• the Turkey program; and
• post-grant activities related to projects created.

The program’s overall impact will extend beyond these direct participants to include alumni of previous exchange programs and other young emerging leaders.

If you are interested in applying for the Young Turkey/Young America program, please download the application form (DOC).

Location: Turkey, US
Duration: September 30, 2011-August 31, 2013
Funder: US Department of State
Contact: Vladimir.Spencer@worldlearning.org

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program

Founded in 1978 in honor of the late Senator and Vice President, the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program provides 10 months of professional enrichment and non-degree graduate-level study in the United States for accomplished mid-level professionals from designated countries.

Fellows are nominated by U.S. Embassies or Fulbright Commissions based on their potential for leadership and a demonstrated commitment to public service. The program provides a basis for lasting ties between citizens of the United States and their professional counterparts in other countries. It fosters an exchange of knowledge and mutual understanding, through which the United States joins in a significant partnership with developing countries.

Fellows are placed in groups by professional field at selected U.S. universities offering specially designed programs of study and training.  The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, appointed by the President, has overall responsibility and awards the fellowships. The Institute of International Education (IIE), a private not-for-profit educational exchange agency, currently administers the program in cooperation with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State. For more information, please visit IIE’s Humphrey Fellowship Program website.

Fellowships are granted competitively to professional candidates in a variety of fields, including:

• economic development/finance and banking
• agricultural and rural development
• natural resources, environmental policy, and climate change
• human resource management
• communications/journalism
• teaching of English as a foreign language
• educational administration, planning, and policy
• substance abuse education, treatment, and prevention
• HIV/AIDS policy and prevention
• public health policy and management
• public policy analysis and public administration
• law and human rights
• urban and regional planning
• trafficking in persons – policy and prevention
• technology policy and management
• higher education administration

Culture Shock: When, where, and how has it hit you?

Above Photo: Sarah Menkedick Photos: Jorge Santiago

There are cultures, then there are cultures within cultures, and then there are more cultures within those cultures. Cultures within cultures within cultures. Yes, I’m repeating this that many times to make you feel like you’re watching a spinning top, because that’s what culture starts to look like if you peer at it too closely – all the lines blur together and your head starts to spin and whir. Just when you think you’ve got it and you start to say:

“Mexico is…” some cultural entity pops up and smacks you in the face. Scratch that, you think. I don’t know. Don’t know what this culture is, and don’t know how I feel about it.

That’s why it seems to me that culture shock is the real constant in all of the exploration and exchange that happens traveling. It happens on the first day of your first trip overseas in a foreign country. It also happens on a regular basis in your eleventh year of living abroad. It’s ubiquitous and inevitable and it creeps up at the most unexpected moments.

Even after several years in Mexico, there are still little things that jolt me, sometimes positively, sometimes negatively, most of the time in a confusing gray zone between the two.

Why is it that so many men riding in cars feel the need to bark at my dog? At first I thought it was just the street sweepers in a pathetic, bored, macho pick-up attempt. But then it happened again, and again, and I realized, men notice the dog, they pay attention to the dog and…they bark.

I could make attempts to analyze this through the lens of machismo, which wouldn’t be too hard (man sees big dog, man sees girl walking big dog, man feels slightly less manly, man barks) but I actually think it goes further than that. I think it’s about contact.

If you establish some sort of connection to a person, paying attention to their kid or their dog or something about them, you’ve got to follow through with it. I think it harks back to a time when Oaxaca was still a pueblo, and social norms called for a “buenos tardes, señorita,” or its equivalent for everyone you passed. Now those times have (mostly) gone, but still, passing people on the street, I feel a strange obligation to take them into account like I don’t feel anywhere else.

There’s less of a personal space barrier here overall, and when you’ve made eye contact, you’ve made contact. There’s this pressing, suppressed need for acknowledgment. I feel that a lot, and the dog barking incidents are the most recent manifestation.

So when I came across this gorgeous, bone-deep photo essay on culture shock, I immediately related to it. Yep. As a traveler, this is a familiar feeling, sometimes jarring and unpleasant, sometimes thrilling, but indispensable to that experience of being outside one’s comfort zone.

Thus in all of that squirming around you’ve done trying to get comfortable in other cultures, what sorts of shocks and surprises have you had? What have you found traumatic, exhilarating, or both? Please share your culture shock stories below.

This piece was accessed from http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/culture-shock-when-where-and-how-has-it-hit-you/ on July 2, 2011, and was written by Sarah Menkedick, who has traveled, lived, and taught on five continents, and is constantly in pursuit of spicy food, dark beer, and new places to run. She is an MFA student at the University of Pittsburgh.

5 Things you should know before joining the Peace Corps

A group of Peace Corps volunteers in Armenia. Photo: Tommy and Georgie

It’s said that joining the U.S. Peace Corps is the “toughest job you’ll ever love.”

If you’re ready to sign up, pack your bags, and take off on a 27-month assignment, here are five things you should know before you begin the labor-intensive and heart-breaking process of joining the Peace Corps.

1. Be honest with yourself.

Are you really cut out for living in an underdeveloped country on your own for more than two years? Can you handle being surrounded by poverty for an extensive amount of time? Is using a pit toilet (or less) and taking a bucket bath something you can stand?

Have you taken a close look at your skills and abilities? Consider what your strengths and interests are. Just as you wouldn’t be a teacher if you didn’t care for kids in the United States, you shouldn’t accept any position just so you can live and work overseas.

It may take longer to receive an assignment if you have specifications on what you can and can not tolerate or do, but you’ll find a more gratifying experience abroad if you take the time to evaluate yourself upfront.

2. Prepare yourself to adjust to local culture.

Prepare for meetings that begin with prayers, communal food, and afternoons that drift by when there’s work to be done. The world works on a different plane than the United States, so you’ll need to ease your way into a new mindset. Bow your head, wash your hands, and take off your watch.

There’s a reason why Peace Corps service lasts two years. You will spend the first year settling in, and a whole year working on a project. Don’t be surprised if you leave feeling like you’ve achieved nothing. It’s during those long afternoons and your communal meal chats that cultural exchange happens, and that alone meets Peace Corps’ second and third goals of promoting understanding.

“There’s a reason why Peace Corps service lasts two years.”

3. Understand that poverty is real.

When you visit larger cities in your country of service, you will encounter street kids and poverty. But poverty isn’t limited to the visible corners of the world’s largest cities. The sad truth is that your friends, neighbors, and co-workers will also be hungry and poor. They won’t have money to pay for their kids to go to school or take their babies to the doctor. When drought strikes, their crops will dry up, and they will go hungry.

You, on the other hand, will still receive a stipend and will be able to eat. Try explaining that to your community when you’ve already told them you live at their means and are equal to them as a productive member of their society. You will be asked for money to cover the cost of food, medical expenses, travel, school fees, and more.

Consider your stance on if and what you want to give, even to your neighbors and closest friends. Your actions will follow you throughout the rest of your service.

4. Remember: You are an American.

It may sound strange, but you will try hard to fit in with your community and trying to shed your American skin can be difficult. Despite every effort you make to fit in to the local culture, you are still an American.

Learning the language will go a long way to break down barriers. Dress appropriately and abide by traditional standards and you’ll begin to make leeway. And while you may convince your neighbors that you are just like them, most people you encounter in your host country will take you for another American tourist.

“Your actions will follow you throughout the rest of your service.”

Use these opportunities to be yourself and educate people about what it is like to live in the United States. Tell them about your interests, dreams and fears. Break down the “typical American stereotype” and put a friendly face on what most people only see in movies and read in the news.

In your attempt to fit in culturally, you may also struggle with your personal ideals and values. You might feel like you can’t say “no” because it’s not the culturally appropriate thing to do, but if you’ve been singled out and harassed because you clearly aren’t a local, then don’t act like one. Stand up for yourself and move on. Letting people take advantage of you because you are an American while you try desperately to fit in culturally will wear you down and make you feel used long before your service is over.

5. Realize that you will change.

The toughest job you’ll ever love does not end when you complete your service. One of the hardest parts begins when you step back onto American soil. People will ask you about your service, but two years are not easily summarized in two sentences, and people don’t have the time to hear more than two sentences.

You will also find that not much changed in your absence. People will still throw away food they don’t finish. They will waste water, be consumed with stuff, and care too much about Hollywood. People will expect you to get an apartment, get a job, and get on with your life, but it’s not that easy.

Many Peace Corps volunteers make extreme career choices based on their service, not on the college degree they got before they left. This often means that they’ll return to school or take jobs in low-paying service and non-profit sectors. To former volunteers, this makes sense, but family and friends may scratch their heads in confusion.

Readjustment will take time. Stay in touch with your fellow Peace Corps volunteers and join your local Peace Corps alumni group. The hyperactive United States can be very overwhelming for a person who just spent 27 months living by the sun.

Community Connection:

Not prepared to make the commitment to the Peace Corps? A short-term volunteer placement also requires planning. Read “Five Expectations to Avoid Before Volunteering Abroad” to prepare yourself.

For tips about coping with reverse culture shock, check out “How to Understand (And Beat) Your Homecoming Hangover” or “6 Simple Ways to Beat the Post-Travel Blues.”

And to really get inspired, real Audrey Scott’s interview with Muriel Johnston, in “Seniors in the Peace Corps.”

This article was accessed from http://matadornetwork.com/change/5-things-you-should-know-before-joining-the-peace-corps on 03/01/11 and was written by JoAnna Haugen.

How to make travel look good on a resume

Feature photo by John Wardell (Netinho). Photo above by h.dot.

Turn your travel adventures into an edge over competitors in your search for a job.

You’ve just gotten back from a year away and now you need to get a job. You’re nervous and have to figure out how getting drunk at hostels, lying on beaches, and photographing churches can be classified as “experience.”

First, breathe. It’s not that bad. You’re lucky, not only because you got to travel, but because current events have turned in your favor.

Businesses need experienced people who know other cultures, have a desire to learn, are motivated, speak another language, and are willing to move around, all of which are qualities you possess.

It was only five years go that taking a year off was considered career suicide, but now, it’s often considered a career boost- a sign of independence, motivation, and ambition. Employers won’t throw away your resume anymore because of a gap year.

But how do you turn that year into tangible experience to showcase in a resume?

1. Don’t put everything on your résumé

90% of your travels aren’t really “experience,” but soft skills you picked up on the road: people skills, confidence, and independence. Though you may be tempted to write that stuff on your resume, don’t. You’ll sound cheesy and as though you are just putting in useless filler.

2. It’s not the resume, it’s the cover letter!

Your travels are a story and the details don’t translate well as bullet points on a resume. Talk about them in the cover letter, where you can give more detail.

Explain why you left, what your experience taught you, and how it makes you a better employee. This is also where you want to mention those “soft skills,” as they require more detail than a simple bullet point expression. Discuss your travels in depth here using only a small section of the resume as support.

Photo by SOCIALisBETTER.

Tip: Regale interviewers with funny (but not over the top) stories. It will make you stand apart from everyone else. Those willing to take a chance are the type of leaders businesses look for. They want people who lead them into new directions, not waste away behind a desk.

3. Step by step instructions for articulating your experience.

Step One: Call it what it is. Many people put their trip under work experience, but since it’s not work, it’s not work experience. At the bottom of your resume, create a section called “Other Experience” and title it “(Your Name) Gap Year” and include the dates.

Step Two: Pick tangible skills. Skills that translate into any job. Like everything on a resume, this will be all about how you word things. Choose your wording carefully. For example:

Haggled over a dollar with a tuk tuk driver or tried to save a few thousand Dong off a shirt in Vietnam? Negotiation Skills.

Got stuck in an airport because you forgot your plane? Adaptability.

Had to plan, finance, and organize your trip? Budgeting and Planning.

Got stuck in a jungle at night because you explored off the trail? Self-reliance and independence.

You get the idea. It’s all about wording your experience correctly. Notice how those are all skills you can use in the business world. I didn’t put any of those “soft skills” down.

Writing “I’m good with people” is generic and makes you sound full of crap. Choose only job related “hard” skills for the resume because what you are doing is showing how your life experience makes up for your lack of practical experience.

Photo by psoup216.

Step Three: Know your audience! Only put travel on your resume if it helps explain an extended work gap (i.e. a year or longer), is relevant to the job, or unique. If all you did was live in Thailand on Phuket and got drunk then it is useless filler that will only hurt you. If you volunteered in an orphanage in Cambodia, then keep it on. If this job requires extended travel, definitely put it here.

So what would this all look like? Here’s how I would put it on my resume.

Other Experience

Matt’s Gap Year 2007-2008

• Developed negotiation skills through daily contact with sellers in markets and vendors throughout Asia.
• Learned how to adapt to unanticipated situations and improvise new plans due to periodic travel mishaps and unexpected events.
• Developed budgeting and planning skills by financing, planning, organizing my year around the world. This involved using various spreadsheets and keeping a record of expenses.
• Cultivated language and communication skills through contact with people from around the world. Learned to use non verbal and verbal communication to overcome communication and language barriers.

That sounds professional, actionable, and tangible. It explains each skill and how I developed it. Remember that the employer is going to ask you to explain these points just like they would any other part of your resume.

It’s important you have anecdotes supporting each bullet point, especially since these have no boss to confirm any of this- just your word. If you can’t explain it well, keep it off.

Use your travel experience to differentiate yourself. That’s why in the beginning, I said put it in the cover letter. It allows you more time to explain the story behind it.

This piece was accessed from http://matadornetwork.com/notebook/how-to/how-to-make-travel-look-good-on-a-resume/ on June 12, 2011, and was written by Matthew Kepnes, who travels because life is short and cubicles are not fun to sit in. Visit his personal website, NomadicMatt.com.

5 Things NOT to do after returning from abroad

Feature Photo:  adpowers Photo: web4camguy

Tips for a successful reentry to the U.S. after studying, living, or traveling abroad.

You’ve been abroad and now you’re home. You’re more worldly, more cultured, and excited to share your experiences with your friends and family. You feel like a changed person, but the problem is, everyone else is exactly the same. And not only that, they expect you to be the same, too.

So how do you relate to them without coming across as braggy or snobby? Here are some suggestions from a kid who hasn’t been abroad yet, but who knows what it’s like to hear never-ending tales about Brazilian carnivals, Italian wine, and Australian rugby matches.This brings us to our first piece of advice:

1. Don’t go on and on and on and on.

Your friends and family are interested in your abroad experience, but that doesn’t mean you have to start every sentence with, “When I was abroad… ” followed by an hour-long narrative. People only want to spend so much time hearing stories and looking at pictures. Remember, no matter how fascinating an experience was for you at the time, not all experiences make for interesting stories.

Think twice before you: Turn a discussion about what kind of pizza your friends should order into a half-hour ramble about Thai stir fry.

Instead: Keep your stories specific, rather than just vaguely commenting on how nice this museum was or how awesome that monument was. Consider inviting your friends to a slideshow, during which you can share all the highlights of your experience during an allotted amount of time. Or, let your friends learn about your experience in their own time by sharing pictures and stories online.

2. Don’t pretend to be from your host country.

Yes, spending a semester in another country does help you get to know that country. Yes, you adopted new practices and tried new things. Still, let’s not lose perspective: You’re not actually from your host country. So while we encourage you to find ways to integrate your new knowledge into your life at home, remember that you can’t bring it all back with you.

Think twice before you: Greet your friends with two kisses on each cheek or send them off with a “ciao!”

Instead: Connect with people from your host country on campus or in your community if you’re feeling nostalgic. That way, you can continue learning about their culture and keep practicing some of those cultural customs that you miss.

3. Don’t act “holier-than-thou.”

One of the most exciting things about living abroad is being exposed to different tastes, perspectives, and practices. Sometimes this means reevaluating your own, whether that results in a newfound appreciation for quality coffee or newfound horror over the quantity of plastic bags that your compatriots use at the grocery store. Still, nobody wants to be lectured to, or hear you bash their tastes.

Think twice before you: Say something like, “I can’t believe you take 10-minute showers,” or, “I can’t believe I have to drink boxed wine again. We never drank that in Florence.”

Instead: Find positive ways to channel your newfound interests. Rather than lecture to your friends about water waste, take action by starting or joining a student group. If you want your friends to appreciate quality wine, take them to a nearby vineyard or a wine tasting. Trust us, they will have a lot more fun actively partaking in your interests than hearing you rant.

4. Don’t flaunt it.

It’s important to remember that it’s not possible for everyone to go abroad. There are factors that hold many people back, like financial restraints, academic requirements, or family matters. You’ve been afforded a great opportunity that isn’t necessarily available to everyone, even though it should be.

Think twice before you: Say something like, “Going to Denmark was the greatest experience of my life. You really need to get out of the country, Colin.”

Instead: Remember how lucky you are to have had this experience, and be sensitive when sharing stories with someone who hasn’t been abroad yet. You can also get involved in campus-level or national initiatives to expand study abroad so that more people can have the opportunity that you did.

5. Don’t hate on the United States.

Yes, it can be hard to settle back into your old American life. Maybe it seems boring and unexotic, or maybe new things suddenly bother you—the pace of life, the individualistic mentality, the mass consumption. But the fact is, there are many things that are wonderful about the United States, and they should not go unnoticed or unappreciated.

Think twice before you: Spend your weekend sulking in your dorm room or in your parents’ basement, complaining about the inferiority of your native country.

Instead: Walk through a new neighborhood, find a new restaurant, meet a new person. Go on a road trip with your friends, or take a cheap flight to somewhere you’ve never been. Sometimes we forget about how many cultural enclaves exist right here in our own country: Take time to explore them. Bring that eagerness to learn and explore home with you. And if you don’t always like what you find, use your newly expanded perspective to figure out how to make things better.

This piece was accessed from http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/5-things-not-to-do-after-returning-from-abroad/ on June 11, 2011, and was written by Sarah Menkedick, who has traveled, lived, and taught on five continents, and is constantly in pursuit of spicy food, dark beer, and new places to run. She is an MFA student at the University of Pittsburgh.

Homeward Bound: How travel brings you home again

Sometimes, going home is all you need to see how far you’ve come.

Ninth grade partying / Photo: Ashley Sebrell

I spent this past weekend surrounded by old high school friends. One was getting married (the one sitting in the chair in the photo to the right), and his wedding brought quite a few of our old “group” together.

There is something special about seeing people that knew you way back when. Probably the more time that passes, and the older a person gets, the more special it seems.

You tend to look back on the good times more than the challenging ones. At the rehearsal dinner, I began to think about those days of field parties in the country, fast food lunches, and…bouts of drastic depression. Ok, some of the bad stuff crept back in.

I’ve changed in innumerable ways since then (Frosty’s are no longer a part of my vocabulary, and bawling for hours on end is thankfully an occurrence of the past), yet, unlike the usual dwelling followed by patting myself on the back for how much I’ve “evolved,” this thought process stopped abruptly. I realized I no longer needed to think about how much I’ve changed.

Why was this the case? For the last 10 years, I’ve been trying to prove (to myself more than anyone else) how far I’ve come, how much more worthy I am. So what really is so different?

My spirit.

The Importance of Belief

I now believe that connecting to our spirit is the key to really and truly falling in love with ourselves.

I now believe that connecting to our spirit is the key to really and truly falling in love with ourselves.

It’s often hard to see that many of us look outside of ourselves for that blessing of self worth. We’re pretty much taught from day one that what counts is what other people think and feel about us, so who is really to blame here? Plus, for the most part, we can’t even see that this is our approach.

A long conversation with one friend about his own struggle with finding himself, and his worries over what we remembered and thought about his antics in high school, forced that click of recognition.

l now feel in my bones something that has been said to me time and time again over those last 10 years: to have others look at you with appreciation, you must first appreciate yourself. And the way to attain that appreciation for the self and connect to spirit is to gain some understanding of all those other people out there roaming the earth.

Traveling Spirit

Three months after I graduated from college, I left North Carolina for California. I didn’t know why or what I was going to do; I just knew I had to get out of there.

A much more refined (and less blurry) group / Photo: Jim Ernst

I can now understand what I thought was a drive in me to explore the “unknown” was simply a gentle, intuitive knowing of a process to find my spirit.

The same is not necessarily true for everyone, though I think the generation I find myself a part of seems to have this drive – or gentle knowing – in droves (just take a quick look around Matador).

We often discuss both inner and outer travel here at BNT. This can mean different things to different people, and really can be found in any direction you look. But how exactly did outer travel help me connect to my spirit?

For me, trekking to new places has been about normalizing myself, in a way. As my friend John put it last weekend, I was “always searching for something.” What was cloaked in self-esteem issues was actually my spirit’s ‘gentle approach’ to essentially making me move my ass.

I was propelled to find out how to feel normal, and even possibly – gasp! – truly appreciated. At the same time, I learned to not worry so much about what others thought (or what I think they thought) about me.

Sharing the Desire for Contentment

Whether glancing around at the expats doting the Globe cafe in Prague, or being the only white woman dancing to old school Michael Jackson at a club in Lusaka, Zambia, I began sensing a pattern of purpose.

Even the “enemy” is just searching for a little happiness, contentment and peace in their life.

The more I travel, the more people I meet, the more I feel at my stomach’s base that we are all just trying to eek out some happiness, contentment, and peace in this life.

I admit, it is still sometimes hard to feel connected in a strong political climate where I don’t agree with what the majority (or vocal minority) want. But if you get to the root, even the “enemy” is just searching for a little happiness, contentment and peace in their life, working toward it in the way they know best.

All the places and people I have seen and met, a mere dent in the globe as compared to many of you reading this, led me to return to that place in which I never felt “normal”: home. Only this time, I found myself in full appreciation of those people, my teenage years, and any abnormality I ever felt.

And that, my friends, comes from the power of spirit.

How have you felt returning home after a long journey? Share your thoughts below.

This piece was accessed from http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/2009/09/22/homeward-bound-how-travel-brings-you-home-again/ on May 1, 2011, and was written by Christine Garvin, who is a certified Nutrition Educator and holds a MA in Holistic Health Education. She is the founder/editor of Living Holistically…with a sense of humor and co-founder of Confronting Love. When she is not out traveling the world, she is busy writing, doing yoga, and performing hip-hop and bhangra. She also likes to pretend living in her hippie town of Fairfax, CA, is like being on vacation.

Organizational Profile: Collective Lens

Photo: Laurie Tighe

Intrepid travelers for whom no corner of earth is considered off limits often discover much more than they bargained for when visiting new locations. Social problems ranging from poverty to hunger to homelessness rear their ugly heads in many spots around the world.

Sharing experiences via blog postings to friends and family is one way of informing people within our own sphere of influence about some of the day-to-day tragedies of our global neighbors.

Collective Lens is another.

“Collective Lens: Photography for Social Change aims to raise awareness of important issues around the world through photographs provided by the general public,” says director Bryan Tighe. He and his wife, Laurie, founded Collective Lens as a news and educational resource.

“Laurie and I have always been interested in photography as well as social issues and volunteering,” Bryan shares. “We wanted to do something to bring attention to the many important issues that we felt were overlooked by the mainstream media in America. Naturally, being so involved with photography led us to try to find ways that we could get compelling photos in front of viewers, and we also felt it was very important to involve people from around the world.”

Collective Lens recently received its 501(c)3 non-profit status in the United States, so they’re hoping for major growth in 2009. The Tighes are also spending a good part of the year delving into parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to show how people in other parts of the world live and how ordinary people can do something to change their circumstances.

People looking for an easy way to volunteer while traveling will find Collective Lens an excellent organization to partner with.

“The easiest way to get involved would be to submit some photos,” says Bryan. “Other than that, we’re always looking for writers to post articles on a variety of topics…. We’re also looking for people to help with online marketing, as well as someone who would be interested in being an editor/coordinator/recruiter of the articles and blog.”

Shehzad Noorani, a freelance documentary photographer, was recruited by Bryan thanks to her work on Flickr.

Photo: Kathy Adams

“There are thousands of sites that help photographers sell their work, but only a handful that understand why concerned social documentary photographers take pictures in the first place,” Shehzad says. “Collective Lens is amongst the best that bring concerned documentary photographers under one roof and help them reach an audience that cares and wants more out of photography.”

Shehzad recommends working with Collective Lens because it exposes volunteers to meaningful photos and photographers, while bringing people face-to-face around issues that really matter.

Bryan says they have many goals, but realize a new organization also faces many challenges.

“In the short term, we would like to become an online magazine that showcases various issues around the world with regular written articles and associated photography, perhaps on an assignment basis in addition to the user submitted photos that we have now,” he explains. “We also would like to become a source for people to get information about specific nonprofits, NGOs, and charities around the world. We are partially doing this on the site now, where organizations can create a profile for themselves. This area is currently somewhat limited and we’d like to expand it greatly.”

Travel, experience, share. Reveal the world through your photos and words by contributing to Collective Lens.

Community Connection:

If you want to improve your photography skills in order to document your travels, check out this recent podcast by Matador contributor and travel photographer, Ryan Libre.

This piece was accessed from http://matadornetwork.com/change/matador-organizational-profile-collective-lens on April 18, 2011, and was written by Jacy Meyer, who is a Prague-based freelance journalist who writes on a number of topics including Prague and the Czech Republic, European travel, interior design, architecture, culture, and health. She enjoys traveling, reading, yoga, caffeine and torturing her husband and dog with extremely long walks.

Five expectations to avoid before volunteering abroad

Photo: Courtesy of author

Many volunteers have harbored secret dreams of what the headlines will say when they return from their heroic adventures:

“Volunteer saves rural village from mudslide.”

“Philanthropist banishes malaria from Africa.”

“Educated Westerner teaches hundreds of poor children to read.”

And below the front-page title, a black and white photograph that perfectly captures a tired smile, tousled hair, and a few beads of sweat earned valiantly in the battle against all that is wrong in the world.

There are many excellent reasons to volunteer, but in order to truly make the most of your experience, you must carefully and honestly assess your expectations. Holding onto an unrealistic fantasy, no matter how big or small, can only lead to disenchantment.

Here are a few common expectations best avoided:

Expectation 1: Immediate, world-changing results

While blogs and photo-sharing websites are a modern blessing for the avid traveler, they may have the unfortunate side effect of putting undue pressure on many volunteers to show the immediate results of their labor.

Not every moment of a volunteer experience is blog, picture, or Nobel Prize worthy. If you find yourself huddled over a computer in a humid, overcrowded office writing reports for your host organization, that doesn’t mean you aren’t accomplishing anything.

While the world likes to glorify those with the sentimental pictures and heroic stories, some of the most successful volunteers are the ones who contribute to a long-term project, the effects of which may not be seen until long after the volunteer has left.

Volunteering isn’t about fixing the world’s problems in less than a year or receiving recognition from everyone who reads your web page. It’s about contributing to sustainable projects and making positive adjustments in your own life so that your work will continue to change the world–and you– long after your temporary volunteer post has finished.

Photo: Courtesy of author

Expectation 2: Organized work

The number of times I played solitaire the first few weeks I spent volunteering registers easily in the three-digit zone.

This was before I learned an all-important lesson: sometimes, volunteers have to invent their own work.

Photo: Courtesy of author

For any number of reasons, your temporary employers might not know what to do with you. Without some serious initiative on your part, you may end up twiddling your thumbs and drinking 200 cups of herbal tea a day. Be clear with your organization about what you are and aren’t capable of doing. It might take some work on your part to ensure that their plan includes reasonable goals and concrete tasks.

Expectation 3: Everybody will like you

A few months is a short period of time to form deep, lasting relationships. Many volunteers, discouraged by overwhelming cultural barriers, never connect with more than a few people. Even the volunteers who seem to become beloved local heroes often struggle with feelings of being misunderstood and lonely.

Don’t be discouraged if you haven’t made 10 new best friends by week two, and please don’t give up cross-cultural relationships altogether and hide away in the nearest expat club. Bonding only with fellow travelers deprives you of much of the vulnerability that makes the volunteer experience so powerful.

Expectation 4: Rapid language fluency

After spending eight years studying Spanish, I expected to arrive in Peru and sound like a native within a matter of weeks. Instead, I was the laughingstock of Lima for months because of my verbal blunders.

Some people who volunteer can pick up languages in a few days flat, and I will spend all of eternity shaking a jealous fist at them, but they are the exception, not the rule. Don’t become discouraged when language acquisition takes time.

Expectation 5: You will find yourself

Culture shock, loneliness, language frustration, and stomach bugs… this is not the time to figure out who you are. You need to already have at least a basic self-awareness of your strengths and weaknesses, your techniques for coping with challenges, and your tolerance for difficulties before you arrive.

Who you are at home is still who you are in any other country.

The only baggage you should be bringing on the trip is that which can be stored below the plane. Those who try to sneak too many negative emotions and insecurities through customs only end up leaving bitter and disappointed.

Community Connection:

Volunteer experiences can be immensely rewarding, but are occasionally disappointing. How have you had to adjust your expectations about yourself, your work, and other people while volunteering abroad? Share your tips below.

This article was accessed from http://matadornetwork.com/change/five-expectations-to-avoid-before-volunteering-abroad on April 12, 2011, and was written by Alix Farr, who is from the Washington, D.C. area but has spent the last 2 years living and working in Lima, Peru, as an English teacher and as a Marketing and PR coordinator for a volunteer organization called Nexos Voluntarios. She has traveled to over 30 countries, seeking to ensure that her number of countries visited is always greater than her age.

Foundation for Global Scholars to fund study abroad scholarships worldwide

By expanding beyond its original Asia Pacific focus to include all study abroad destinations, the Foundation for Global Scholars can now award scholarships to more university students who want to enrich their lives through international education.

———-

The Foundation for Asia Pacific Education has announced its global expansion and name change to the Foundation for Global Scholars to provide study abroad scholarship opportunities to all North American students regardless of destination.

The foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is expanding beyond its original Asia Pacific focus to include all study abroad destinations so more university students can enrich their lives through international education experiences. The foundation’s new home on the web will be http://www.FoundationForGlobalScholars.org.

“We are extremely proud of the more than US$800,000 in scholarships we have provided to over 800 deserving college students since 2007 for study abroad in the Asia Pacific region,” said Foundation Chair Christie Doherty. “Now, with this new name and global mission, we can assist more students, especially those from underrepresented areas of study abroad, and attract more donors who want to support international education scholarships without geographic limitations.”

Founded in 2006, the Denver-based fundraising organization is guided by a board of directors comprised of Colorado and internationally based education and business leaders and takes its strategic vision from GlobaLinks Learning Abroad, the umbrella organization for the AustraLearn, AsiaLearn and EuroLearn study abroad programs.

“We were formed to bring international experiences to more students, especially those unable to study abroad without financial support, because we all gain from a more globally aware citizenry,” Doherty said. “Now that we’ve gone global, we can involve more individuals and organizations who recognize the value of education abroad for their own goals and the world in general.”

The Foundation for Global Scholars, a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in Denver, creates global citizens and leaders by assisting students in achieving personal and professional goals through international education experiences worldwide. Students from underrepresented populations in international education are a priority. The Foundation supports its mission through financial and other contributions from individuals and organizations who see the value of education abroad for their own goals and the world in general. The Foundation receives strategic vision and financial support from GlobaLinks Learning Abroad, which offers the educational programs AustraLearn, AsiaLearn and EuroLearn. The Westminster, Colo.-based organization has a 20-year history of providing education abroad programs to more than 20,000 North American students studying in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, Asia and Europe.

For more information on the Foundation for Global Scholars, visit  http://www.FoundationForGlobalScholars.org or call +1.303.502.7256.

This clip was taken from http://blog.goabroad.com/2011/02/15/fape-global-foundation-global-scholars-fund-study-scholarships-worldwide/ on April 2, 2011.

Nonprofit Leaders: Apply for a paid, overseas fellowship with Atlas Corps (either in U.S. or Colombia)

*Deadline: April 15th

Atlas Corps is an international network of nonprofit leaders and organizations that promotes innovation, cooperation, and solutions to address the world’s 21st century challenges. Their mission is to address critical social issues by developing leaders, strengthening organizations, and promoting innovation through an overseas fellowship of skilled nonprofit professionals.

The Atlas Corps Fellowship is a 12-month, direct-service fellowship offered twice a year (March and September). Fellows serve at Host Organizations such as Ashoka, the Grameen Foundation, the UN Foundation (USA), and Oxfam GB, World Wildlife Fund, and the International Organization for Migration (Colombia), where they work on issues that complement their expertise. Fellows learn leadership skills, share best practices, and supplement daily knowledge with theoretical topics presented in the Atlas Corps Nonprofit Management Series.

Atlas Service Corps seeks nonprofit leaders from around the world to apply for a Fall 2011 Fellowship in the U.S. or Colombia. Expenses are paid in this prestigious 12-month fellowship program, including a living stipend, health insurance, and training.

*Japanese speakers with expertise in fund-raising, project management, and child trafficking and exploitation are wanted, but all are welcome to apply. If you know nonprofit leaders in Japan who might be interested in this opportunity, please pass this along to them!*

Eligibility Requirements:

• 2 or more years of relevant experience in the nonprofit/NGO/social sector
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• English proficiency (oral, writing, reading)
• 35 years or younger
• Applying to volunteer in a country other than where you are from
• Commitment to return to your home country after the 12-18 month fellowship
• Applicants to Colombia program must have Spanish proficiency

For more details about eligibility requirements and the application process, please visit: http://www.atlascorps.org/apply.html. To learn about current and former fellows, visit http://www.atlascorps.org/current-fellows.html.

Questions about Atlas Corps Fellowship to the U.S.? Email
apply @ atlascorps.org
Questions about Atlas Corps Fellowship to Colombia? Email
applybogota @ atlascorps.org

Scott Beale, the founder of Atlas Corps, introduces the organization in the video below: