It's been almost a month since our 103 students went abroad, to countries as far apart as France and Australia, Denmark and Argentina. They're busy getting to know the local culture, making friends, being tourists and, hopefully, snapping pictures of the beautiful new world around them.

Back at MU, however, we don't have pretty new things to look at. No Louvre, no Westminster Abbey, no Edinburgh Castle. Nobody's dancing Tango in the street, and the city landscape is sprinkled with multi-colored fast food restaurants as opposed to five-hundred-year-old cathedrals, plazas and cafes. 

So humor us, please: send us the best pictures you have taken or will take of your host country, with a maximum of 5 throughout the semester. Each week we'll choose a photo and post it here, with your name and your explanation for where you took the picture and why you chose it. 

On May 7, we'll draw a name from among those whose pictures we chose for our blog, and the lucky student will get a prize. 

Help us inspire students thinking about studying abroad and take a stab at winning a prize for your photographic skills!

While you're mulling over the possibility of applying to study abroad in the Fall, don't let money hold you back. There are options if money is an issue, one of which is the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which awards up to $8,000 dollars for a student's study abroad expenses. 

Here's what you need to know about this scholarship:

To qualify, you need to already be receiving the Federal Pell Grant or have proof that you will be receiving it the semester you plan to go abroad. No ifs, ands or buts.

These are the kinds of students the scholarship is meant to aid:

– Students with high financial need
– Students studying in non-traditional countries (i.e. not Western Europe, Australia or New Zealand)
       * Of our programs, Chile, Argentina, Japan and Singapore would apply. 
       * Although this is suggested, it is not a requirement. Students do get scholarships even if they aren't      studying somewhere remote and exotic.
– Students with diverse ethnic backgrounds
– Students with disabilities

If you're accepted you will get up to $5,000, with about $4,000 being the average. If you're on our Japan Exchange program you will be eligible for another $3,000 in the form of a Critical Need Language Supplement. 

And there's just one other thing you definitely need to know and not forget. The application deadline is March 1st, which is a month before the MU Journalism Abroad application deadline. 

As the semester progresses, we'll be posting information on other study abroad scholarships, reminders about deadlines and application tips.

A major concern of most students when leaving to live abroad is how to stay in touch with friends and family back home. With the growing popularity of Skype, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter, these days it seems students who study abroad may be more connected than ever before with loved ones back home. Although social networking sites are great ways to stay in touch, some parents and grandparents may not be as hip with the latest communicative technologies (i.e. I know I just spent over an hour helping my dad learn how to use his Gmail account last week). 

Here at MU Journalism Abroad, we read this article by MSNBC's Harriet Baskas where she outlines apps that allow you to send customized digital and even print (yes, some people still use snail-mail) postcards to folks back home from your smartphone. These apps may provide a quick and easy way to let a friend or relative know you're thinking about them by sharing a picture and note from your destination abroad, especially for those you may not be able to connect with as easily via your social networks. 

By Erin Meyer