Here are some horizon-expanding options for students smitten with wanderlust.
CLASS ACTS
It's not uncommon to hear young scholars swear they've picked up more foreign language skills during a summer abroad than a full year at home. Some marvel that they even start dreaming in the tongue of their host country.
But many programs offer subjects taught in English, targeting students in business, history and other fields. Courses range from global marketing to interior design.
Young Americans who were captivated by televised scenes of this year's Winter Olympics can get intimately acquainted with Turin, Italy, during five-week sessions sponsored by University Studies Abroad Consortium, a group with headquarters at the University of Nevada, Reno. At the University of Turin, students take courses in international business, political science, architecture and Italian. The fee for each session is $3,540, plus airfare.
In Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, USAC offers stints at the Copenhagen Business School, one of the largest business schools in Europe. Spanish and Basque studies, along with international business courses, highlight USAC's program at the University of the Basque Country in the northern seaside city of San Sebastian, Spain, 12 miles from the French border.
IES students in Arles stay in a hotel or with families and go on field trips to Aix-en-Provence, Antibes, Avignon and Marseilles. The program fee is about $5,500, plus airfare.
German language, Jewish studies and European politics and economics highlight the IES session in Berlin. The IES Vienna Center, housed in an 18th century palace, hosts music performance and music history majors. In London and Dublin, students may tackle a business, political or theater internship.
HOME STAYS
For high school travelers open to the challenge of immersing themselves in another culture, the Experiment in International Living offers summer programs centered on homestays of one to three weeks.
Experimenters become a "son" or "daughter" in a local family, sharing the activities of daily life. An American group leader organizes excursions and conducts discussions about the cross-cultural experiences. The typical group numbers eight to 15 students.
The five-week Poland program ($5,300 from New York) begins in Warsaw, with discussions on the country's transition to capitalism, and continues with a two-week homestay in Torun, a lively university city where students take Polish language classes. Other activities include a service project and caring for farm animals. Visits are made to Krakow, the Baltic Sea port Gdansk, the Tatra Mountains and the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Experiment program in central and northern England revolves around making a film about British youth culture, with workshops on film production.
Full-time college students 18 years and older can get to know Britain from the inside out and defray the cost of their European trip through a jobs program sponsored by British Universities North America Club.
For a $290 fee, students receive a Blue Card that allows them to work in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for up to six months. BUNAC offices in London and Edinburgh provide job leads, plus help with housing and setting up a bank account.
In 2005, 80 percent of participants waited until they arrived in Britain to look for work, the vast majority landing a job within seven days and half within three days. Most short-term jobs are in restaurants, pubs, hotels and shops, but office work also is available and pays a bit more (about $400 a week).
HIP TOURS
London-based Contiki Holidays, the world's largest tour operator for young adults, offers a variety of multicountry motor-coach rambles. Blending guided sightseeing with free time, trips range from six to 48 days. Tour members, half of whom sign up solo, hail Europe, New Zealand and Australia as well as North America.
Accommodations on Contiki's line of "budget" tours include a few hotels, but most overnights feature either Contiki Village twin-share cabins at established campgrounds or such Contiki-owned properties as a resort on the Greek island of Mykonos and a chateau in France's Beaujolais wine region. The more expensive "superior" tours use only hotels.
ID CARD
Besides a passport, the most valuable document for young vagabonds is the International Student Identity Card. It's good for discounts on air, train and ferry fares, museum admissions, theater tickets and accommodations in dozens of countries around the world. Stores and restaurants also give cardholders a break.
The ISIC provides basic travel insurance and is available for $25 from STA Travel, the largest student travel agency. STA's student airfares to Europe and elsewhere, specially negotiated with major airlines, undercut regular rates by hundreds of dollars.
MAKING TRACKS
Europe's dense train network offers travelers the most efficient way of getting from point A to point B but also provides an easy way to socialize with locals and meet fellow vagabonds.
For those who plan to cover a lot of ground by rail, multicountry passes may be the way to go. Eurailpass Youth, for travelers 26 and under, provides unlimited second-class train travel in 18 countries. Cost is $395 for 15 consecutive days, $510 for 21 days, $634 for one month, $897 two months and $1,108 three months.
The Eurailpass Youth Flexi ($465) allows any 10 days of travel within a two-month period. The 15-day Flexi is $612.
Youth versions of many single- and two-country train passes also are available. Passes are sold by travel agencies and RailEurope.
IF YOU GO
For information on student travel abroad, contact the following organizations:
British Universities North America Club, (800) 462-8622; www.bunac.org.
Contiki Holidays, (800) 266-8454; www.contiki.com.
Experiment in International Living, (800) 345-2929; www.usexperiment.org.
IES Abroad, (800) 995-2300; www.iesabroad.org.
RailEurope, (888) 438-7245; www.raileurope.com.
STA Travel, (800) 351-3212; www.statravel.com.
University Studies Abroad Consortium, (866) 404-8722; usac.unr.edu.
Randy Mink is a freelance travel writer.
© Copley News Service
