<p>I only know three people who have a job as a senior hs student at my school (live in CA). If I can't find a job and if I don't win the scholarships that are for sudying abroad in Japan over summer, I don't know what I will do. The community colleges where I live no longer have summer classes and all the other school are more than 2 hours away. Maybe I should go to live with my brother in SF and commute every day to take classes at a JC in San francisco. I really want to go abroad over sumer though, are there any affordable programs for language study or scholarships or volunteer abroad in latin america that is really cheap and safe??</p>
<p>What do you mean by “cheap”? 1K? 2K? I know an excellent Spanish Language program in Costa Rica I went to 2 summers ago. It was $2000 for 16 days (cheaper than every other program for the same amount of time), worth every penny. Though maybe that’s more than you want to spend? Do you have a budget?</p>
<p>thats a good price, what program? Are there scholarships too?</p>
<p>It’s called Intercultura. I had an absolutely amazing experience. I don’t know if there are scholarships, you’d have to contact them to ask. If you want more info about what we did there, PM me.</p>
<p>Would it kill you to study by yourself over summer break? I spent a large portion of my summer before Freshman year studying Chinese and Italian. You clearly have an internet connection. There are a billion resources out there for you to take advantage of. You don’t have to be in school to learn.</p>
<p>Not saying you shouldn’t study abroad if you get the chance, of course, but moving just to take classes over summer seems extreme. Just stay where you are and apply yourself. Heck, if you know what classes you’re going to take, you could order the textbooks and get started on reading.</p>
<p>Perhaps not cheap enough for you but worth investigating:
[AFS</a> Intercultural Programs | Connecting Lives, Sharing Cultures](<a href=“http://www.afs.org%5DAFS”>http://www.afs.org)
[Youth</a> for Understanding](<a href=“http://www.yfu.org%5DYouth”>http://www.yfu.org)</p>
<p>If paid summer jobs are thin on the ground where you live, take a look around and see if there are any volunteer opportunities. Happykid’s summer volunteer job led to a paying one the next summer, and to a really well-paying one the year after that.</p>
<p>I second happymom on the value of volunteering at an organization that interests you. If you have any computer skills, you will be welcomed with open arms. If not, you could still be an asset: If you write well, see if the marketing and development depts. need help. Interested in finance and accounting, see if the CFO needs a help. Good at data analysis? See if the programs area needs some help surveying clients or measuring outcomes. Like to work with people/animals/service recipient? Their client services area would probably welcome you. Volunteering is boring only if you let yourself get stuck with all the drudgery and none of the interesting work. It’s a matter of initiative and letting people know you have something to offer beyond stuffing envelopes and filing. </p>
<p>And our experience is consistent with happy mom’s in terms of benefits too - the volunteer work done by both my kids led to paying positions, amazing letters of recommendation, scholarships and in one case, a career.</p>