Ok, I did some calculations involving what we have already payed and collected, and if my calculations are correct, I think we have saved up about $3,400 so far (including the scholarship that I won towards AFS) out of $9000, and my parents haven't put it their large sum yet, so I think we are doing pretty well. I am hoping to raise at least $1,500 through my job and fundraising, and about $1,000 from getting family members and people in the community to donate to my blog. Hmm, and I may be overestimating, but that leaves about $3,000 and plane tickets to Miami left, and that sum isn't as hard to swallow.
All that (the tuition) has to be in by May, and over the summer, I plan to keep teaching lessons and working at a job to raise my spending money and the rest that we will need.
Sounds like a plan!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
17
I was my 17th birthday last Friday, and I realized something. For my birthday, I didn't want a car, a laptop, a cello, a big party, or something common like that; I want to save up money to go on a foreign exchange program. Of coarse, I realize that because of this I may be giving these things away, but that's okay. Going to Brazil would mean a lot more to me than having a car for college -I can always get around that- and I don't particularly like cars.
For my birthday, I am asking for donations to my foreign exchange. You can donate to me with a PayPal account with the chipin widget on the right. Please consider donating -even the smallest donations are a big help.
-----when I come back, I may bring you back a souvenir from Brazil!
For my birthday, I am asking for donations to my foreign exchange. You can donate to me with a PayPal account with the chipin widget on the right. Please consider donating -even the smallest donations are a big help.
-----when I come back, I may bring you back a souvenir from Brazil!
Monday, January 18, 2010
It's on!
Ok so I changed my mind again. I just can't ignore the fact that I am fascinated with Brasil (I am used to spelling it the Portuguese way), its language, culture, government, and geography (the Amazon rain forest! I want to go there someday) and I would personally regret not putting it first on the application. Brasil is just so ----out there. Probably the thing that stuck out to me most about Brasil is that I love the language and its challenge, and think that learning Portuguese would be like learning two languages in one -Portuguese and Spanish. I want to study Spanish too so I could come back the second semester and help out in one of Mr. Riggs's Spanish classes and possibly take the AP Spanish exam. Costa Rica is a very nice, green country, but to me, it feels like more of a place that I might like to visit for a vacation someday, not to go to on a foreign exchange. I want to go to a place where I can learn about the other big influential places in the world and see how they might need help in the future. Costa Rica is already headed down the road of being completely energy-independent and possibly fossil fuel-independent. Plus there is muito soccer in Brasil.
Today--- are you ready for this?---- I sent in the FUull Application (!!!!!!!!!!!!) for #1 Brasil, #2 Argentina, and #3 Costa Rica.
I submitted it in time to claim my $600 scholarship and successfully paid the $900 deposit, which means I have about $7,500 left to pay by the end of May. Ooh dear, and here comes the hard part- breaking it to all of my friends! I have told a few, but I still need to get the word out to everyone because I wanted to make sure we would submit the full application.
Soon AFS will notify me of the application's acceptance, and it will be sent to a certain country for host families to reveiw (hopefully Brasil), and then a family will be chosen and I will know where I am acutally going, which might be a while. But in the meantime, I need to start fundraising! Oh I almost forgot, I don't think I told you this idea yet:
Today--- are you ready for this?---- I sent in the FUull Application (!!!!!!!!!!!!) for #1 Brasil, #2 Argentina, and #3 Costa Rica.
I submitted it in time to claim my $600 scholarship and successfully paid the $900 deposit, which means I have about $7,500 left to pay by the end of May. Ooh dear, and here comes the hard part- breaking it to all of my friends! I have told a few, but I still need to get the word out to everyone because I wanted to make sure we would submit the full application.
Soon AFS will notify me of the application's acceptance, and it will be sent to a certain country for host families to reveiw (hopefully Brasil), and then a family will be chosen and I will know where I am acutally going, which might be a while. But in the meantime, I need to start fundraising! Oh I almost forgot, I don't think I told you this idea yet:
- I want to conduct an electronics recycling fundraiser within my community and the college, and
- In my high school, if I can raise a certain amount of money within my school ($500-1,000 or about 100 tickets), I will wear a duct tape prom dress to the Prom!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
A Christmas Present
Ola everyone!
So the word is out- I am fundraising to study abroad in South America for a semester next school year.
I know it sounds crazy, but I have my heart set on studying abroad next fall. I long for a chance to face a challenge, to see the world from a different perspective, to meet people, to see what life is like outside of the US, to share cultures, and to bring back experiences and friendships that I will keep forever. And this is a chance that I may never have again in my life. Right now I have the chance to travel to a foreign country, be enrolled in a high school, and live with a host family through a structured and manageable program called AFS.
I can explain the benefits of AFS later, but as of two days ago, I have been selected for a $600 scholarship towards my AFS tuition, and am applying for more, but in order to claim this money I need to submit the full application and $900 deposit by January 18. I realized this before I applied for the scholarship, but I entered it early anyway in order to get the most money. I have about $200 in the bank for this so far, have entered some things in an art contest, and am sending this out for relatives to donate at Christmas, but my parents are still skeptical. They could pay the rest, but the want me to come up with more of it first.
This is where you can help-
Thanks for the support-
Joelle
To sponsor my AFS program now, please click the ChipIn button.
So the word is out- I am fundraising to study abroad in South America for a semester next school year.
I know it sounds crazy, but I have my heart set on studying abroad next fall. I long for a chance to face a challenge, to see the world from a different perspective, to meet people, to see what life is like outside of the US, to share cultures, and to bring back experiences and friendships that I will keep forever. And this is a chance that I may never have again in my life. Right now I have the chance to travel to a foreign country, be enrolled in a high school, and live with a host family through a structured and manageable program called AFS.
I can explain the benefits of AFS later, but as of two days ago, I have been selected for a $600 scholarship towards my AFS tuition, and am applying for more, but in order to claim this money I need to submit the full application and $900 deposit by January 18. I realized this before I applied for the scholarship, but I entered it early anyway in order to get the most money. I have about $200 in the bank for this so far, have entered some things in an art contest, and am sending this out for relatives to donate at Christmas, but my parents are still skeptical. They could pay the rest, but the want me to come up with more of it first.
This is where you can help-
- If you have a PayPal account, you can donate directly to my AFS account with the Chipin! widget
- Subscribe and spread the word about my blog
Thanks for the support-
Joelle
To sponsor my AFS program now, please click the ChipIn button.
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