While hostel-hopping and sightseeing can be fun, you may want to consider going beyond tourism. As a tourist you are always a foreigner, but connecting with a foreign place through studying, volunteering, or working can reduce that stranger-in-a-strange-land feeling. Ideally, travelers can even have a positive impact on the natural and cultural environments they visit, making an experience abroad both more authentic and more rewarding.
There are several options for those seeking Beyond Tourism activities. Opportunities for volunteerism abound, both with local and international organizations. A volunteer in Spain and Portugal, you can participate in projects ranging from fighting AIDS to ending bullfighting through street theater, either on a short-term basis or as the main component of your trip. Later in this chapter, we recommend organizations that can help you find the opportunities that best suit your interests, whether you’re looking to pitch in for a day or a year. Try the Plataforma del Voluntariado de España (www.plataformavoluntariado.org) for some exciting possibilities.
Studying at a college or in a language program is another fulfilling option. You can enroll directly in most Spanish and Portuguese universities or study with American programs that guide you through your foreign travel. Any of these programs can be excellent tools for earnest cultural interaction, as they often organize activities that place you right in the heart of a community. Take an art history class at the Prado, do a homestay with a Portuguese family—you’ll learn faster than you ever would at home.
Many travelers also structure their trips by the work that they can do along the way—either odd jobs as they go, or full-time stints in cities where they plan to stay for some time. Those staying in a city, particularly one with a university, will find positions teaching English readily available in most of Spain and Portugal. In order to work in either country, you must meet the legal requirements for either short- or long-term work—check with your local consulate for specific visa requirements.
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