How To Organize A Gap Year

I got a wonderful message from a student from my old school asking for ideas about taking a gap year. This was such a good question that I thought it would be worth turning into a blog post. I've been starved for excitement lately (aside from eating patatas bravas and hot chocolate for lunch today).

Marielle's How To Organize A Gap Year:

1) Make a list. The first thing I did was start thinking of ideas. I divided them into a couple (or five) categories (spiritual, personal, academic, work, amusement) and then just went crazy. For example, I had ideas ranging from backpacking through south america, taking a class at CERN (home of the famous black hole creator, as it is commonly known to people who overreact to 1 in 50 million chances), volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, working at a ski chalet in the Alps and studying Italian and cooking in Italy.

I didn't end up doing any of those, but by process of elimination I was able to figure out what I could/couldn't do.

2) Get ideas. Talk to people about your plans, even if they are half-baked and extravagant (the ideas, not the people). I made so many friends and got help from people who had taken gap years or knew people who had done interesting things (a notable encounter was a lady from my church whose own daughter didn't know she'd taken a year off). My favorite story is as follows... (cue cheesy italics)

It is winter... There is a caroling party with a bunch of students who are a couple years younger than me. I don't really like singing in the freezing cold, especially christmas songs (save my favorite, We Three Kings). So I hid inside, chatting with likeminded adults. I met the mother of a friend of mine, who was from Minneapolis, but of Indian origin. She was a fascinating person, and we got to talking about that topic which was the bane of my existence for so long... College. When I explained that I was taking a year off, she wanted to know what I was doing... Which was very little so far. But then I got the offer of a lifetime.


The lady's mother ran a charity school for impoverished children in northern India, and they were always looking for volunteer teachers. Would I be interested?


Which is how, after many discussions, negotiations and harrowing descriptions of the rabid monkeys, food poisoning and over air conditioned trains, I agreed to go and volunteer for two months in the spring of 2012.

Check it out here... KHEL Charities

Even if people don't give you jobs, the ideas they present are inspiring. I've met people who traveled through South America attending soccer games, got their bartender license and then made bank in Amsterdam (picking up three languages in the process), and spent several months working for a geological team collecting samples around europe. To name three examples out of hundreds.

My follow blogger is currently working for an NGO (Non-Govermental Agency) in Senegal. She was working for the Sexual Violence Center in Minneapolis, and you can read an article by her here. (Jacqui fighting the good fight). We are going to India together, so I do not have to face rabid primates by myself.

However, it is worth mentioning that I've met people who have gotten addicted to drugs, become alcoholics, gotten really scary diseases, and/or completely wasted their time doing nothing of value, purpose or personal benefit. Your sabbatical time is YOUR time, out of YOUR life, and you are best served by planning well the overall framework. The little details (spontaneous trips to Spain, partying with some of the coolest people ever, becoming besties with your host siblings) work themselves out, with a positive mental attitude and a little luck.

3) ACTION.

Some websites, ideas and places to start.

Off Track Planet: I like this website for its rather sassy attitude and generally excellent ideas.

IRFFLE Program: This is the program I did in Nantes, which was really fun. I had quality teachers, met some of my best friends, and had a blast. While bureaucracy is Awful in France, it is a generally safe, welcoming city which has a lot to offer a student.

Home Stay: I had tons of friends who found their own apartments, but I'd decided early on that I wanted to stay with families. While I had help from grandparents in France, in Spain I used this website to find the NICEST family. While I promote all caution, the internet is a great place to bypass hella expensive family placement agencies.

Study Abroad Schools: This is how I found my school in Barcelona. So far it is quality stuff.

Wandering Earl: I love this guy's blog, for the writing, anecdotes and worldview.

Couchsurfing!: This website is AWESOME. I've met a couple couchsurfers with some great stories, and it's worth investigating to see whether you'd like it.

4) Things to Think About

-Do you want to/need to work?
-What skills do you want to develop?
-What skills do you have (languages, work experience, etc)?
-Do you know people globally (or locally!) who can help you?
-Deferring from a university should be something you do as soon as you have secured a place (if you are going the deferral route). Also, it is bad form to say yes, and then use the year to fill out other applications. Get your ducks in a row, before they lay rotten eggs (pretty sure this isn't a proverb... but whatever).

5) Be voraciously creative, the type that school often beats out of people. You don't have planned tests, assigned topics and typically don't have to ask to use the bathroom in real life. Libraries became my best friends in France, and I make sure to read newspapers, books and so forth in whatever languages I am learning. You can party anywhere, but this may be the only time when you are in a room with people from (almost) all continents. Talk to strangers (within reason guys...), make friends who are different from you, and be a representative from your country.

Also some fun books I've read are "Eat Pray Love" (the mid life crisis book for women) and "The Five Hour Work Week" (the mid life crisis book for type A workaholics who are way too good at everything they do).

6) Some ideas from people I've met.

-Bike around the United States.
-Go on tour with a band.
-Work on building and flying planes (the big kind), and taking engineering courses at a community college.
-Working as a barista, taking art lessons and doing small scale public artworks.
-Hitchhike from Paris to South Africa.
-Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.
-Work for a sailing school for half the year, then sail from the south coast of England around the Iberian Peninsula to the Mediterranean Ocean with their father.
-Work on ranches around Australia, and then go skiing in New Zealand.
-Rotary International: If you are just finishing high school and got your plans in line earlier, this is an excellent option for experiencing high school in another country.

7) Good luck and keep me posted!!