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.

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.

Microfinance in Senegal: Study abroad turned Meg Young into an economist.

 

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

How the World Sees America: Recent Harvard graduate Amar Bakshi is traveling to Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, the Phillipines, South Korea, Columbia, Venezuela, and Mexico as a
blog reporter for the Washington Post’s “PostGlobal” site.

Fulbright-mtvU Blog:
Aaron Shneyer is in Jerusalem developing a year-long music program that brings together Israeli and Palestinian high school students; Larnies Bowen is studying Panamanian Reggae music as a vehicle for understanding West Indian-Panamanian identity, culture, and collective experience; Phally Chroy is studying the rediscovery of the Golden Era of Cambodian music, and James Collins is in South Africa to create a documentary film exploring the impact and influence of marching band music on under-privileged South African youth.

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.

Meg in China: Abroad View’s microfinance columnist Meg Young writes about “a year in the trenches of development, idealism, and rabbit dung.”

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.

 

 

AWARD WINNERS

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

Abroad View's Meta Photo Contest 2008 Winners
Thank you to the many study abroad offices and international centers that contributed their students' winning photos to Abroad View's 2008 Meta Photo Contest. The 2009 Meta Photo Contest is now open. Click here for more details.

2008 Abroad View Writing Contest-1st Place Personal Journey: Talking to Strangers: A night of Bolivian festivity turns somber as a conversation prompts Valerie Brender to reflect on U.S. immigration policies. Find out how to submit your story for a chance to become the 2009 Writing Contest winner!

Philanthropist Challenges Students to Promote Peace-Adapted from Middlebury College Press Release (Blair Kloman)
The Davis Projects for Peace initiative has been renewed for 2009 by philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis. Students from nearly 100 campuses will collectively receive more than $1 million in funding during the summer of 2009 for projects in all regions of the world. Designed to encourage and support motivated youth to create and implement their ideas for building peace throughout the world, each of the more than 100 projects will receive $10,000 in funding.
“I want to use my birthday to once again help young people launch some initiatives that will bring new energy and ideas to the prospects of peace in the world,” said Kathryn Davis. “My many years have taught me that there will always be conflict. It’s part of human nature. But love, kindness, and support are also part of human nature, and my challenge to these young people is to bring about a mindset of preparing for peace instead of preparing for war.”
A complete list of the participating schools and projects, as well as a summary of the 2008 projects and a video interview with Davis from 2006, is available on the program’s website.

READ

Garments for Good: Art meets activism when Joanna Bresee uses fashion to increase environmental awareness in Madagascar.

Is It Easy Being Green? Sustainability and environmentalism are receiving more attention than ever in the media. Diana Jue’s homestay in Bangalore, India, prompts her to ask what sustainability really means.

A Look at Post-Election- Crisis Kenya
Tevis Howard, founder of the Kenya-based non-profit organization KOMAZA, reports on Kenya's challenges and opportunities in overcoming the political and tribal strife that erupted after the disputed 2007 presidential elections.

WATCH

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.

ConnectED: A Conference on Global Education
Check out the post-conference program, open space technology session book, and videos from this innovative conference on how globalization is changing education and how to improve education throughout the world.
Read the article Unchaining Learning, which focuses on one of the ConnectEd Conference's themes: educating the next generation of students.

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.

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.”