Originally posted by
[email protected] 15 2006, 05:29 AM
Rule of thumb: Fuck programs etc.
When you go to that country, they will control every waking moment of your life. They choose where you go, what you do, your curfiew, who you talk with etc. If you refuse, well then your ass is sent packing home.
If you want to do something like this do it independently (family ties come in handy), like I did. I had made plans to go to Italy for this upcoming semester (September-Janurary) and the school accepted me to go etc however when a family member over there was diagnosed with cancer, plans had to be changed unfortunately.
Stereotypes, tisk tisk.
I've had a great deal of experience volunteering all over the world. I would definitely recommend Volunteers for Peace (www.vfp.org). I'm actually going to be doing a volunteer project for them this August in the Ukraine at a camp for disabled children.
They have schedule, and the strictness is based on the group you're working through, but it's not anything like Scrib said (At least not for me). Usually most of the organizations give you plenty of time to go site seeing. Obviously, this depends on how much you want to site see. I make it a rule only to apply to camps that are in rural areas. I can see the cities anytime I want, I'm there to see the rural areas and help the rural people as much as I can. Plus, rural life really gives you a better taste of what it is like to live in the specific country.
As for study abroad, almost every university that I can think of has a program somewhere. Just call them up and they'll point you in the right direction. Most universities are interconnected to every other university, so you can pick pretty much any country to go to (I've heard that includes Cuba, if you're going for humanitarian work you won't get fined or anything, but I'm not sure of the hoops you must jump through).
Happy Traveling!