Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Who wants to be an intern this summer? Me! Me! Me!

It's here. I've been waiting for 6 months, literally dreaming every night about this and it's finally here, the STA World Traveler internship! I first found out about the internship when it started in 2007 but I couldn't apply since I was graduating. The same rules applied for 2008, but then last year they opened it up to anyone under 26. Imagine my disappointment when I found that fact out a little to late. I was already committed to teaching in Thailand again (and I'm so happy I'm here), meaning my summer, aka. the months of the internship, were already booked. So this year I'm going all out for it.
So who is STA and what is this internship you may ask. STA is a travel company specializing in students and those under 26. They offer cheap airfare, hotels, trips, you name it if it has to do with travel they offer it. I bought my Japan Railpass from them way back when I traveled to Japan with SAS. Now, this internship, it can be described in one word, AMAZING. After a long application process two interns will be chosen. Those interns will get to travel the world for 3 months, blogging, making videos, and taking pictures, all with the hopes to inspire other young people to leave their worries behind, get out and see the world. It's like the job was tailor made for me.

So where will the interns get to go this summer? Well hold onto your horses kids because this itinerary is Amazing.

First stop Peru where they'll get to spend a few days in Cuzco working with and playing with children. (I'm super excited about this. The children are my favorite part of so many places I visit)
Then on they fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina where they will spend a few days exploring the city before they drive on to Rio de Janero, Brazil! With stops along the way at Iguassu Falls and the coastal town of Paratay.
From there they will fly half way around the world to Australia where they will spend two weeks exploring the southeastern coast and Tasmania! (I've always wanted to go there!).
Next it's up to Japan where they'll spend some time exploring Tokyo, get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji and get immersed in the history and culture in Kyoto.
The fifth stop in the journey is my beloved Thailand where they will get to visit Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao (the three islands I haven't visited and desperately want to).
After soaking in the tropical beaches the interns then fly to Turkey where they will spend some time in Istanbul before going south along the coast getting history lessons from places such as Troy, Gallipoli and Ephesus.
From there it's a short flight to Egypt where the interns will get the grand Egyptian tour from Cairo in the North to Aswan in the South.
The last leg of the internship (and possibly one of the more exciting) is a mystery right now. All that is known is that it will be in Europe and they will be given a Eurail Pass. As part of the final stage of the application process the finalists will be asked to create a 14 day itinerary to use for this European adventure. I got so excited about this that I already started researching. I mean, with endless possibilities what would you do in Europe?

So can you see why I'm excited? When they call this the opportunity of a lifetime they're not joking. But oh is it competitive, and the application process has several steps.

Step 1: Make a profile and upload a video showcasing your personality, creativity and why you should be the intern.
Step 2: Judges from STA, mtvU and other sponsors will chose 50 finalists who will then have to complete a more extensive application.
Step 3: The judges will now choose 20 finalists from the original 50, and those finalists will have interviews with the STA team.
Step 4: The finalists are now narrowed down to 10. Those 10 will have to make another video as well as plan an itinerary for the Europe portion of the trip.

So for now my free time will be spent out shooting film or glued to my MAC working on my video. I know I'm pretty cool, hopefully you know I'm pretty cool but I need to show them how cool I am. I've got until March 2. Let the race begin!