[truexskills]

So, I'm thinking about going both abroad and taking an internship this summer and i have some questions:

1. would there be a huge difference in how colleges perceive me if i go to south africa compared to hong kong or somewhere in europe? basicallyw ould they give me more credit for helping in a third world country rather than just poor areas of an established country?

2. this ones a question about going on my own as compared to some sort of legitimate trip/organization? i see all sorts of advertisements for huge commercialized trips like "traveling for teens" or things like that, and we have people organize school-funded trips, but would it be less respectable if a couple freinds and i just made our own agenda, visited a place of our choosing, and helped out there? would it make me seem less legitimate in terms of community service (obviously i would be doing just as much community service, if not more, than those school trips or commercialized trip organizations) or could it be possibly perceived as more independent?

and anything else about internships/going abroad would be reallyy helpful

oh, and also if anyone's ever done the cornell nanobiotechnology center internship and could give me details/past experiences that would be awesome too