“Something that I might try and do is find a few shorter term programs where I can go travel through my school or other means for a shorter but still extended amount of time- maybe 2 weeks to a month or over the summer- that is still educationally enriching so I can put it on my app.”
That is certainly an option. However, don’t count on it giving you a boost to the elite schools. Short term and summer overseas programs are a “rich kid” cliche that doesn’t mean a whole lot to adcoms. They’re the easier, less demanding alternative to year abroad programs and lots of upper-middle class kids do them.