Go to
www.ifmsa.org and check out the exchanges. There are "clinical" and "research" exchanges, but you probably won't be eligible for most of the clinical ones as you just finished 1st year. There are tons of research ones though.
I simply picked some countries and started e-mailing the labs I was interested in. I ended up working in a great lab in germany where the Professor told me not to let my lab work get in the way of having a good time and cultural experience. So, I got to learn alot research-wise while also being able to relax, travel, etc.
Many people from other countries do these exchanges (they are actually supposed to be a 1-for-1 exchange but some places will allow you to come without it). I had people from Taiwan, Spain, Austria, Peru, and Lithuania doing exchanges just in the one German city I was in.
Anyways, check it out. I cant say enough about how great my summer after first year was. That was a few years ago, and I am actually going back to Germany this summer to visit some of the great friends I made while I was there. Good luck.
