First off, I really didn't want to post it here but I can't find any other thread which is more suitable to ask this.
So, I'm sorry if I posted this at the wrong place

A bit about myself, I'm 19 this year and waiting for my degree to start in late March.
Apart from my studies in IT, I'm really keen in photography since I was 16 and now I'm really eager to 'step up' to the next level.
Therefore, I planned to use this holidays to learn more from the professionals with hands-on practice.
But this is where I get lost at.

1) I can't find any vacancies in photo studios, or rather I don't know where to start (Tried the Job Enlistments sub). I get that jobs like interns/assistants are usually found in-house but I would really like to try to gain experience, even right from the bottom.
I don't mind getting paid little, as long I can cover my basic expenses like food/travel. My main objective is to learn from the people who are better than me.

2) If I can't be an 'assistant/intern' or work with any photo studios (I understand my lack of experience would be a huge problem). What else can I do to improve further consistently?
I want to really have a regular exposure to hands-on photography, not just self-projects, I would like to work with others. Or even a 3-month training program?

Thanks again for your advise!

Teaching would seem really fun and interesting for me if I could teach the basics of photography. But I really don't have any experience in teaching though.

If I really can't find any job opportunities relating to photography. I guess I will spend time on self projects :-\