WWOOF

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a membership charity that was set up to help city dwellers learn farming skills by volunteering on organic, biodynamic and communal farms around the world. You work for free, but the farm gives you your meals and board. For anyone who harbours 'Good Life' fantasies - maybe hoping to set up an allotment or discover permaculture - this is the perfect opportunity to try farming without leasing a ranch and a tractor and spending £5,000 on fertiliser!

American Hannah Dunby (20) says 'woofing' for a month on her gap year was the best fun she ever had. She joined a communal farm in Hawaii which grew corn and vegetables to sell in a farm shop to locals.

"It was paradise", she told me. "In Hawaii, stuff just - grows! The only work I had to do was picking corn for a couple of hours a day - I'm pretty small, but it was hardly strenuous. And then? After a delicious homegrown meal in the canteen? I spent my time exploring Hawaii, going to the beach, watching stunning sunsets and making new friends!"

But Ben Davies (25) was not so lucky when he went to a farm in Fife, Scotland. "Because I'm an epileptic", he said, "the owners refused to let me use the bath - health and safety nonsense. Because there was just that one bath, I couldn't wash all month! And not in a 'hearty country way' - just in a smelly way. The work wasn't so hard, but I felt trapped - I didn't have a car, so I couldn't explore my surroundings."

If you think the differences between their experiences was just the difference between Hawaii and Scotland, never fear - once you've become a member of WWOOF, you choose where you apply, and can do your research before you get there.

Inter-rail

Inter-rail is the greatest European travel opportunity ever invented - yet it's still woefully underused in Britain. In 1972, the train companies of Europe collaborated to offer cheap travel with 'interrail' tickets. Now, under-26-year old European citizens can buy one month's unlimited train travel around Europe for £359. The catches? You can't use the ticket to travel in your own country (so you'll have to pay for Eurostar) and some countries charge 'reservation fees'.

"I'm always sick on ferries, I find cars claustrophobic and I hate planes" says inter-railer Lara Bradshaw (21). "But I love trains. You get to watch the countries merge and the scenery change as you travel. You also see local people on trains - like the guy I saw eating a whole lemon, skin and all, in Sorrento, or the Dutch emos I started a chat with."

But doesn't the cycle of new cities and hostels get you down after a few weeks on the road? "No - you sleep on the train!" Laura insists. "Really - you can pay a bit extra for a 'couchette' (bed) on overnight trains, and you're rocked to sleep as you go. It's cheaper than a hostel, and you arrive in a new city refreshed!"

TEACHING ENGLISH

Chinese, Korean and Japanese school pupils, university students and adults are all desperate to improve their English. If you're willing to work for a pittance and sleep in a tiny concrete flat, there are dozens of agencies that can organise a teaching job for you.

"China's not a foreign country - it's a foreign planet", says Sally Heywood(20), who taught English in a small rural Chinese school for a year. "I really tried to learn Mandarin - but it's ludicrously difficult for Westerners. So when you teach those 30 kids 'baa baa black sheep' or 'heads, shoulders knees and toes', seeing their achievement is just magical!"

Sally explained that the children she taught weren't learning English from scratch - they had English vocabulary, but needed to learn grammar and sentence construction. Crossing the language barrier was no challenge with such well- behaved children, she says, and making up lessons was creative and fun.

I ask Sally how she found Communist culture.

"Weird stuff goes on in China, I don't deny it", she says. "There's a lot of 'saving face' - where people lie to make things sound better. But meeting individuals - making amazing bonds with children and local people - was a once in a lifetime experience. I still email my new friends, and I can't wait to go back to visit next year!"