Useful links:
- Discount travel
- Travel research and info
- Travel networks
- Scholarships and volunteer programs
- Study Abroad Scholarships
- World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)
- Peace Corps
- European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps
- Travel insurance
Goals
Travel as much as possible
By the time Joy graduated college at 22, she had lived, worked, and traveled throughout the US and several countries in Europe. She had won the General Consulate of Germany Book Award for excellence in German speech and literature, and had varied command over 4 other languages including English, her native tongue, Portuguese, Spanish, and English Sign Language.
After college, Joy turned her sights to the East. For the first decade of the millennium, no place fascinated Joy more than China. Joy's first visit to China involved a whirlwind tour of 15+ companies along China's booming east coast during an MBA elective class at Boston College, called International Management Experience in Asia. When she graduated from business school a semester early, she decided to head to China. She went back for an extended visit to China's capital of Beijing for another elective class her final semester. Though she would end up staying in China for only a few months, Joy made it a goal to find a way to return for a longer stay within the next 5 years.
In just under 3 years, Joy was granted a 2-year expat assignment to work on the start-up team for Intel's first chipset factory in China. She went on her first trip to Dalian, China in late 2008 to check out housing options. In 2009, when most companies were experiencing major cutbacks, the expat budget came under scrutiny and Joy had to return to Intel's headquarters in California. However, the people she met and experiences she had supporting the Dalian effort were invaluable. Her love affair with China is far from over.
Her latest goal for this decade is to hit up the two remaining continents, Australia and Antarctica. More actively than ever before, Joy is also exploring how she can become more involved in helping people in the poorest parts of the world.
Key to accomplishing this goal in a nutshell:
- Be open.
- Obtain scholarships through school and/or other organizations to study and/or work abroad.
- Join a volunteer organization that covers your travel and living expenses.
- Join a mulitinational corporation that offers expat and other positions in countries that interest you.
- Utilize discount airline brokers for multi-city specials.