studentsineurope

Working on an organic farm is just one great way to stay in Europe after your study abroad program.

This may seem surprising to those who have yet to spend a few months overseas, but a lot of people aren’t ready to come home after their semester or year studying abroad. Imagine! The problem is, just about everyone runs out of money by the time school’s out. Some are lucky enough to phone home and get their travel funds from folks back in the States. Those without rich and generous dads or uncles may feel that, as much as they would like to stick around Europe and do some traveling, they have no choice but to pack their bags and head back to reality.

But wait: this is not your only choice…. Finished up your spring semester in Spain, and still want to spend your summer bumming around the rest of Europe? If you’re just about out of cash, and don’t mind working a little bit to extend your stay, you should check out wwoof.org.

WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It is an international effort to promote organic farming and global travel. As its website explains, “WWOOF…started in the UK in 1971 and has since become an international movement that is helping people share more sustainable methods of living…In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles.”

The program is broken down into a number of regions. Some kind of fee is usually required to view WWOOF openings in the country of your choice. Don’t worry– the site is not a scam. I haven’t done WWOOF personally, but from what I’ve heard, people thoroughly enjoy the experience. They work about 20 hours a week for their room and board, allowing plenty of time for side work and weekend excursions. Travel blogs all across the Internet are filled with WWOOF stories, most of which are positive, so it should be worth the fifteen bucks or so to join a network if you want to stay abroad for a month or two.

If your plans are more short-term, you want to completely bypass paying anything for board, and/or you’re fairly comfortable around total strangers, you should check out the Couch Surfing Project at www.couchsurfing.com. As of this article’s writing–9:00 P.M. West Coast Time on a Sunday–if you wanted to hop around France, you would have 45,704 couches to choose to sleep on. There are even 42 couches for you to crash at in Afghanistan at the moment.

The site offers safety features like verification, references, and vouching. Ultimately, common sense should always be your guiding principle, and Couch Surfing Project encourages hosts and “surfers” to be aware of their surroundings, and, “If you don’t feel comfortable with something, don’t do it!”

Couch Surfing Project and WWOOF are just two of several services that can keep you bumming around Europe for longer than you’d expect with virtually no cash. A few work programs are offered on WWOOF’s homepage, including voluntourism.org, which focuses on volunteer ecotourism, and the7interchange.com, which offers free or low cost volunteering.

One more quick tip–if you’re on a student visa, make sure you check to see how you extend the time in country after your studies are complete, or you may need to change your status to tourist. This article serves as a starting point for finding mega-low budget travel options, not a comprehensive guide, so I encourage you to start with these sites and see what you can find from there. Good luck and safe travels!