Teaching English Abroad:
Interested in fully immersing yourself in another culture, giving back to a local community, gaining career skills, and possibly getting paid to do it? Look no further for the inside scoop on teaching around the world.

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Arrivals Department
Everything you need to know about coming home from abroad:
•A Career in Translation: Interested in working with presidents, participating in international summits, or traveling nonstop? The tough but rewarding job of an international translator or interpreter may be for you.
Plus—How Your Foreign Language Skills Can Help You Land a Job
•So How Was Study Abroad? Get prepared to answer that question again and again.
•Conversation Conservation: How to maintain your newly minted language skills after returning from abroad.•Keeping in Touch Across Borders: Fresh ways to stay connected to friends around the world whether you are about to study abroad or are returning home.
•Cultural Implants: Tips for maintaining ties to a foreign culture.
•What Not to Lug Home: Find out how to keep your luggage light and legal.
•Travel Writing 101: Pointers for crafting the perfect account of your study abroad experience.

What you need to know about responsible travel:
Going green applies to studying abroad too. In this section learn how to reduce the negative impacts travel has on the environment, live in a way that's good for you and your host community, and bring home what you learn about sustainability to make a positive difference locally.

Reaching the Red Line:

Find out what you can do from anywhere in the world to help prevent runaway climate change. Click here to read more.

BLOGGERS ABROAD
Find more of AV's recommended blogs, and send us a link to yours.

Fulbright-mtvU Blog

Adventures in the Land of a Thousand Hills: Washington and Lee Senior Logan Gibson’s summer 2007 travels took her up Kilimanjaro, through the Serengeti, and over to Kibungo, Rwanda, where she used a Projects for Peace award to help set up a small library.

Voices from Cornell Abroad: Explore life abroad through postings by Cornell's Blog Journalists.

The Red Gate: Daniel Knowlton, Abroad View’s Teaching English in Japan columnist, writes about living and working in Japan, with a focus on adapting to Chinese culture.

Fueled by Rice: Bloggers from a musical cycling team write about their encounters with local people as they “spread the spirit of tolerance and cooperation around the world, one pedal stroke at a time.”

Living Routes: Students at eco-villages in India, Mexico, Scotland, Peru, Senegal, and Brazil write about issues of sustainability and community.

Teacher on Two Wheels: Andrew Morgan won a 2007 Delaying the Real World fellowship to support a two-year international bicycle trip. He is stopping at schools along his route, making presentations to students about his trip and the cultures he encounters along the way, and he is videotaping the children and teachers he meets.

It Was and It Wasn't
Myth #1-you have to be rich to travel. The furthest I agree with this statement is that one must be rich in the breadth of one’s thinkingto fully experience international travel. I am from a middle-class working family and nearly every opportunity I’ve had to travel internationally has come from a desire to “go.”

Carving Into Ancient Tradition
Wade P. Shepard travels to the home of one of India’s master craftsmen to learn about the ancient art of woodcarving.

Echoes of Ecuador: Ariel Fox turns her experience of Ecuador’s language and land into poetry.

Without My Words: Tongue-tied in Madrid, Jamie C. Hennick learns how to translate her world.

The Sheikh and His Wives: Alexandra Halpern tries to blend into the complexities of a polygamous culture while living with a traditional Bedouin family in Jordan.
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From Hardship to Helping Hands: CNN “Young Wonder” Shin Fujiyama overcomes his own obstacles to start a non-profit in Honduras.

Fresh From the Field: A taste of South Africa sparks Jensen Lowe’s interest in international relations and issues facing developing nations.

Going Mobile in Malawi: Josh Nesbit is using text messages to provide better medical care for locals.

Hydrating Honduras: Bringing water to rural villages proves a satisfying alternative to the typical college spring break.

Digging Into Diplomacy: A U.S. Embassy intern in Ukraine finds out what the world of diplomacy is really like and opens her eyes to the deep-seated societal problems that promote illegal international emigration.

Cooking Up Support: Drolma Gadou delivers 400 solar cookers and more to help her Tibetan community.

Alone in Amman
Katherine Lonsdorf goes from victim to victor in her award-winning essay about turning an attack into a chance to grow.

Slashing Stereotypes
Hafez Adel learns Spanish life is about more than siestas and teaches his roommate that Americans can elect a black president.

Turkish Coffee
Leah Schaffer takes a break from the daily grind to drink up some culture in Istanbul.

 

Congratulations to the 2009 Student Diplomat Video Contest Winner!
The 2009 Student Diplomat Video Contest winner, Nicole Barrasse, is a recent graduate of Keystone College in Pennsylvania. Her video video tells an inspiring story of cultural understanding and global connections, as she gives us a glimpse into her study abroad experience in the small agricultural village of Ladakh, India. Nicole stayed with a host family in the village and spent her days farming and learning the local language and culture. The cultural understanding that Nicole developed through this experience not only allowed her to learn about the Ladakhi people, but also to communicate to them how much she appreciated their culture and way of life. Nicole came away from this experience not only knowing much more about sustainable farming and the Ladakhi culture, but also understanding what it means to be a citizen of the world. “Ladakh has not only taught me life lessons, but also what it truly means to be connected to the world around you,” she says in her video. Nicole is now home in Pennsylvania and plans to start a local effort to inspire youth in her community to think more globally. In addition to being named the 2009 Student Diplomat, Nicole will be awarded a cash prize of $300. Click here to read more about Nicole or to watch her video.

Headscarf Heresy in Modern Turkey produced by Tania Karas, who studied abroad in 2008 at Bilgi University in Istanbul, Turkey, where this story found her. Muslim women are banned from wearing headscarves in public institutions and government buildings in Turkey. They cannot hold jobs or attend classes if they are covering their hair in accordance with their religious beliefs. Ak-Der is one Istanbul-based organization seeking to protect women's rights by representing them in courts and sending them to school abroad on scholarships. But in Turkey's current state of political turmoil, the battle over the Muslim headscarf is far from over.

Interview:
Bill McKibben
America’s leading environmentalist speaks about the need for political activism; plus, he takes a hard look at studying abroad in a CO₂-challenged world.

A Day in the Life of a Translator
Interested in using your multilingual skills in a rewarding career? Find out what a day on the job is like for translators and interpreters.

HIGHLIGHTS

Tastebud Tourism
It’s hard to beat the pizza in Naples—a slightly charred crust provides a perfectly crispy base for fresh tomatoes and gooey mozzarella. Unless, of course, its competitor is a bowl of pho in Vietnam—clear broth steaming while slippery noodles slide soothingly down your throat.

Artistry Abroad
Creative expression crosses boundaries. Immersion in the artistic environ-ments of cities like Paris and Florence can provide you with an opportunity to realize your creative potential.

Finding Volunteer Work Abroad Looking for an inexpensive and worthwhile experience volunteering internationally? You may want to follow in Michelle Hunscher’s footsteps and organize your own experience as an alternative to an organized program.