Hello, my name is Grace. I am a junior attending high school in Minnesota. I have been fascinated with the Japanese language and culture for as long as I can remember. Eager to learn, I have attended a Japanese language immersion camp, provided by Concordia College for the past four summers. In total, I have earned 6 high school language credits through this program. In my opinion, Japanese is the most beautiful language I have ever heard, and as my knowledge grows, so does my love for it.  At camp, I have opened up, become more of a leader, and learned that to make my dreams come true I have to jump in with both feet.  Now I am ready to take the next leap: studying abroad. After an extensive application process and much waiting, I have been accepted into the American Field Service (AFS) intercultural student exchange program. I will be leaving in March to attend high school for a year in Kyushu, Japan!

There are so many things I am looking forward to. Living in Japan will give me the opportunity to further my goal of becoming fluent in Japanese. Also, I am particularly interested in the teaching methods, curriculum and the role teachers play in students’ lives. I believe looking through the eyes of a normal Japanese high school student is the best way to observe this. Through hands-on experience, so much culture can be learned: from the simple things, such as daily routines, to the more complicated social and economic aspects of living in Japan. My dream is to move to Japan when I am out of college, so this knowledge would be very useful. I am so excited to experience life in Japan and eager to share what I learn. I will be using this blog to document my experience and share it with my friends, family, Concordia language campers, and anyone else who is interested. I hope to make unforgettable memories while I am there and bonds that last a lifetime.

All of this seems like a dream come true, but with a big opportunity such as this comes a big price of $13,000. I have paid for approximately half of this, but still more than $5,000 dollars of the tuition remains. This does not include any additional expenses such as transportation, and school uniform fees. I would greatly appreciate any help you can give. Through this blog, my goal is to raise $5000 in donations. Whatever you can give would go towards making my dreams come true. Please click the ChipIn! button to make a secure non tax-deductable donation. I would also be thankful if you could pass on my blog to others who would be interested in donating by forwarding the link: http://minnesotaninjapan.blogspot.com/  Thank you so much!

~Grace