News

Okay so these are the latest developments:

MY TUITION HAS BEEN PAID!!!!!!!!! I was succesful in raising 2,000 dollars towards my tuition with everyone's help! Thank you so much:
Lewis Kirk & Family
Carson Family
Gilbert Kirk
Stancie Chamberlain & Dan Guittierez
Monica Savino & Dustin Aldridge
Jim Garrett & Christine Becker
Melinda & Lee Hipp
Auchter Family
Anderson Family
Jeff Robinson
Dixie Waters
Stephen Lanb
Mark Barnette
Will Samson
Lucy Bujnoch
Brad White
Cynthia Hallowell
Becker family
David Markham
Virginia Hostetter
Joanne "Chicks" McGowan
Allen Barnhill

Hmm what else.... I've been chatting with my host fam and they are great!
SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!
I'm getting more excited by the day, and there are only 66 days until I leave!!!!

Dag

p.s. Happy drieendertigste verjaardag, Matt Bellamy!!!

First Contact

So I emailed my host family this week and they sent a nice letter back. The seem really nice and I can't wait to meet them.
The father is a plantbreeder, the mother is a nurse and a masseuse, the son is 15 and plays soccer, and the daughter is 12 and she plays clarinet too!
The town I'll be in is called Ven-Zelderheide and it right on the border with Germany. The population is around 800 so I'll be going to school in another town called Boxmeer which is 9 miles away. That also means I'll be riding my bike 18 miles a day!

I'm hoping I'll get to go to Germany a bunch because I will be literally 2,000 feet away!

HOST FAMILY!!!!!

I can't believe it! I got my host family!!!!  It's a mother, father, son, and daughter both younger than me. Although the son is 15 too.
They live in the south, and the area is called Limburg. And the town (of 800 people!!!!) is right on the border of Germany.
I'm so excited!
I'm wondering if I should email them, or just wait for them to contact me....

Updates

So I haven't made a post lately so I thought I would now with all of the new updates (the few I know of).
First off, FUNDRAISING! It has been going great, I think so far with all the donations the grand total is about $1,825!!!!! My goal is 2,000 and with my own money I have much more than that! I'm so grateful for everyone that contributed, I plan to send out Thank You's in the near future. So count on those!

Also I had a really big meeting last Saturday. It was alot of fun and I got to meet everyone that is going abroad next year in Houston plus some exchangers spending their year here in the US. There are only five of us, that are going for a year; one to France, one to Norway, two to China, and me!

Other than that I have 8 school days left and finals next week then schools out!!! I'm very excited, but I have so much to do this summer.

I'm also trying to be VERY patient, about my impending placement. I hope I find out where I'll be soon...

Tot ziens!!!!!!

We DID it!!!

Yay!!!! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess what??? We raised over $500 dollars in april so that means $500 will be matched for my tuition!!!!
Thanks to everyone who made it possible!
Love You,
Rach

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay! I've FINALLY been officially accepted to AFS - Netherlands! Here's the email I recieved this afternoon:

Hi Rachel,

Congratulations! AFS-Netherlands has just accepted your application!  

Next, AFS-Netherlands  will match you with a host family*.  This can be a complex process and may take some time.  It is common for host family information to arrive during the month prior to your departure. So, if you don't hear right away, don’t worry, this is normal.  Once we have confirmed the details of your host family placement, they will be available on your AFS Account, so feel free to check there for updates.

Hooray!!!! Before I recieved this email I was told I had been accepted by word of mouth from the AFS volunteer at school, but I wasn't 100% sure if it was positive. But now I for sure know I will be in the Netherlabds next year! It's gonna be great!

Anyway, the next big step in this whole process is finding out who my host family will be. As they stated in the email, this may take some time. (Hopefully not THAT looong) But once I hear any info whatsover I will be sure to let you all know!

In the mean time I have SOOOO much to do. This summer I'm going to be taking at least two online courses so I can return to HSPVA for my senior year, get my visa, plan fundraising opportunities, and take driver's ed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And hopefully visit most of my family this summer toooo!

Love,

Rach

Some news!

Okay, well this actually isn't the news I was planning on recieving, but good news anyways. Here's what AFS sent me today:

During the month of April, AFS will match dollar-for-dollar any non-parental contributions made to your Sponsor an AFSer Online Fundraising account, up to $500. This means that if you can find people outside of your immediate family to contribute to your AFS tuition you could turn $500 into $1,000.

So good news, nonetheless! I also emailed AFS today about my application since I haven't heard from them in quite some time (7 or 8 weeks when they said 4-6). (I'm trying to be pacient) So when I hear back from them I will definitely keep you posted! :)

Rach