28. Traveling Abroad

The woman shall begin travelling, studying, or working abroad as soon as possible;  if she is no longer of college age, she shall research chaperone opportunities to travel with and mentor college-age women.

I was a freshman at Clemson University...majoring in Spanish language & International trade, and I had the good fortune to learn about the numerous programs that were set up through the Clemson University Study Abroad office (if your college/university doesn't have one, I bet they have a partnership with another school in your state that does). 

For the summer after my freshman year, I went to Spain;  after my sophomore year, to Uganda, and after the junior year, to Mexico. 

If you're interested in working or studying abroad soon, it'd be great to plan out how that can happen. 

Here are a few ideas that could be helpful:

1. Look in not-so-obvious places.  For the summer stint in Uganda, I participated in a research fellowship that was sponsored and funded by CUNY (City University of New York).  As it turns out, a professor at Clemson U.  helped to organize the program, and he submitted my application.  He was a professor in engineering (very far away from my language department!), but another professor who knew about my travel addiction put us in touch.....and Voila!
2. Research scholarships.  There is sooooooo much funding available for studying abroad, particularly in concentrations like language and architecture, etc. whose subject matter deals with material that is located in different parts of the world.  Perhaps you could write it off as professional development. 
3. Keep an eye out for conferences. 
 Attending a conference abroad might not substantiate the cost in your supervisor's eyes, but what if you were invited to participate in a conference in say, Brazil!?!?!!??!   Research conferences, submit presentation ideas, and see what happens.  Many organizations that coordinate conferences offer to support a portion (if not all!) of participants' travel and accommodation fees. Start looking!

24. Traveling with a Gentleman Friend

The woman shall determine, prior to departure for a trip with a kind gentleman, what her relationship is with him, and her financial commitment to the trip shall reflect that level of interaction.

This one you must look at on a case by case basis, friends. 

If you know you and a guy you're traveling with are absolutely friends, be sure to split everything - cabs, bar tabs, hotel (if you're sharing a room), etc. - down the middle.  That way, you can feel confident that you're not setting up any false expectations.  Not that your guy friend (if he is indeed a genuine friend) would expect anything by covering more than you, but splitting all bills will give you the assurance that at the very least, he shouldn't.

If you and the guy are more than friends, work out with said more-than-friend what the fee structure will be before you make reservations for that Tier 2 hotel.  A guy once suggested a trip to me.  He said "I wanna take you to {insert desirable resort town}" and he asked me to make reservations...using my credit card. 

When I got the guts to ask him how we'd be handling the hotel bill (perhaps two weeks before the trip), he was more wishy-washy than Tide Ultraclean.  Needless to say, I canceled the reservations- and my further investment in a relationship with him.