Check-in 3: Host Family!

Hello everyone!
     I am pleased to announce that I have officially been matched with a host family. I will be staying in a small town in North East France called Maizieres Les Metz. I`m not going to lie, as excited as I was to hear this news, it freaked me out. Not to say I`m not overjoyed to be going, I am. Yet, over the last couple days I have been faced with a severe case of  what I call "regret-me-nots". I am afraid of missing time here, with my family and friends. And I am afraid of regretting that I missed out on all of it. I can`t seem to shake the idea that I will be gone for almost 6 months! 6x longer than I have ever been away from home.

     I`m going to let you in on a little secret. Not many people know this, but a Harry Potter personality test was actually one of the reasons I decided to go on this adventure of mine. Some of my friends and I were sitting and eating lunch. Of course, being the nerds that we are, we were discussing Hogwarts houses and the test you can take to find out which one you would be in. We all had our favorite houses and characters, but we did all agree on one thing. You could choose to be a Gryffindor. You could choose to be brave. At the time I had basically decided to give up on going abroad. I was too scared, and I used all the reason it is going to be hard as reason not to do it. But it was right then, as I dreamt of being a wizard at Hogwarts that I had an epiphany. I want to be brave! I can choose to be brave. I can choose to be a Gryffindor! I can,  I will, and I have.

I`m not just scared. I`m scared, and excited, and proud.
And I can`t wait to go on what I know will be the adventure of a lifetime.
After all you have to take risks to get rewards.

Check-in 2

     I just found out that I have officially been accepted into my exchange program! Yaaayyyy! Thank you all so much for your support so far. Although I am really excited, the reality has recently hit me. I will be away from my friends and family, from my home, for almost half of a year. This thought, although terrifying, is what pushes me to strive to this adventure. It`s because of your support and your kindness that I know and I can do this. Quite frankly, the only reason I am pushing through my fear and anticipation is because I`m not alone. I have all of you by my side. You inspire me to be brave and experience new and challenging things.

Thank you so much for your continued interest! Follow my blog and stick with me as I prepare to travel the world! :) <3

 Any and all contributions are helpful and greatly appreciated.

continuer à rêver

Check-in 1

Hey everyone! It`s been a while:) I`d like to take a second to thank everyone who has helped me fundraise so far. I know there has been an access of fundraisers lately and I couldn't do it without you. Thanks to you I am well on my way to reaching my goal. I should be hearing more about the details of my exchange soon. I will be posting more regularly now, and will keep you all updated. If you or anyone you know has been on a foreign exchange, I would love to hear your stories! Please, feel free to comment on this post.

Merci Beaucoup! <3

Donations

Hi everyone!
     My name is Kaylie and I am a high school student from Boulder, Colorado. I have long been dreaming of studying abroad, and have been lucky enough to do some foreign travel over the years. I am trying to go to France for a semester this year. Like anything new, this is terrifying. The idea of being away from family for almost 6 months would be intimidating to most high schoolers. I will be going into a whole new culture and environment, with little means to communicate. Yet, that is exactly why I want to go. The fastest way, the only way to learn a language is to fully immerse yourself in it. When in France I will be forced to speak as much French as I possibly can. Hearing and seeing a language constantly is very different and much more intense then just stepping into a classroom for 45 minutes 5 days a week. I fully intend to see my French skyrocket while away, as well as developing an understanding of French culture achievable solely through long term exposure.

     Unfortunately my family does not have the financial backing to send me on my adventure, which is why I need your support. All donors will receive frequent updates and pictures of my travels via this blog, as well as the coveted recipe to my home-made granola upon my return. My family can`t afford to pay for my trip, so I am raising as much money as I can. All of my friends and family have strongly supported me emotionally and are very excited at the prospects of my escapade. Now, I look to you to help send me on the trip of a lifetime.

     To help raise money I have contributed all of the money I received from my bat mitzvah, sold home-made granola, taken care of people`s houses while they were away, worked to renovate a condo with my dad, and  hosted fundraising parties. This has gotten me closer to my goal, but I am not quite there yet. We have also applied for need-based financial aid but don`t know if we will receive any assistance. This blog is part of Program called "Sponsor and AFSer" which is an online tool provided by AFS to allow potential sponsors to make easy, secure, and non tax-deductible contributions to my AFS program fee.

To sponsor my AFS program, please click the Donate Now button to make a non tax-deductible contribution directly to my AFS program account. Thanks! Kaylie:)