How to not intern and get all the benefits

 Waking up at 5:30 to the roosters crowing, I easily slid off of my bamboo mattress that I would eventually grow to feel comfortable on and headed downstairs for a bucket shower. I had two hours until the first day of classes and I spent them hand-washing my clothes, organizing my lesson plans and doing the one thing that everyone is always doing in China; drinking tea. This was the start of my summer after sophomore year: teaching English in rural China. And let's be honest, as an involved business major at Smith, I had considered a number of other possibilities within the realm of resume building. I looked at interning, working, or studying abroad all as possible opportunities to gain experience and a way to spend my summer. There was one thing I was sure of though; I didn't want to spend my summer filing papers or running for coffee. I wanted life experience, not just work experience or extra knowledge about my major.  So, I looked at volunteering. What I discovered was something very interesting. If all of the above were categorized as experience, and experience was a resume builder, then volunteering was the ultimate ‘best-of-all-worlds.' And it absolutely was. I spent over 6 weeks in China with Learning Enterprises, a non-profit and completely student-run organization that travels to 10 countries every summer and teaches English to under-privileged children. I cannot, for a second, attribute this all to altruism, though. I grew more in those 6 weeks than I ever thought possible. I exercised my Chinese every day, from buying breakfast off a street-vendor, to bargaining in the market or buying subway tickets for 10 people. I learned about Chinese culture, their dinner etiquette, their forwardness in speaking on some topics and complete barricading of others. I traveled on the cheap and lived on the cheap day-in and day-out with some of the coolest, down-to-earth people I've ever met. In the village, I communicated with my Chinese teaching partner every day in beloved "Chinglish" to make our lesson plans, deciding what to teach and how to execute it. It was problem-solving a new situation daily, only with an obstacle course of cultural differences and language barriers in between. Just remember, if you decide to go the route of volunteering, there's still a lot to consider and filter out when applying for spots.

Here's a few tips:

1. Look closely at the organization and it's roots- has it been successful in the past and is it welcomed in the area of volunteer work it claims to be? Let us not aid the American stereotype of ‘policing the world.' *See Ivan Illich's "To Hell with Good Intentions" for a better idea.

2. You shouldn't be paying $5000 (excluding airfare) to save the Pandas for 2 weeks and stay in 4 star hotels for another 2 (unless, of course, this is exactly what you want.. but, dig a little further into your resources or creativity, and I promise you can usually find an affordable option)

3. Lastly and most importantly, does this get you excited? You're a college student and a business major, but you're an individual beyond all of that first. ‘Following your heart' isn't such trite advice in hindsight.

I was everything this summer. I was humbled, challenged, thrilled.. I was a teacher-but I was taught more, and I was an adventurer. Most of all, I was happy with my summer experience. So, when you think of your doing next summer, just remember; the opportunities are endless.