My First Blog. Ever.

Hello, I'm Hannah, and I'm an AFS student. I will be going to Costa Rica for my junior year, and I do not even know where to begin talking about it. I should probably start from the beginning. People like to ask me why I want to go to Costa Rica with AFS. The first question that I get is, "For a whole year?" And yes, I'm going to Costa Rica for a year to live with a host family, and I am so excited about it. As for why I picked AFS, it was the most reliable program that I had heard of, and I liked how safe they make students. Costa Rica, however, I picked for two reasons. One, I can speak some Spanish, and I thought that it would be nice to go to a place where I can already speak some of the language. Also, it does not snow much in Costa Rica, if at all, and I could really use a year without freezing temperatures. Oh, Costa Rica is also a beutiful country that really cares about education and happiness. 

I expect to gain a new view of the world and other cultures. The best way to learn about a place is to live there. I expect to become fluent in Spanish, and maybe help my host family with English if they would like to learn. In return for all that I recieve from going on this trip, I plan on giving back to my community. I want to help teach Spanish at my school in my senior year, be a better leader in my community with the skills that I learn abroad, and teach people about cultures other than their own, both in Costa Rica and in the U.S. 

I find it hard to believe that I will be leaving in four months. I know that I am going to miss my family and friends a lot while I am gone, but I know that I am going to get a new family and new friends while I am there, so it's not a bad trade for 11 months. I do have some challenges, especially financially. I certainly do not have an extra couple thousand dollars lying around, but if I did, I assure you that they would be going to this trip. As for fund raising, I plan on reading about useful techniques as well as asking my AFS advisors and former exchange students. I am so excited for this opportunity, and I would like to thank everyone who is helping to make this possible. 

~Hannah