<p>I am considering a self-financed, self organized trip to Kazakhstan next summer. I will learn russian and immerse myself in the culture and history of the reigon, and hopefully have a good time and learn a lot of things i wasn't expecting to. </p>
<p>K-stan isn't exactly a "bike-ride in france" essay topic, and i am not doing this by any means to spawn an essay topic. It also stands out as a rather odd place to go out of your way to visit (at least i think so). My concern is that colleges will see self-run travel as less than valuable because of a lack of structure and a lack of a papertrail of assessment. Does anyone have any personal experience with this sort of thing? or know someone who does?</p>
<p>Hmm. I think if you simply explain why you went and its significance to you, it'll look great -- talk about going after what you want and an interest in learning more, right?? It shows motivation and work-ethic; I'm going to raise half of the money for my $24,000 gap year, and I know it isn't easy. A detailed summary of your trip attached to your application couldn't hurt, especially if you aren't going to write about it (a smart decision, I think). They ask you to attach extra info if anything was especially meaningful to you, so why not?? I'd type up something, put in a few super photos and hope for the best. Have a great time!!</p>
<p>it is going to cost me the flight over, the flight back, food/(some)incountry transportation, and spending money. The housing is going to be covered by a friend/aquaintance whom i met kinda randomly through a mutual freind.
I intend to have a hell of a good time, improve my russian, and really get to know another country. I did a semester abroad that actually managed to leave me not much better aquainted with the country than when i came. I think it really shows my interest outside of just grades or resume padding.</p>
<p>on the topic of essays, i am hesitant to plan to write about it because if nothing unexpected happens (if this turns out to be the case i will be very sad), it would be another cliche story about the value of foreign language studies. any ideas on topics that aren't as trite?</p>
<p>I think it's better to pick something specific. I mean, that's what everyone says . . . why write about your trip in general when you could write about a specific foreign phrase with incredible meaning to you or a really fantastic sunset that made you realize something about yourself?? Anything that you honestly find exciting and meaningful will come across so. :)</p>