advice on extended stay/cultural experience

I met a woman who built a house for Habitat for Humanity's "Global Village" program. It was in China but I think they have many locations. She said it was a fantastic experience. Or what about walking part of the pilgrim trail that goes from France to Spain. Many people who walk it are not walking for religious reasons.

Hi Cynthia- this sounds like a wonderful idea! Three thoughts came immediately to mind. One is to contact the national office of whatever church/religious affiliation is closest to your heart & ask them to contact their counterparts in whatever country/countries you are most interested in, to see if they have local volunteer opportunities. The other is to contact this non-profit a friend of mine just went to work for:
http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/
The last is to use any business contacts your friends/family may have in Europe to see if your son can "job shadow". Last year, I spent a day shadowing healthcare workers in a Dutch hospital & it was the best part of my trip. The healthcare culture is completely different, & I'm not talking about the way it's paid for. Business/work reflects a lot about the indigenous culture in general.

I remember seeing at least one post either here or on TripAdvisor (or maybe one or more on both) about someone voulunteering in England. They were helping with community clean up I think. Could also have been Habitat for Humanity.

Also what about finding an archiological dig he could participate in- especially if he could live with a local family while doing it- get to compare past and current cultures.

Does he have special interest in a particular area? language? country? time in history? famous person?

Maybe he could do some true research- interview holocost surviors, or veterans of WWII, or Prodestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland,or similar.

What about writing to your congressman or senator- ask them if they could arrange a contact with someone in the British Parliment, or other government he is interested with. Start corresponding and then maybe become something like our congressional pages/interns there? He could get real insight into other forms of government.

Maybe you can tell I used to be in education... his options are really wide open.

Our kids all play musical instruments.

One of their "homework" assignments in Europe was to see a variety of musical performances and write a brief review of them. In addition to symphony performances they also reviewed some very talented street performers, an interactive electronic opera (in Bonn), a Gregorian choir practice in an otherwise empty cathedral.

They also enjoyed a musical instrument museum in Venice.

One thing we missed (the season had ended) was an opera in the Verona ampitheater.

what high school requires you study abroad?!? seems like an undue financial burden.

That is some assignment! I highly recommend home exchange as a way to live like a local. But, it only works if you are willing to swap YOUR home too. My kids have experienced living in some very authentic places, such as a tiny white hill town in Southern Spain and a tiny village in South West France. The website I have been very successful with in arranging home exchanges is www.homeforexchange.com If anyone is interested in a free three month trial of this website, I can send you one, if you message me with your e-mail address (note: I have no financial interest in the company, so don't send the webmaster after me!) I just like helping people who are interested in home exchange.

Would a month in Quebec City learning to speak French count as a "cross cultural" experience? Cheaper than Paris.

Cynthia, there are a few British websites for "homestay" in London and other areas. You actually stay with a family (more like renting a room from them) and a lot seem to be geared towards foreigners who come to the UK to study English. I believe similar options exist in the Paris area and perhaps elsewhere in France in connection with language schools. The English ones are lots cheaper than staying in other situations. However, you may also want to check out university dorms in London, there are several schools that rent out their dorm rooms with bath, etc. very reasonably priced (way cheaper than hotels)or start looking for apartment/condo rentals in Britain and France (vrbo.com would be a good start.) In London, check out Kings College dorms and there are others.

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/about/structure/admin/facser/facilities/conbro/accom/
....other European countries have similar longer term rental opportunities, among others, Berlin. I think a great deal depends on your and your son's interests. That could be your starting point; then you could pick a country and the most suitable and interesting environment. If your son is studying a foreign language, that would be a great way to get in some practice.

Thank you to all for many great ideas! I am thinking through them and evaluating what would work. To answer a couple of questions from some of you, we home educate our kids and have studied in various places as we travel. We have also cooperated with organizations providing learning experiences for them. The requirement I am interested in meeting is an early college requirement for the college he is most likely to attend. They require a global awareness class of sorts and it can be met out of the classroom by living in a cross cultural situation for a month or more. Although he is only a high school junior, we can meet this now. It has always been our goal and philosophy to provide as many cross cultural experiences as we can. So all our kids have been to all the states in America and many countries as well. Some countries we visited as a family, studying varies topics and some we sent them to with a college or organization. (One of our older kids studied Humanities in Austria as part of his college education.)

So this requirement looks like one we would enjoy as a family and all learn and experience together. I am sure you would agree that travel is a priority and a priveledge and not a financial burden. ;)We are blessed to be able to provide it as part of our kids' education. A big thanks for the ideas. Keep them coming! I am open to many new things and grateful for the help!

Hola Cynthis! Please go to www.puebloingles.com and www.vaughantown.com They have adult and student sessions. I've shared their sessions for the past 5 years. The experience can be Life changing. also a week of free food and lodging in a 4 * Resort. Thanks for reading this far. From Texas Jon V.