Fantastic Opportunities and Where to Find Them

I woke up at the very back seat of a bus, parked at a gas station, with only the glowing light of a clock at the front reading 12:50am. It took me a second. My flight was at 6:30am. I had fallen asleep in the 11pm shuttle bus to the airport, exhausted from walking all day around Milan, and the driver didn't see me slouched in the back of the bus when he dropped off the others. So here I was, with nearly not enough money to afford a taxi, at 1 a.m. in the middle of nowhere in Bergamo. True story.“I ain't got the brains to make this up,” to quote the No-Maj in that new Potterverse film. 

I lived in Bonn, Germany for two months working for one of the world's biggest media companies, and ticking off European cities on my bucket list … and I didn't pay for almost any of it. You could do it too. Here's how:

“The world is at our fingertips” is not an exaggeration, I found with astonishment when I stumbled upon a site called IJNet a couple of years ago. Turns out, there are numerous organisations that would pay for your flights, accommodation and give you cultural, personal and professional experiences beyond your dreams. You just have to know where to look, and how to nail them. 

The programme took part in is called the CrossCulture Praktika, a fully-funded cultural exchange fellowship by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen that allows young professionals from around the world a chance to experience life and work in Germany. And it is just one of the many, many opportunities seeking applications right at this moment. You just have to find the one that fits you. 

Traveling to Milan (or Amsterdam, Paris, Prague, Brussels) was not part of the programme, but the opportunity was there, so I made the most of it. Nor did I know I would become a formidable amateur cook in those two months, maintain an apartment and sort garbage in four different bags, but I did all of it. It's the best part of such an opportunity – you find out things about yourself you would have never discovered otherwise. 

I got to spend three days in a workshop with people from Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, and even after I came back, I continue to work with my 'host organisation', the Deutsche Welle Akademie, in media development projects. The level of personal and professional development I brought back with me is far beyond the scope of this article, but you get the idea.

I did not come across this fellowship by chance; I combed through websites like IJNet, StudyInHolland, YouthOp, Sqore, HeySuccess and pages after pages of Google searches until I found one that I was fit for. Try to zoom your searches in to your area of study or work, and go through them thoroughly. There are all kinds of opportunities – for studies, for work, for cultural exchange, even for your passion (there are countless film and photography travel grants).  You will find opportunities that you may not be qualified for now, but in a year you will be. Bookmark them. Apply for everything that you fulfill the criteria for, even if you think it's beyond you. I once applied for a Harvard Fellowship, and though I didn't even get close, just the application process conditioned me for future applications better than any career seminar. 

Searching for and applying for these programmes is an exhilarating process in itself: the excitement, anticipation, anxiety, heartbreak and rejuvenated enthusiasm is a cycle I have gone through too many times before I finally made it, and I am looking for the next opportunity to go through all of it again. Start looking and you'll know exactly what I mean. 

Footnote: I did get to the airport that night on time, but that story is for another day. I'll leave you with a tip, though. Think thrice before you book a 20 Euro round-trip international flight. 

Fahmim Ferdous is an arts journalist struggling with his weight, and swinging between doing 17 things at a time and just lazing around. Email him at fahmim.ferdous@gmail.com if you have an interest in awesome and obscure musical instruments.