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There are many advantages to spending time abroad. It provokes the increase of self confidence; it sees the reassessment of one’s own culture and arouses the intrigue in the exotic, the alien, the foreign. Here are some of the most widely acknowledged benefits of travelling abroad:

1) The greatest advantage of a longer stay abroad is probably the acquisition of a new language.

It’s a lot easier to learn a language abroad because it has to be used all the time; much more than in class or at home. Furthermore, you also learn colloquial phrases, which is more important in everyday life than you might think.

2) To travel abroad brings you forward not only personally but also intellectually.

It opens up new perspectives and ideas and you will be more independent and responsible towards other cultures. You learn a lot by talking with other people from different countries with different attitudes and different mentalities. You practice how to talk to people and get to know more about their way of thinking.

3) To study abroad is an strong attribute on your resume.

It also offers advantages in the workplace because these experiences make you stand out from other applicants. The administrators of graduate programs prefer people who have studied abroad. The experience abroad thus increases your job opportunities and your financial gaining potential. Many companies seek bilingual executives and this trait will increase your future bargaining power.

4) It is very likely that you will form some of the deepest friendships during your stay abroad.

You have the opportunity to get to know people of different ethnic and cultural profiles. Other travelers abroad are just as far away from home as your and know how you feel and can therefore help you to get over that initial foreigness. Although you are so different, you will quickly discover many similarities.

5) You get to know your own country much better whilst abroad.

Most of what others know about you comes from the media, such as music, films and television programs. This is your chance to prove that these stereotypes do not always apply. You are the ambassadors of your country, your culture, and thus you can contribute to the cultural melting pot! At the same time you can dispel any erroneous stereotypes about others by getting to know the other culture first-hand. Excursions to cultural sites and museums will also help you to get to know the culture of the host country. There are differences in each country’s landscapes, climates and historical places, things that contribute to the world history.

6) A stay abroad can change your entire life.

Perhaps you will notice that you like a completely different field of studies and you change your study plan, or you realize that you like this new country much better and you decide to move there later on. Or if you are in your Bachelor you can decide studying your Master abroad, which means for a big advantage for your CV.

By Reza R., Guest Blogger and Volunteer Abroad participant in Buenos Aires, Argentina

I remember vividly the first day that I started my work at the orphanage. I was accompanied by Maria, who is the project coordinator from the school for all the international volunteers and interns working in Buenos Aires. It was a 1.5 hour commute from the center of city. We had to first take the subte (metro), and then a train to the Provincia (outskirts of the city). It was a much anticipated visit. After all, I had been in Buenos Aires for over a month now, studied as much Spanish as I possibly could, and now I was able to carry a simple conversation. I was ready to begin!

On the way to the orphanage, I remember I was bombarding Maria with lots of questions about the orphanage…

• How many kids are there? 13 kids
• Boys or girls? 10 boys, and 3 girls
• How old are they? From 2 to 12 years old
• What happened to their parents? Some have passed away, some just didn’t have the capacity to take care of them, some kids were taken away from their parents because of drugs, violence and abuse.
• How long do they live there? As long as they have to until someone adopts them! Sometimes they live until they are eighteen years-old to be on their own, sometimes they get adopted after a couple of years.
• Are they all HIV positive?  No, at this orphanage they are not; the kids with HIV live at another house (I was a bit disappointed to find out at first that I didn’t get to work with them).
• What will I exactly be doing there? I'll meet the director, and she will tell me everything.
• Why is the orphanage so far?? Because rent is cheaper outside of the city!
• And how does the orphanage get the funding it needs to support them? The government helps a bit; sometimes they get donations from regular people; sometimes some companies offer them money, etc.

I didn’t quite understand all her answers, but I listened pretty intently! Apparently, the staff there were also eagerly anticipating my arrival as the personnel including the volunteers were all women, and 90% of the orphans were in fact boys. Boys from the ages of two to ten years old. Hence, they much appreciated a male volunteer who could play with the kids, and perhaps help them calm down a bit. By the way, I am not suggesting that the women couldn’t do that! The women in fact did a fabulous job. However, sometimes boys relate to boys better if you know what I mean.

After a short walk from the train station through the quiet alleys in Beccar neighborhood, we found ourselves in front of the orphanage. It is a very modest looking house with a metal, sliding, garage-style gate at the entrance. I peaked thru the gate to see how it is like inside. I could see the kids sitting around the table and having lunch. This was it! I was a bit nervous, and also excited at the same time.

As we rung the bell, there ran five or six children towards the gate to open the door. Some were looking at us with a curious expression, and others laughing, just happy to see a new visitor. We quickly found out from the on-board manager that the director wasn’t there (not really surprised by now). We were asked to come in, and hang out until she would arrive sometime later. Within a matter of minutes, I found myself being climbed up by a couple of young boys no more than 5 years old, a couple trying to take off my t-shirt, and others pulling on my back-pack to see what’s in it! This wasn’t what I expected!

Read see Raza's other blogs

Discover Argentina study abroad

By Lucie C., a guest blogger

Life in Honduras is very different than in Austin, Texas where I live. l've gotten into a routine, though, so I know (more or less) what to expect each day. Every morning my alarm wakes me up at 6:30 am. Then I take a shower and get dressed in the privacy of my own little bedroom. I am served breakfast around 7:00 by one of the girls who lives in the house. Breakfasts vary greatly. Some mornings is fruit like mango or watermelon, some mornings it is hot oatmeal, some mornings it is a tortilla with beans and cheese, and some mornings it is pancakes ("panqueques" en espanol). They also have cold cereal here, but only cornflakes! Literally, there is a whole isle in the grocery store dedicated to cornflakes, and I haven't seen any other kind of cereal. It makes me laugh. Then I walk to school, which is only about five minutes away from my house. The view is gorgeous. There are giant, colorful flowers everywhere, and the mountains are just behind me.

School starts at 7:30 and lasts until 12:00. Absolutely everything is in Spanish (the teachers don't speak English!) and the classes are very small, so I am learning incredibly fast. The first few days I was in a class of three, and we spent about half of our time having conversations in Spanish and the other half reading books aloud in Spanish and then answering questions about what we read. It was very hard for me because the other students in my class knew a lot more Spanish than I did, though, so I ended up moving to a different class. Then I was the only student in my class (so I had a teacher all to myself!). We spent almost all of our time pouring over textbooks, learning all the verb tenses, grammar, and vocabulary. What you learn really depends on your teacher. Some teachers spend more time using the textbooks, others stories or flash cards, and others focus more on conversation skills. We all switch teachers every two weeks (meaning that I will have a new teacher tomorrow) to ensure that we get a good balance. If there is a particular skill that you want to improve on (writing, reading, speaking, listening, etc.), be sure to mention that, as all of the teachers can personalize the curriculum to best suit your wants and needs.

After school I go home and eat lunch. Lunch is usually chicken, rice, and vegetables. Then I do my homework, which takes about an hour and a half. Meanwhile the girls in my house watch TV. Honduran TV shows are so different than the shows in the U.S.! Everything is ridiculously exaggerated, from the makeup to the music to the acting, but the girls here love it. They don't understand why I don't get as into it as they do, lol.

After I'm done with my homework, I have the whole afternoon to explore the city. Sometimes I hang out with friends from the language school and sometimes I spend time with my Honduran friends. One day I went to the ocean where all the ships are, and I got to go on many of the ships and see men unpacking lots of big fish. Another day I went to a different part of the ocean and ran along the edge of the water, chasing the tide. It's truly gorgeous by the water, and I'm always surprised by how few tourists there are.

Another day I walked all through the center of town, talking to the locals and looking at everything they were selling. I bought juice with my friends from a place that could make any kind of juice you can imagine! I got toronja (grapefruit) mixed with manzana (apple). There was also mango, pineapple, guava, cantaloupe, watermelon, grape, lemon, lime, orange, coconut, carrot, banana, papaya… more, too. I wish I could remember them all! Another day I went to the mall, where I saw a steel drum concert, and another time I played soccer with a bunch of kids from the neighborhood. One day I met a man who chopped down a coconut for me off of his tree and broke it open so that I could drink the juice! There is so much to do in La Ceiba. I only have two weeks before I start volunteering at the orphanage in the afternoons, so I want to do as much as I can while I still have time.

Around 7:00pm I make my way back to the house for dinner. I like to help prepare dinner, because the food is very different than what I eat in the United States, and I am learning how to cook Honduran food. We eat fried plantains every single night. Plantains look like large bananas but taste more like potatoes. Tortillas, rice, beans, eggs, vegetables, and chicken are also common dinner foods in Honduras. After eating, all of the boys crowd around the TV to watch futbol (soccer). They get very into their games, too, shouting and cheering for the teams. While this is going on, I usually go outside with the other girls to study, read a book, or just lounge around and talk. It's a very comfortable atmosphere, and I'm glad that I've made friends with everyone here. Eventually it's time to go to bed, and I do the same thing all over again in the morning!

See all of Lucie's blogs

Learn about AmeriSpan's Honduras Spanish Schools

By Sarina R., guest blogger volunteering in Guatemala

A new routine began this week that I am enjoying immensely. Sure, there are plenty of awesome bars, cafes and coffee shops in Antigua to occupy the out of class hours. But after two weeks of cafe-hopping, I was starting to get the itch for a busier schedule.

Here in Antigua, and across Guatemela, it seems like everyone is a volunteer. There are literally thousands of organizations doing a variety of work in the community — everything from providing expertise at hospitals or homeless shelters, to assisting teachers at schools, or tackling environmental issues such as deforestation. For those interested in basing themselves in Antigua for at least a few weeks, quality volunteer opportunities are extremely easy to come by. Schools can set up your volunteer work as well, but I opted for the friend-of-a-friend route, instead.

While I was in Monterrico, I met a woman liaising with an organization called Nuestros Ahijados — a group based in the states that coordinates several projects (as they are called here) in Guatemala. Since I am interested in working on criminal justice issues back home, I was extremely excited to hook up with this group, as they run a school intended for kids at risk of becoming involved with gangs. I went last week to check out the school, called Centro Scheel, and began volunteer work this Tuesday.

For now, Im assisting the social worker at the school. He runs afternoon programming for the parents of the students, and other various after school classes focusing on life skills for the kids and the community. He also accompanies special need students to their appointments with doctors and specialists.

Im sure that Ill have more on this in the upcoming posts, but I can say off the bat that I am so, so glad that I started volunteering this week. Not only has it been good for the bank account (lets be honest, coffee and beer arent free!), but I can already see the vast improvement in my speaking when I am forced to use Spanish in the afternoon. And, perhaps most importantly, Im gaining exposure to a side of Gautemala tough to find in the center of Antigua. I met a girl today who couldnt attend school this week because she had neither clean clothes, nor the requisite 2 quetzales (25 cents or so), of bus fair. Living so close to families facing issues like this is a reminder of why Im learning this skill in the first place, and what I hope to do with it in the future.

Final word…spend some time volunteering during your stay in Antigua.

Read all of Sarina's blogs from Antigua

Find out more about AmeriSpan's Antigua Spanish school

My name is Mikel and I am a 21 year old girl who has been doing volunteer work for the past year through Amerispan and I am continuing on my second year with them. One of the many programs I have done through them is the one located in Peten Guatemala. It was possibly one of the funnest experiences I have had through Amerispan (its very hard to pick, they were all amazing). You get to work one on one with the animals, alongside a very very very friendly and intelligent staff who know a lot about wildlife and are eager to share as much of the experiece with the volunteers, of working with wild animals, as is safe and possible. 

I have traveled to Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru and I am currently in the jungles of Bolivia working with an indigenous community, and I did all countries through Amerispan. I am even continuing on with them to Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador. The only reason I chose Amerispan (or really the only way my parents would let me do any of this) is because of how safe Amerispan is. All the placements I have gone to I have felt super safe and well taken care of. I always am able to contact them with any questions or concerns and they make sure I feel as comfortable as possible wherever I am. All my sleepìng arrangements have been top notch, the food included in their package is always well supplied and tasty. They make sure you can learn new experiences without feeling scared or alone. It is an amazing experience and something I will never be able to fully explain with words. I have learnt more doing this volunteer work with Amerispan than i believe I ever learnt in the past 21 years. Its a wonderful and beautiful thing to travel and Amerispan makes sure you enjoy it to the fullest and in the safest of ways. 

I would encourage you to make the choice of working through Amerispan, I highly doubt you will be unsatisfied.

Feliz Viaje,

Mikel

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 Set in beautiful St. Lucia, near the eastern coast of South Africa, this volunteer placement lasts for four weeks. St. Lucia is situated within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a beautiful area that was declared as South Africa’s first Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Encompassing almost half a million acres, it is a stunning and ecologically diverse area, where five different eco-systems join, and where you find savannahs, wetlands, swamps, beaches, and a great wealth of wildlife. The area is home to the Zulu tribe; a group of people with a very lively and colorful culture.

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