A possible Interim year scenario below illustrates how an adult can weave together different program experiences in a variety of areas of interest for mid and post career gap-year experiences:

• Art school

  One-on-one tutorials in any area of interest based in Oxford, England
  
  
• Spanish language school in Guatemala with homestays and volunteer work
  
  
• Intensive filmmaking courses in the US, 4-8 weeks, no experience needed
  
  
• Glassblowing classes in the US
  
  
• Language and cultural immersion programs in over 40 countries and in 25 different languages
  
  
• Journal-writing workshops in the US and writing workshops in the UK
  
  
• School of French language & culture in Paris
  
  
• Spanish language and flamenco classes (dance, guitar, voice, and rhythm) in Spain
  
  
• Intensive photography course in Paris
  
  
• Italian language study combined with courses in drawing, painting, design, fashion, jewelry, art history, or cooking
  
  
• Language study and customized placements in a wide variety of social organizations throughout Argentina
  
  
• Tutor with Sicilian artisans - ceramics, wood and furniture restoration while studying Italian
  
  
  

• Dolphin internship

  Protect nature and its inhabitants by helping international organizations with conservation projects
  
  
• Volunteer at a remote wolf sanctuary in the US
  
  
• Volunteer in a large wildlife animal park with hundreds of native Australian animals
  
  
• Wildlife conservation in and around Cape Town, South Africa
  
  
• Volunteer with a non-profit no-kill animal refuge in Japan
  
  
• Volunteer at a wildlife refuge in Bolivia
  
  
• Volunteer work with many species of native animals in Thailand
  
  
• Year-round volunteer option to work at a wildlife hospital in Greece (RB)
  
  
• Volunteer at a children's therapeutic riding center in Greece (RB)
  
  
• Hands-on work with injured and abandoned animals in South Africa (R)
  
  
• Animal care and maintenance work at a natural colony of Woolly and Capuchin monkeys
  
  
• Ranch work for agricultural service organization in US (RB)
  
  

• Conservation work in Australia with a crew of international volunteers
  
  
• Volunteer work in a national park on the west coast of the US (R)
  
  

• Survival skills course in the US

  Live and work with a Ladakh farm family in northern India
  
  
• 5-week ecology construction workshops in the US
  
  
• Volunteer work on organic farms worldwide (RB)
  
  
• Volunteer at a permaculture farm in Mexico; pick coffee at a collective coffee farm
  
  
• Conservation projects working with game rangers and conservationists in the bush country of southern Africa
  
  
• Ten-week reef conservation expeditions in the Caribbean, Africa, Philippines, Tobago
  
  
• Workshops, apprenticeship and work study at an ecovillage located in the Blue Ridge Mountains
  
  
• Permaculture, organic farm/eco-village/education center in Costa Rica volunteer placements
  
  
• A three-month sustainable living skills internship with a small community of teachers, writers, and artists in the US
  
  
• Volunteer at a sustainable living center, retreat and lodge located in the rainforest of Costa Rica
  
  

• Cultural study in Nepal

  Participate in care and community action projects in Ghana, Mongolia, Nepal, Peru, Romania, Moldova, Thailand & Senegal
  
  
• Live with a Guatemalan family, study Spanish and volunteer in local community development projects
  
  
• Tibetan homestay and volunteer work in refugee communities in the Kathmandu Valley or up in northern India where the Dalai Lama is based
  
  
• Volunteer with organization providing education and health care to tribal and other rural communities in India
  
  
• Live and work alongside Tanzanian villagers assisting with local building projects or with street kids and their families
  
  
• Volunteer/work and learn side-by-side with the local population in Buenos Aires
  
  
• Live and work in Madagascar villages; construction, conservation, sanitation, and sustainable livelihoods
  
  
• Live with international volunteers and teach English to Vietnamese blind children and adults
  
  
• Immerse yourself in the Senegalese culture & language; homestays and volunteer work
  
  
• Volunteer positions with a variety of humanitarian and ecological organizations in Bolivia; homestays
  
  
• Study Arabic and live with a Moroccan family in Fez
  
  
• Live and work in Japan teaching English
  
  
  

• Art school in Mexico

  Study sculpture, jewelry, painting, and drawing at an art school in New Zealand
  
  
• Courses in sculpture, photography, jewelry, textiles, glasswork in southern US
  
  
• Apprentice with a mural artist in Mexico
  
  
• Learn to play the bagpipes, the Irish drum and the Irish banjo in Canada
  
  
• Summer glass-blowing courses with work/study option in the US
  
  
• Classical and realist painting workshops in Italy
  
  
• Arts and crafts classes taught in English at an art school in Mexico
  
  
• Photography and digital imaging workshops
  
  
• Apprentice with artisans and performers in Ghana
  
  
• Jazz-based music classes for guitar, percussion, and keyboard
  
  
• Volunteers work with drama groups and theater companies in Romania
  
  
• Residential creative writing workshops tutored by professional, published writers in the UK
  
  
  

• Acting, production, and publicity internships
  
  
• Internships in the journalistic, photographic or on-air divisions of a Costa Rican media agency
  
  
• Tailor-made internships in South Africa: business consulting, health care, human rights, education, journalism, etc.
  
  
• Business/career internships in London, England, China, Israel and Wellington, New Zealand
  
  
• Construction internship with a builder/mountaineer in Alaska (RB)
  
  
• Furniture restoration apprenticeship
  
  
• Tailor-made internships in Nepal, Tibet, and India
  
  
• 1 to 12-week social services, education, and health internships in Asia, Africa, Latin America, or Russia
  
  
• International internships in journalism, business, medicine, and more
  
  
• Internships all over India in hospitals, newspapers, businesses, etc
  
  
• Voter education internship/volunteer at a western US ranch (RB)
  
  
• Internship at an historical B&B in Alaska
  
  
  

• Teach abroad

  Volunteer at a small, privately funded orphanage in Ghana (RB)
  
  
• Volunteer at a children's home in Chile
  
  
• Volunteer work with children in Calcutta
  
  
• Outdoor education counselor positions at mountain campuses in US (RB)
  
  
• Volunteer work with faith-based social service agency in rural Kentucky (RB)
  
  
• Volunteer at an orphanage in Vietnam
  
  
• Volunteer work with Peruvian street children
  
  
• Live and volunteer at a children's home in India
  
  
• Volunteer work with disadvantaged women and children in India (RB)
  
  
• Teach English to young monks in monasteries in Sikkim
  
  
• Intern at a school in Nepal and live with the director or local family
  
  
• Volunteer work with Kenyan street kids
  

• Build a musical instrument

  Residential school of design, green construction, and renovation of living structures in US
  
  
• Boat-building courses and apprenticeships in the US and abroad
  
  
• 12-week guitar-building program in the UK
  
  
• 4-5 week hunting guide training in the US
  
  
• Blacksmithing training in US
  
  
• Water sports and ski instruction certification in Australia, Egypt, Canada or the UK: SCUBA, Sailing, Windsurfing
  
  
• Cooking courses in Italy, Ireland, England, and the US
  
  
• 1 to 2-month filmmaking, screenwriting, or acting-for-film courses in the US and abroad
  
  
• Two-week bladesmith course in US
  
  
• Intensive short-term Native American wilderness survival courses
  
  
• Wilderness emergency medicine, rescue and survival training for nationwide certification
  
  
• Short 1-2 week woodworking/furniture making workshops in New Zealand
  
  
  

• Interim volunteer in Thailand

  Volunteer work and homestay in exiled Tibetan community in northern India
  
  
• Cultural and volunteer homestay in French speaking Senegal
  
  
• Social service volunteer international work camps
  
  
• Service work in Guatemala; human rights, women's issues, education
  
  
• Building and water infrastructure projects in Jamaica
  
  
• Language, homestay and volunteer options in Bolivia
  
  
• Volunteer with community empowerment projects in Tanzania
  
  
• Volunteer at a small women-owned textile business in Ghana
  
  
• Social activism volunteer opportunities in India; human rights, women's issues, trafficking in human beings, bonded labor
  
  
• Service work involving activities aimed at promoting the Mapuche language and culture in Chile
  
  
• Live and work alongside villagers working on building projects in Tanzanian villages
  
  
• Reconstruct small schools and kindergartens in Ecuador (RB)
  
  
  

• 10-day meditation retreat at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand or France
  
  

• Zen Buddhist Temple Hawaii

  Work/study option at US holistic studies institute (RB)
  
  
• Christian retreat centers and service opportunities around the world
  
  
• One-month residential training in basic Zen teachings
  
  
• Natural herbal healing and shiatsu training
  
  
• Summer staff and volunteer opportunities at Buddhist retreat center in US (RB)
  
  
• Herbal medicine internship (women only)
  
  
• Yoga teacher training and work study program at meditation retreat in the Caribbean
  
  
• Volunteer at a yoga study center/orphanage in Mexico
  
  
• Work/study at a spiritual and holistic education community in Scotland
  
  
• Workshops and personal apprenticeships in Shamanic studies
  
  
• 3-month work/study at a healing arts center on the US west coast