People often see traveling to other countries and serving as a waste of time. You know, you have to fund raise a lot, or use hard-earned money that could be easily used on other, much more useful venues. Some suggestions: pay off your loans, rent, and higher education; take a scuba class, save up for who knows what - the list goes on. The point is, why would you waste $2600 on a plane ticket to Africa or pay money to serve in another country for two-four weeks?
It's not only money that you are wasting, you spend months preparing! You gather supplies, you collect a team, you reach out to your friends, family members and acquaintances for donations, you familiarize yourself with the culture and prepare for what you will be doing there (ie: teaching, building, training). When you are finished, you leave! You serve, you report what you did, people stop asking about it and then it's over - never to be talked about again.
Right? What's the point?
