Students can go travel abroad for free, what ! How ?

Students can go travel!  I know that going abroad is one of any students dream. Jump on others country, see, and feel the diffrence from their own country is one of the students goals to achieve. I’ve seen some of my friends made their own bucket list of country that they have to visit before they die. Sounds so ambitious, but it worth to try.

Nevertheless, going abroad or just visiting another places in our own country while we are still being a student is so tough. It is simply because we don’t have any income or money( not work ). Well, some of students have their part time job beside their student’s life. But still, it doesn’t enough. Fortunately, I have opportunities to travel, and going abroad. Really big thanks to my family who always support me to do everything that I like the most !

But don’t worry about it, based on my experience as a student we still have a chance to achieve it. I saw a lot of people going abroad fully funded, then become rise and shine. So, “money” ( fund ) problem isn’t a big problem for you guys! keep your chin up!

So, what is the point of going abroad or visiting another places as students ?

On my opinion, going abroad as a student will improve our vision, our point of view, and learn something from the place that we visit. For a developing country student like me, have some sight seeing in places that I’ve never seen before is a really refreshing activity for my mind. Ad it makes me think how to make my self better and useful for others. But the most important thing is how travel can enlarge your perspective to see something, especially a mutual understanding with other people.

Check on the list below that I have made. If you have all of this, congratulation you have a chance to go abroad full or not fully funded !

1. Yourself
   2. Writing skill
   3. Creativity
   4. Language skill

Let me make an explanation from the list above.

1. Yourself

Of course you need yourself to be the part of it, nothing comes easily. Your way to achieve it will not be smooth enough. There will be a a lot of challenges for yourself. Dare to face it, then it will be closer to you to achieve it. There are a lot lesson that you can get from it, a lesson that never learnt from your teachers on class.

2. Writing skill

I know that not all of students have a really good skill on writing, so do I. I can’t write neither scientific nor serious matters. Sad-fully we have to write, we have to write for our application, our CV, our motivation letter, and etc. Although I am not a really good writer, I am still learning how to get a good writing skill. At least for my application, CV, or motivation letter. Why is it so important for us? Because before you go for that fully funded programs, you have to make an application first.

3. Creativity

Make yourself different from other students, follow your passion, unleash your creativity. Fully funded programs will push you to think different, uncommon, and as Indonesian people said ”anti mainstream”. How can you get it? Be yourself, I know that every students have their on creativity. Do something before you sent your application, make your personal branding, show your project and your portofolio. How can be someone choose you to be part of their program if you can’t show who you are.

4. Language skill

Going abroad means that we have to be able to communicate with a lot of people around the world. So, we have to be able to deliver it perfectly. The more language skill you have, the more you able to communicate with others. Some people said that we still can use ”Tarzan language” when we are living abroad, but that’s a really big mistake. Why? Because what is the point of living abroad without make a friends or colleague, how can we enlarge our knowledge without communication with locals? Don’t worry I am still not really good in it as well. Literally I am so dumb on learning a new language. But whether you agree with me or not, we have to learn English.

So, after you read it. You will ask me, then what?

We have to be really grateful to be a student anyway, we still young and energetic. Based on my experience, books and blogs that I’ve read, and my friends experience as well, I made some tips for you.

Create your own chance !

We have a lot of opportunities as long as we have a title as a student. There are a lot of international activity such as; exchange program, symposium, conference, paper competition, start up competition, innovation competition, everything you named it.

You can find an opportunities either from an international organisations, government programs, or your university programs.

Start from international organisations, some organisations will provide their programs to make a students to exchange and stay abroad. Either it will be a cultural, social, or volunteering it still be a really good opportunity to try. One of the good example is AIESEC for an cultural or social exchange programs. Not only that. You can also search for international organisation from your own major such as, IVSA for a veterinary students, IFSA for forestry students, etc. It will be a symposium, conference, or congress as well.

I will talk about government programs for Indonesian students, there a lot of government programs that will send you abroad to represent your country. If you are Indonesian student, go check out our kemenpora site .There will be a program named PPAN (Pertukaran Pemuda Antar Negara) an international youth exchange. A specific  program are IYEP (Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program), SSEAYP (Ship for Southeast Asia Youth Exchange Program), ICYEP (Indonesia Canada Youth Exchange Program), IKYEP (Indonesia Korea Youth Exchange Program), IMYEP (Indonesia Malaysia Youth Exchange Program) and IChYEP (Indonesia China Youth Exchange Program) . IT IS WORTH TO TRY !

If you have a dream to go to United States, the government of USA  give a chance for us ( Indonesian students) to come to United States as well. If you are a high school student, you can go with AFS or YES program, and if you are a university students you can go with YSEALI program (Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative ). For AFS or YES program you can ask your school about it, or check out the website on AFS Intercultural Programs, and AFS Indonesia. When I was on senior high school this program is so popular among students. For YSEALI program, there will be a lot of program from it. It will be related to environment project, social project, or entrepreneurship program. Some tips from me if you want to apply on one of YSEALI program, you have to get into the theme,  have a project related on the theme, and strongly creative argument.

Last but not least your university program, your university will provide you with some international program. Summer school and Winter school are another big deal, you can search for any university who has that program, you can study abroad, travel, and make some friends as well. It doesn’t stop there! You can go abroad with doing some research on another country, do some study visit to another university, or the most famous one is with paper competition. I have senior on my university that really inspirational on how to get in to paper competition, and luckily he write some good tips on his blog. But sadfully some of his blog was written on bahasa Indonesia, but still I hope you can learn a lot from it.

Dont hesitate to ask for hand from others.

It will be easier to achieve something if we learn something from others experience.  As an unexperienced students for applying some programs, asking for help from others students who already achieved some fully funded is a really good deal. You can ask how to apply it, ask for tips, or either ask if you get some problem in your way to achieve it.

Sometimes many program will not provide you with fully funded, sometimes they only provide an international activity. So this is the point why we have to ask for hand from others. You can ask for hand to solve your  financial problem such as accommodation, transportation , and your daily needs. “Others” in this case is private sector such as company or firm, government, or your university. It is a major problem when we got a program but we have to pay anything by ourself, so don’t hesitate to ask for help.

I am not a public relation person or a well experienced one on it. But here are my tips if you want to ask a hand from private sector. Private sector commonly makes a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). It’s the point where we can ask for a hand on our financial problem, commonly “money” problem. You can apply for some sponsorship proposal. On your sponsorship proposal, you have to be really friend-able with them. Act like you are their business colleague, offer the clear benefits for their company, and tell them about how your program will gonna be look like. You have to persuade them with a program that you will go in, such as telling them that your international activity will be attended by many countries, emphasizing that you will represent your country and will have a little time to endorse their company, and if their company provide some fund for you, you can say that company is really responsible to any youth development and so on.

Unleash your  potential, keep dreaming, and never give up

We grow up, we adapt, and we are changing. Follow your passion, keep practicing, and keep dreaming. To be able to be chosen by a certain program, we must to have a great idea, a strong arguments, and a lot of afford. Do something! It will not be so smooth in the beginning. Sometimes you will be the chosen one, but it’s not fully funded. Don’t stop, ask for others hand. And sometimes nobody wants to give a help. But don’t worry, it is not the end. You can take a lesson from it, and it will be a really important experience for you to take another opportunities.

To be honest, I’ve never chosen by any YSEALI program either got a financial help from company. But still I am trying to get it, take every opportunities that I have. Then I believe there will be a time for us to rise and shine.