Hello.
My name is Mackenzie, and I want to be an exchange student.
Yes, you read that right. I, a 16 year old from Oklahoma, want to study abroad in a totally different country. Where I may not necessarily know the language. Where I may not necessarily be familiar with the culture-- the traditions, the customs. Where I will fully immerse myself in a brand new place, with a whole new family, school, and friends.
So, you're thinking that I'm crazy, right?
Well, maybe! Maybe that's a little weird, am I right? Where I live, people are completely shocked by just the idea of going to another country for vacation or a business trip! So they cannot fathom why I, and the hundreds of other American students actually want to live in a foreign country for a whole year!
But really, it isn't so strange.
Not counting Summer exchanges, hundreds of students study abroad each year! They work hard, fund raise like crazy, and don't ever stop until they've reached their goal of becoming a more independent and culturally aware human being. Many become more active citizens of their community, and the global community as a whole.
Why do I, specifically, want to live abroad in the Land of the Rising Sun?
When I was a child, I was fascinated by the beautiful, absolutely gorgeous trinkets my step-mother would bring home for me. You see, my step-mother(She's like a mom, but not technically my mom!) works on a Shell ship that travels back and forth from Australia to Japan, and they dock in Japan for around a week every time. My step-mom would always bring home little models of Japanese Pagoda buildings, and we had (and still do) those Japanese Reverse Painting Crystal Balls. We even have beautiful scrolls with Geisha or Koi fish painted on them hanging in our living room!
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| Like this one! |
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| So pretty! |
When I went to Australia for 2 months in 5/6th grade summer, it sunk in. I knew that I had an undeniable love for other cultures, and that I should embrace it. We visited a traditional Japanese tea garden-- I'm not entirely sure what the correct way to refer to that is. But there were ladies walking around kimono, and I had the best time there. I just knew I wanted to go there when I got older!
So when we had a decent computer and everything, I would research all about Exchange programs! I would read blogs from people from different programs, I would even watch the v-logs!After a lot of research, I made a decision to go with AFS-USA (Formerly the American Field Service.).
Arguably the most reputable of all the high school exchange programs, AFS-USA is non-profit organization that is passionate about it's students and the messages they are trying to spread. They are completely trust-worthy in my experience so far, and provide such a sense of security thanks to their prompt replies to inquiries and golden reputation! Here is the link to their website, where you can read more about AFS-USA:
http://www.afsusa.org/about-afs/
Now, I do have support from my family. Unfortunately, only to extent. My family is in an, honestly, rather poor economic situation. This has almost stopped me from attempting to reach for what I want most... I have chosen to move forward and remain optimistic, though! Thanks to the sheer size of the tuition (without financial aid) my family pretty much believes that I will not be able to live my dream. Don't think of them in a bad light, they will help me as much as they can, but they just do not think it is possible for me to rais such a large amount of money in this short time (I have until February.). I don't agree with them, though.
I work cleaning peoples houses. I also have an interview for a position at Reasor's tomorrow, so hopefully I will be working two jobs by next week. Other than that, I have been fund raising to earn the rest of my tuition. I know that times are tough, so most of my attempts have been unsuccessful unfortunately. But I believe with persistence and luck I will make my dream a reality!
But I know that people are kind hearted at their core. I believe that there are those out there who help others, and I believe that those people might help me overcome my struggle.I just have to hope that those with a caring, generous heart will stumble into my life as blessings. Either through this blog, or in real life, I hope that I may be so lucky as to meet these types of people.
On that note, I would like to say that other than journaling my thoughts and dreams into this page, I hope to be able to receive donations through this blog as well. AFS-USA has a deal that if you write and keep a blog, they will allow you to use a widget called 'Sponsor an AFSer.' This is an online fundraising tool provided by AFS to allow potential sponsors to make easy, secure, and non tax-deductible contributions to my AFS program tuition fee.
So, if you can find it in your heart to share this blog... Please do. It would be an enormous blessing to me and I would be eternally grateful. And if you can find it even deeper in your heart to donate to my cause... Well, the amount of gratitude I would have for you for the rest of my life is truly incomprehensible. It would absolutely blow my mind. I'm 100% serious and honest here. Whether it be $2, $10, or $100 I would never be able to thank you enough for sponsoring me on my journey to Japan. To sponsor my AFS program, please click the Donate Now button to make a non tax-deductible contribution directly to my AFS program account.
I will be posting here often! Likely once a week or every two weeks with updates on my life! Thank you so much for reading my introduction here on my Journey to Japan!
See you soon,
- Kenzie
