So, What's Going On?

Dear readers and sponsors alike,


This is the part where I step up to the microphone (in this case, my keyboard) and introduce myself and my mission to you. There are those who already know what I'm doing, but I'll put the permanent info here. There's a lot to say, but I don't wish to bore you so I'll try to do it as succinctly as possible! 

WHAT I'M DOING
My name is Esther, and I am going to Europe this summer! Weee!

Okay, a little too succinct. Again...

What is that dream, you may ask? Well, it started with a letter I got in the mail. It was from an organization you may have heard of called People to People. In the letter, I was invited to attend a seminar in order to be eligible to join their acclaimed Student Ambassador Program this coming summer. I looked at what the program entailed and I was automatically ecstatic, but I'll cover what I'll actually do later. I went to the seminar, and I fell in love with what this program was all about.

The People to People Student Ambassador Program, simply put, is a large, very long-standing effort to promote peace and understanding between countries. Its Student Ambassadors travel to different countries to meet, bond, and learn from the people there. There are also several days where they interact with a country's community, such as planting gardens or helping out at a senior center. By the time the SA comes back, he or she will have had a deep educational and cultural experience that will have changed him or her forever. This year, students will travel to Europe on a deep exploration through six of its countries: France, Belgium, Wales, Ireland, England, and the Netherlands for 18 solid days. I've looked at the itinerary, and there isn't a single moment where I'm not doing something.

It sounds incredibly...incredible. And it is! So I immediately signed up for the interview. I was a little nervous, but no pain, no gain, right? Two days later, I got a phone call and I learned that I had been accepted. I was now a Student Ambassador! Huzzah! The preliminary round of my new journey was over. Next was the harder, much more expensive part...

The trip costs 7,239 dollars. Just thinking about that price tag I swallow nervously. Of course, this included all of my transportation, (several airplane flights, buses, and a ferry ride.) food, (from food I'm used to to escargot) , hotels,  and activities (from cutting peat to warm Irish homes to taking lessons at a sailing school).  This doesn't include everything else. I need new clothes and travel enmities. I won't go into the details, (Trying to be succinct and failing) but it's a lot of money.

So know I'm on a quest to raise the remaining funds I need to go on my trip! The deadline is getting closer, but I know I can do it. Right now, I'm focusing on letting people know what I am doing and asking if they would be my sponsor by donating me some money.

What do you get when you become my sponsor?

A BRAND NEW CAR!

I'm sorry, you won't get a new car. You do get a really, really, really, happy girl though. AND, if you permit, I would like to put your name on here to let everyone in the universe know that YOU made a girl's life even better.

So, let's do this shindig. Keep checking in on my blog for more of my journey's information and sponsor lists!

Esther