It's a new year and a new semester. This Top 10 features articles that have a little something for everyone - the students who are continuing on from last semester, and those who've just begun their study abroad experience!

What's new in the world of Study Abroad on The Study Abroad Blog:

Secrets To Saving Money While Studying Abroad – Banking Abroad

February 12, 2012

Some people call me cheap, I like to use the phrase “budget conscious”, but either way, penny pinching happens to be one of my areas of study abroad expertise. Instead of writing a giant post with a ton of one liners about saving money, I’ve decided to create a little series called “50 Ways To Save Money While Studying Abroad”. I’ll cover a different topic area in each post, and by limiting the number of tips per post, I’ll actually be able to give you a real explanation for each one. It made sense to begin the series from the birthplace of money (sort of): trees.

The Study Abroad Student’s Guide To Using The iPhone Abroad

January 27, 2012

I’ve written in the past, both here on the blog and in The Ultimate Study Abroad Guide, about the big role communication plays in the study abroad experience. I’m now realizing it’s more like “the big role the iPhone plays in the study abroad experience”. However, due to Apple’s tight restrictions, using the calling, messaging, and data features on the iPhone when you’re abroad can come with some hefty international roaming charges. I created this guide to help you navigate your options for using those features when you’re no longer in America.

Finding My First Apartment Abroad

January 24, 2012

Way back in November, when I decided I was going to keep studying abroad in Beijing for an indefinite amount of time, I made a list of 3 major things I needed to get done in order to stay/survive here: get accepted into a Chinese Language Program for the Spring semester, find a place to live, and make some sort of income. I ended up adding “get a Bank of China bank account” to the list (different story for a different day), and I’m still working on the income thing, so you could say I’m about 83% of the way to a stable life. For the benefit of anyone studying abroad here in the future, or those looking to be amused, I figured I’d share my experience with #2 on the list – finding my first apartment abroad.

Your Study Abroad Sense – The First Of 2012

January 9, 2012

I recently realized that it’s not easy to give out specific study abroad advice in my usual posts, so I’ve decided that I’m going to attempt to write a sort of weekly/biweekly “study abroad summary” if you will, called “Study Abroad Sense”. It could take the form of “what happened this week in Study Abroad”, it will almost definitely include helpful links and articles, and who knows what else. My goal here is to provide useful study abroad specific help, which means if it happened in the “world of study abroad”, but will in no way shape or form directly affect you, I won’t make you read about it.

Happenings on the Indiana University "From:I To:U" Blog:

My experience with Couch Surfing

February 2, 2012

How awesome would it be to travel around the world without worrying about paying for a place to stay? There are tons of networking sites all over the web that will allow you to do just that. The one that I used for my trip to Korea and have the most experience with is Couch Surfing. Couch Surfing, for those of you who don’t know, is a site that connects travels with members of local communities who offer free accommodation and/or advice. It helps to connect travelers to people who can help answer questions about the place that they are visiting and even has activities to help connect foreigners who are traveling to distant places.

Spangliman

January 27, 2012

“Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak foreign languages.” – Dave Barry Like many students that study abroad, I am living in a foreign country surrounded by unfamiliar words and sounds that are strikingly similar to grunts and mumbles. Prior to arriving in Austria, my German language skills were practically non-existant. I only knew of the important words to get by in a foreign country like 1, 2, 3 (eins, zwei, drei) and cake (kuchen).

GoAbroad.com's GoAbroad Blog:

Boundaries Abroad: How Not to Upset a Headhunter or Die Trying

February 7, 2012

In 2003 I led twelve U.C. Santa Barbara students on a six-week field course to Fiji. As a cultural anthropologist, I was eager to kick off the village stay component. Well-off twenty-something’s would soon be delivered into the belly of a beast: a dark past percolating through a culture’s veins. To put it bluntly, our village hosts were headhunters. Well . . . they used to be. Not in some foggy headman’s memory captured in a fireside story. No, these folks had elders that still recalled the pungent taste of human spleen.

Blog of the Week: Erica From America

January 27, 2012

This week's featured blog comes from spirited and on-the-go traveler, Erica From America. The blog documents the highlights of her time spent travelling, studying and working abroad. When she was younger, Erica never anticipated wanting to travel the world but at the age of 15, she got a taste of Nicaraguan voluntourism that left a lasting impression on her. Countless travel adventures later, Erica is now studying at Richmond Vale Academy, in St Vincent, Caribbean, where she is learning how to teach sustainable farming. The range of interesting posts, diverse photos, and Erica's vivacious personality make this travel blog an inspiration to travelers everywhere.

Study Abroad 101 from the Abroad101.com Blog:

Insider Tips to Earning an Abroad101 Scholarship

February 3, 2012

At Abroad101, we are committed to providing resources and opportunities to as many students as possible, and enable them to have enriching study abroad experiences. Several top-notch program providers such as IEM Study Abroad, Academic Programs International (API), and CEA Global Education have partnered with us and provided incredible scholarship opportunities on our website! All of these scholarships have been (or will be) earned by students who compose thoughtful, and well-written responses to why they think they deserve the scholarship, as well as acquiring significant amount of Facebook “Likes” from people who vote for their entry. As we are currently hosting an incredible $5000 scholarship opportunity for students interested in any CEA Global Education program this coming fall, we reached out to the finalists in our most recent Academic Programs International (API) scholarship offering to find out how they were so successful in their campaigns which each garnered over a thousand “Likes” on their entries!

Joining Sports Clubs or Teams Abroad

January 12, 2012

When I was originally thinking about studying abroad, one of the most difficult parts of that decision was knowing that I would have to either end or put a hold on my gymnastics career (little did I know, a blown out knee would basically make that decision for me). It’s not always easy to take a few weeks, let alone, a few months off from the sport you’ve been practicing for most of your life, and be able to jump back into things without missing a few beats. Many college athletes, especially those on scholarships, feel they can’t take the time away from their sport or their teams to study abroad. But we want to encourage student athletes to realize that they can, in fact, find ways to take advantage of these global opportunities and even benefit from them!

Nate Nault is the Study Abroad Editor for Wandering Educators