Whether you’re studying in Europe, taking a gap year, or just travelling, there is a destination that seems to be rather unknown to us North Americans. When we think of sun, Mediterranean beaches and islands, and stunning architecture the thoughts usually go to Greece or Italy. But the country of Croatia is gaining in popularity and has all these factors and more! I this past September my sister and I went traveling and decided to [...]

Enter our facebook contest to win a volunteer trip to Peru or Guatemala, offered by Developing World Connections.  The prize is valued at $2000 and includes all in-country expenses, accommodation, food etc. To enter is easy … Tell us why YOU deserve this trip! 3 easy steps to enter this contest: – Make sure you’ve LIKED our facebook page – Write in the Comments box why YOU should win this prize … – Get your [...]

Even though they are officially part of the USA, the Hawaiian islands are really nowhere near the American continent – or any other continent for that matter of fact.   These beautiful islands, located almost 3,000 km from any other landmass, are actually the peaks of an undersea mountain range caused by volcanic activity.  There are 8 major islands, of which the most known are probably the Big Island, Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Molokai. If you only have time for one island – [...]

The Toronto Star published an editorial on January 4th entitled “The downside of overseas volunteering”. It raises great concerns about the transiency and true benefits of international volunteering. I agree with the criticisms whole-heartedly; however, this likely sounds hypocritical given that I lead the International Outreach arm of SOS, which has roots in two-week volunteer trips to build schools. So. How do I sleep at night (or, at least reconcile that hypocrisy)? I use my [...]

Did you make it to the fair?   What a great circuit!  We loved meeting all of you who made it out to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.  We had a great turnout and the universities really enjoyed meeting you. If you missed it .. don’t worry, you’ll have another opportunity this Fall!  The Fall circuit will be coming to the following cities: Vancouver – September 22, 2012 Calgary – September 23, 2012 Ottawa – September [...]

Back in Canada now, I am reflecting on the past 10 day trip to Singapore with mixed feelings of success. I found out a lot from the three ladies I profiled (see former blog posts) but I have yet to fully connect the dots to Canadian students. While I learned about some incredible incentives countries such as Singapore use to encourage international students to study there and about the importance of an education system to encourage students to [...]