42 DAYS: How To Travel More When You're A Student

About a week ago, I came across a blog written by an adept traveler: 'How to Travel Young and Middle-Class' and since then I've been wanting to write something similar since I can't really relate to the middle-class part. First of all, I'm a student with no income (well maybe small income from part-time job and what not); I live on a strict budget; and I sometimes have impulsive shopping behavior so I don't really save up for long term. Simply put, I'm a broke student with a simple obsession - that is traveling. So how in the hell can I travel?

Well one thing that I'm good at is researching - not the scientific kind; this kind of research, you just need Google and social media. Also bear in mind that my kind of travelling is not just for 'having fun' or 'being a tourist'. I travel for a purpose - educational, professional or philanthropic, whatever that reason is, I'm eager to learn and experience more from the places that I visit.

Study Abroad

I guess this would be an excellent choice for anyone who wants to study and being abroad (duh!). The length can vary from 3 months to a complete 4-year program. I saw a lot of my friends have done this and I bet every university have a study abroad program. If you don't know, Google it.

Work Abroad

My favorite! You get money and you're abroad! I've done this twice through AIESEC and it's amazing. You can work for a company of your choice (if they are in the database and if you're accepted). There's a lot of similar program like IASTE and other organization. You could also find a company by yourself via Google (seriously, I Google everything - you'll hear this more from me).

Volunteer Abroad

I only have 10 days during Spring Break and I want to travel, so I choose to volunteer abroad. Global Brigades offers a short term volunteer trip to Panama, Honduras and Ghana - and I think they're expanding. There are also tons of other fellowship program to Central and South America. Do your research.

Sponsored Conference Abroad

THIS MEANS FREE! So yes, it's one of the best way to travel and learn at the same time. There are tons of conferences abroad that will sponsor students - because we are the future generations (YEAAA!). But these kinds are usually hard to get because they have a pretty tough application process and usually thousands of students (I'm not exaggerating) applied. This kind of thing, you sometimes can't really Google it but that's why there's Twitter and Facebook. For example, there's a Global Changemaker Conference hosted by British Council in London - all expenses are paid, you just need to get on the plane, I heard about this via Twitter.

Scholarship/Fellowship/Research Grants

I honestly don't know much about this, but there are tons of scholarships/fellowships/research grants that fund your travel abroad. Here's a list that I just Googled.

Notice that all the points above require your brain to absorb something educational while you're travelling? That's the best part. Honestly, I don't wanna be one of those mindless tourists in a tour bus who follow the tour guide around like a flock of ducklings following the mother duck - I've done this when I was a kid, it's not as pleasant as travelling on your own.

Now, when you're there, at the destination of your choice, remember that we're broke. So find cheap (or better, FREE!) things. Couchsurfing is a good place to find a host for up to a week trip. Look for cheap hostels. Meet locals. Do what the locals do, that way you'll understand the actual culture better, not just the icing on the (cup)cake.

Before ending this, I have to say that I have no credibility to tell you to travel more - I, myself, haven't traveled much compared to some other individuals at my age that have traveled extensively. But I'm telling you, there are so much wonders out there in this world that we, young people, can learn from while we're still young and free - financially or mentally, whatever your interpretation of 'free' is.

See this epic journey of a 74-year-old man and his wife travelling the world (with a car!) for 23 years and counting.

PS: See the world, my friends, nothing is stopping you.

Cheers!