- In high school, be a foreign exchange student.
- In college, spend a semester abroad for about the same cost as a semester at your own university. Your college abroad will understand that you are not a native speaker and will have people to help you out, so put your fears aside!
- Become an au pair.
- Find a job.
- Attend a language school, where you pay by the week and can stay for as long as you like. You will live with a host family in the town where the school is. Likely, your language classes would be in the morning and you would have the rest of the time to do homework, travel, shop, attend movies, go out, etc.
- Volunteer. Usually you will have to pay, but it won't be as much as a vacation aboard.
- The James V. Brown Library has several excellent books on opportunities to travel abroad.
If you don't want to leave the U.S....
- Get a summer job in a city where Spanish is the primary language.
- Try Middlebury Language School in Vermont.
- Find someone local who is a native Spanish speaker and meet with them weekly.
Before you go abroad, there are a lot of things to do, but don't forget about being a good visitor in another country. Here is a start:
- Read 1,001 Smart Travel Tips.
- Buy a travel book about the country.
- Research cultural norms and avoid being offensive!
Let me know if you have any ideas to add to this!
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