<p>As of now, it doesn't seem that I will be able to study abroad in college, at least not during the semesters. However, I have been considering the option of going abroad this coming summer, the summer before my junior year. I have never had the chance to go abroad, and this is probably my last opportunity until I graduate. How important is the experience of going abroad? Is it something that one should try to do before she graduates? Unfortunately, some of the summer programs conducted by my school that I have been considering are just far too expensive, and not programs that are within my budget. I am not really needing any of the courses that these programs offer, and don't want to spend such an exorbitant amount on tuition for courses that I can easily take during the semester. Therefore, I have been considering other things to do in order to go abroad. </p>
<p>Have any of you had experiences with getting a summer internship abroad, specifically in Hong Kong or some other region of Asia? Hopefully, it would be a paid internship to help cover the expenses of going and living there, but I understand I would likely run into problems if it were paid </p>
<p>If you guys could share your experiences and thoughts related to my concerns, that would be very helpful. Any help or advice is appreciated!</p>
<p>If you literally just want to go abroad, then why not just go backpacking? You seem overly fixated on the idea of making this a formal, structured learning programme, when there’s so much to be learned from simply going from place to place with a backpack and a guide book, especially when you’ve never left the US before. </p>
<p>There’s a very well worn backpacker trail around Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, for instance, though you’ll find backpackers to a lesser extent in other Asian countries too. Once you’ve paid for flights, you can live off peanuts (I paid $5-10 per night for a bed in a hostel in Malaysia, for instance) and see an awful lot of the world for relatively little money. </p>
<p>Similarly, you could go to Europe and use an Eurail pass to get around, though the cost of living is substantially higher. Australia’s east coast is also a very well-worn backpacker trail, though it is really quite expensive.</p>
<p>China is much cheaper than you’d think once you get away from Beijing where food is pricey. Learn the basics of numbers, directions and being polite and you’re good to go. Loved it!</p>
<p>Look at the various hostel websites and you might be surprised, even within Europe at how affordable it can be. </p>
<p>If you want to focus on a few cities, you could use a budget airline within Europe. I used EasyJet to fly from Edinburgh to Paris then on to Rome. Took the train north to Florence (a few hours- gorgeous countryside). Then flew from Florence/Pisa to Berlin. Then back to Scotland. I had no delays or luggage problems. But avoid Ryanair like the plague…</p>
<p>Go where you really want to go to. You can make your own itinary. Travel at your own pace. Give it a serious theme (the major art cities) or something more fun like the famous breweries/distilleries e.g. Guinness in Ireland, Carlsberg in Denmark.</p>