Spaces and exchanges: gap year

Spaces and exchanges

This notion deals with the idea of giving one thing and receiving another in return    (exchange) and also with the places (or « spaces ») where these exchanges take place. In our modern days there are more and more exchanges taking place, more and more interaction between different populations, business, students, families.

These exchanges can take different forms:  economic – work exchanges -- cultural: exchange of ideas, information -- movement of people: immigration, student exchanges, gap years…   Information exchange has become easier thanks to the internet

More and more people are crossing borders, leaving their countries to seek better lives.

This migration can be for different reasons: economic migration – moving to find work, social migration – moving somewhere for a better quality of life , political migration – moving to escape political persecution or war.

So I'm going to talk about gap year and i will try to explain to you what the gap year really means.

If we start with the advantages we should remember that first you are giving yourself the opportunity to breathe a little before you dive headlong into university life. But it’s not just an extended vacation.  I read yesterday in a article from "the Guardian", it's was talking de benefits of taking a gap year, it says that: A gap year provides students with the opportunity to learn in a completely different way. Instead of simply reading about other cultures and places in books, students in a gap year program learn by experiencing those cultures and places directly.

And secondly, a gap year allows students to immerse themselves in a culture that’s completely different than the one they’re used to.

It will develop new life skills: you will learn about entrepreneurialism and improve your ability to communicate and adapt quickly in the front of every challenges but a gap year can also provide a person with valuable new skills that any employer will be impressed by.

However there are always some inconvenient,

for example every parents want their children finish their studies very quickly instead of taking a gap year, they have put so much money and effort that their kids cannot afford to ruin that.

 . Whether you're missing family, friends or simply home comforts, you may find yourself wondering why you chose a life on the road.

 It can be stressful, booking vaccinations, getting tickets, visas and accommodation

But in my opinion I think that gap year is a very good thing, and people specially in my country can't see its benefits, for example last year one of my cousin takes a gap year and all of my family was like no you can't take a gap year you're too close to the end to stop now, who's going to marry a girl who takes a gap year, yeah it's might sound weird to say but they told her to stay and with all that pressure she stayed.

I hope that mentalities change in a few years, our country is not developed enough that’s the reason why older generations cannot understand our visions, but personally I will do a Voluntary work, in Somalia this summer.

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