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I found out about this really cool program in Spain. 

Basically, Pueblo Ingles is looking for young folks to participate in their Teen program this July.  They want people who are available to spend 8 days in Spain. 

What’s the catch?

Well. You have to speak English and be between the ages of 13 and 18. No problem! I got that covered. The down side of this great offer is that you have to pay for the flight to Madrid. But, after that you get to spend 8 days at camp filled with group activities, skits and games. Where do I sign up?!

I thought why would a program pay for me to spend 8 days in Spain. So, here’s the answer why!

Pueblo Ingles wants to provide a fun environment for Spanish teenagers to practice their English speaking skills. So they created this camp so you can help people in another country all the while experiencing the Spanish culture. As a volunteer, you’re just responsible for being yourself, hanging out with other teens and talking. Which really – should be pretty easy.

So here is the 411 on this program!

US College Search has come a long way since we took the site over a year and a half ago. The design is one of the most notable changes. You can see parts of the old design at archive.org:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070819151829/http://www.uscollegesearch.org/

We have also been adding a lot of usability upgrades to the site in the last few months. The next thing coming to the site is video. You should see curriculum specific video on the site within the next couple of months.

Beyond that we would like to hear some of your feedback. What information do you need to find that perfect college? What would you like us to change on this site? What features would you like to see?

We appreciate your input, and we take your ideas seriously.

Finding that perfect college can be a drag, but with the clever use of technology you can save time and frustration.

1 – Google Domain Restriction Queries:

If you are doing a search and only want to pull up lists of colleges you can actually restrict your search to weed out other types of websites. The way this is done is with Google’s site: operator. For instance, if I want to pull up schools offering MBA Programs I would use the following query:

“site:.edu mba programs”

This query produces these results. This is a pretty clean set of results and can make your search much easier.

You can also use this restrictive parameter to search within a site that you like. Let’s say you want to search only US College Search for “florida business schools”, but you want to use Google’s search technology. The query would be:

“site:uscollegesearch.org florida business schools”

This query would yield these results.

2 – Use an RSS Aggregator to Collect Feeds

Blogs are no longer just an interesting new technology, they are a necessity. Today, most major web sites have blogs on them. They are nice, but to take advantage of this new technology you need an RSS Aggregator. These tools keep you from having to keep going back to blogs to check on updates. When the blog updates, your RSS Aggregator updates as well. Some popular aggregators are:

• Google Reader
• BlogLines
• Netvibes
• Newsgator

How do they work? You just need to set up an account, and then when you are on a blog you will see words like “RSS” or Feed.” You might also see an orange RSS symbol (square with white stripes).

Click on these links and you will be able to add that blogs feed to your feed reader. Once you have some feeds added you can go into your reader and it will show you all the latest headlines from your favorite blogs. This makes consuming blog content much easier. Now, when you find a site that has a blog you like, just add it to your reader. These may be school blogs, or just blogs about education search in general. It’s a huge time saver.

3 – Use Social Sites to Research Lesser Known Schools

Social sites like Yahoo Answers can weed out the polished PR speak many schools feed to the masses. The use of social sites can give you the low down on less known schools that are more difficult to research.

These social sites can also be a great way to fine tune your search by finding out more specific information. Maybe you know about a school, but need more information about a specific program and the quality of the faculty. Some great social sites to help you with your research are:

• Rate My Professor
• Yahoo Answers
• Facebook

A great tip for Yahoo Answers is to use their RSS features. If search for questions about “business colleges,” there will be an option to grab the RSS feed for this query. Then, any new questions about business colleges from other users will be piped into your RSS Feed Reader.

Another great way to use social sites is to find people that went to a school you are looking at. Sites like MySpace and Facebook have tons of information on who went where. Do a few searches on these sites to find people who have been through the program and shoot them a message.

Looking back on my first semester of college, what do you think is the first thing that comes to mind? Parties? Late-night study sessions? Um, yeah. For me, it’s a bright orange parka.

Every morning that first semester, I’d get up before the sun rose to bundle up in that neon orange parka and walk a mile to my job on campus. (No, I’m not completely stupid; the buses just didn’t run that early!)

First, a little background about that parka:

• I used to be an “eclectic” and unique dresser in high school. I didn’t dress freakishly. But I was willing to take a risk, considering the tiny and conservative town I lived in.
• The parka wasn’t really that warm. And it was ORANGE. Not just regular, old, everyday orange. Hunting gear orange. And it didn’t even fit that well!
• Why did I still choose to wear it? At the time, I was very easily influenced. I’d let the opinions of others affect the clothing and style I wore. I think I became a bit more boring as a result. This orange parka wasn’t boring, so it was a bit of the real me hanging on to…well…me. Oh, and I didn’t have another jacket.

Okay, so the point is this: All American kids go through the entire secondary education thing by law. College, though…that’s a matter of choice. You’re choosing to attend, and you’re choosing to do your best to succeed and achieve whatever goal you might have. Along the same lines, I obviously chose to go to college. I chose to wake up at a ridiculous hour every day to work for only an hour and a half. And I chose to wear that stupid orange parka to stand out.

And maybe I’m reaching a bit with this, but I really think those frigid walks led me to understand the extent of my choices more fully. I was finally on my own and in control of all of the consequences of my actions – whether it was some extra spending money or extra hours of sleep.

So what if people are blinded by your jacket? You need to do what’s best for you and what will take you to where you want to be. As for slipping on ice as you walk in the dark…well, that’s why it’s good to have the jacket. Easier visibility!

The healthcare industry is booming! As the baby boomer generation enters retirement, more and more jobs will be required to fulfill their medical needs. As the opportunity for entering a booming sector presents itself, it’s daunting to think of changing professions or going back to school.

However the opportunity for a part-time work is available and with good pay! CareerBuilder.com published an article on Today’s Best Part-Time Jobs. With a little training you could have a part-time job that is flexible with exceptional pay.

Dental Assistants
Dental Assistants keep a dentists office running smoothly. They assist in procedures; take x-rays and care for patients. Many dentist offices are open part-time or carry regular business hours making it easy to accommodate a busy schedule.

Average pay: $14.53/hour

Pharmacy Technicians
Pharmacy Technicians help prepare prescriptions for patients in hospitals, medical facilities or retail pharmacies. Because there are so many places pharmacy tech’s can work, there are a wide variety of schedules available from daytime to graveyard shifts.

Average pay: $12.32/hour with the opportunity for higher pay for different shifts and certifications.

Physical Therapy Assistant
Organization and support is the key to running a successful business. Physical Therapy Assistants provide support for physical therapists during appointments. They also offer patient support during therapy sessions. Some facilities only schedule appointments during normal business hours; several others make appointments available during the evening and weekend hours.

Average pay: $10.61/hour

Home Health Aides
Home Health Aides assist elderly, ill or disabled patients at their homes or in assisted-living facilities. They ensure the patients home or living environment is accommodating their daily needs. Working hours are often based on the patients need. Those working out of a patient’s home may only require a few hours per day.

Average pay: $8.54/hour or higher with experience