Learn about cultural diversity, meet interesting people, taste culinary delights, see the remains of past peoples, make new friendships, gain work experience, have fun ... List of reasons to go abroad just not ends.
There is a lack of money, but you want to travel? Kill two birds at once and get involved in the program, which provides non-formal education? There are many such programs; you only have to join them. One of the largest programs in The European Union is Youth in Action. It's like a "cash injection" for projects that promote non-formal learning and mobility of young people. Check it out and join. Or you can have fun, travel and do something good for your karma - become a volunteer. The right address for volunteering is European Voluntary Service, Institute Voluntariat, a bunch of other programs and organizations and of course, Hostelling International Slovenia.
AEGEE, AIESEC, DŠMM, IAESTE ... Certainly you’ve noticed that kind of symbols that stand for different international associations, which offer students courses, competitions, summer schools, work experience and host many other activities abroad. Do not ignore their invitations; join a club or association that best represents your interests. The biggest bonus, in addition to fun, informal learning and travel, is to make new friendships. Interesting people with different views of the world will enrich your life. Believe me, you will not regret.
And what is, beside all already listed, the added value of traveling?
Experience has taught me that it is not essential where you travel. Of course, there are as many dream travels as places in the face of the earth, but the most important are experiences gained in a foreign environment. When you leave home for the first time, whole world opens in front of you and that is the time you basically start to get to know how everything works. Mom does not do the laundry for you, Dad does not pay the bills, and you figure out how the bureaucracy works and how much valuable time requires. These are small but important lessons for everyday life.
After each return to the warm embrace of home, whether it is a short course, long travel, study or practice abroad, we realize how much our home really means to us. Even if you make thousands of photos, the images in the mind are those that are saved forever somewhere deep on our memory cards. And those memories, experiences, and lessons learned cannot be taken away by anyone. If you look that way, travel is the best investment for life.