Cannabis use and Iceland's problem with tourists: the latest news in work, study and volunteer abroad.
Work Abroad News
• One in 10 young Poles aged 18 to 24 has already worked outside the country.
• According to the HSBC 2012 Expat Explorer survey, a third of expats in China reported that their household income has increased by 50 per cent or more since relocation.
• Burma is now not only open to tourists—the country is also opening its doors for work abroad opportunities.
• It seems like every week there's a new survey being released ranking the cost of living for expats in cities around the world. This one, conducted by Eurocost International, indicates that Tokyo, Luanda, and Moscow are amongst the most expensive cities for expats.
Study Abroad News
• According to a report released last month by the British Council, more than half of Brits aged 18 to 24 believe that they would have a better job if they had spent time working or studying overseas. Maybe this why there’s been a 27 per cent increase in the number of British students who are finding their first job abroad.
• According to a report from the Institute of International Education (IIE), the number of American students studying abroad is at a record high. However, it’s also been reported that less than 2 per cent of Americans are studying abroad.
• Denmark’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Education is so supportive of study abroad programs that he has proposed that Danish students be awarded $17,000 to aid in overseas tuition.
• As the situation in Israel escalates, American universities are starting to evacuate students studying abroad as a precaution.
• Watch: Hillary Clinton Promotes the Study Abroad Experience
• Watch: In China, private companies are offering study abroad preparation courses.
Required Reading
• Developing countries aren’t the only places negatively affected by tourism booms—four years after Iceland’s banking collapse, the country is over-run.
• In the last two weeks, new sources have eagerly latched onto the results of survey that concluded that “gap year takes were more likely to have used cannabis by age 16.” However, defenders of the almighty gap year point out that a year off doesn’t have to mean a year spent smoking pot. (Meanwhile, in China, gap years are just taking off as the latest Western import.)
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