So, a few things have come up recently. The tuition for the New Zealand program was released. $12,700 for a semester or $13,200 for a year. My parents deemed it too expensive to pay half of it, they said they can only do from $2,000 to $3,000. Which would leave me around $10,000 to raise on my own. Recently, I have decided to change my destination to a place that costs less. South Africa. It is $200 cheaper to go to South Africa for a year than it is to go to New Zealand for a semester. I also believe I will have more supporters if I were to go to SA, which would make it easier to raise the money.
I have always felt a strong connection with Africa. Last year when I ran my marathon it was to raise money for children in Uganda. I also stay in touch with another individual in Uganda. Something just draws me towards it, like a magnet. My mom gave the OK for me to go to SA. However we are still in a constant dispute about how long I will be gone. If i'm going to raise most of that money myself, I want to get the most out of the trip that I can, which would happen if I went for a year. Also, the tuition for a year is only a thousand more than a semester, so it's not that much more for an extra 6 months. So hopefully I will convince her soon.
Only 4 more days of school, then my brother is getting married on Sunday, I get braces back on next Tuesday, and then i'll be able to start working at Redding Physical Therapy. Since my parents aren't paying half, I have to resort to asking businesses to sponsor. I will be writing A LOT of sponsorship letters in effort to raise money.
If you want to help with my efforts, click on the ChipIn button on the right-hand side of the page.
Thanks,
Tanner.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Who? Me?
First off, thank you to whoever donated $100! I don't know your name yet, I believe AFS sends me the info of all the contributors every 3 weeks or so. But thanks again!
A friend of mine pointed out to me that my first post was more about the trip and not a lot about myself. So this one will be mostly about me. Also there will be an update at the end on how everything trip-related is comin' along.
My interests are; playing tennis, being with friends, being outdoors, running, hiking, swimming, photography, reading and writing.
Craziest thing I've ever done: Ran the SF marathon and finished!
People would describe me as; funny, outgoing, social, intelligent, and most recently, a great speaker!
Favorite subjects in school; English is my favorite for sure! Then probably math, gotta love math.
Number one thing on my bucket list: finish a triathlon!
What I want to be when I grow up: Happy. Simple as that.
Update time!
So I am almost finished uploading all the necessary documents for my full application. Many of which had to be signed by my father, who lives 100 miles away, so my mom had to meet him today. Once she gets back I will upload the papers and then i'll be about 95% ready to submit my application! I still have to get my picture for my passport and turn that in though. Other excellent news, in the past week or so I have been offered two jobs! The first is at Redding Physical Therapy, the owner also mentioned sponsoring me for my trip! So hopefully I will be able to work down there over the summer. And the second one is at Ace Hardware here in town. My brother used to work there before he graduated and apparently the manager is looking for someone who will work hard, and asked my mom if I wanted a job. Although it would be nice working there since it's so close, I would enjoy working at RPT much more! But i'll take what I can get. Things are looking up!
If you'd like to sponsor me, click on the ChipIn button on the right-hand side of the page!
Until next time,
Tanner Horton.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
First Impressions
"Aotearoa" means Land of the Long White Cloud, in Maori, which is the native language of New Zealand. Aotearoa was one of the first names given to New Zealand and is still used today.
Kia ora! (Hello!)
My name is Tanner Horton, I live in the very, very small town of Yreka, California. I am a sophomore in high school and am very involved in my school, sports, and community. For some time now I have been interested in studying abroad in another country. An opportunity has came to me to be an exchange student to the beautiful country of New Zealand! My hope is that I am able to go from January 2013 to July 2013.
While in New Zealand, I will be staying with a host family and going to school. I want to learn as much as possible about the native culture. Their way of life, views on other countries, view of the U.S., their morals, everything. I hope to exchange this information with them as well, and teach them about the United States. I recently learned that New Zealand requires all foreign exchange students to do a certain number of hours of community service! I absolutely can't wait to give back to my host country as much as I can.
I chose to go through AFS because I have heard so many great things about it. Last year at my school we had an exchange student from Columbia who went through AFS and she didn't have a single negative thing to say about it! I am excited to be working with such a great program.
My parents have agreed to pay half of whatever my tuition is, which can be anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000. That leaves me to raise $5,000 to $6,000. A very hard task to accomplish. I have until December 1st to raise all the money. There are 3 main ways I am going to try and raise the money. 1st, I am going to do TONS of yard work for people in my community, along with many other odd jobs. 2nd, I am going to write to local businesses asking to sponsor me. And lastly, there is this blog. My goal is to raise $3,000 by donations online. If anyone would like to help sponsor me on my trip you can donate here, by clicking the ChipIn button. I am extremely grateful for any amount you donate, it all adds up in the end.
I will post weekly updates on the status of my full application, how the fundraising is going, and anything else that comes up!
Thank you,
Tanner Horton.
Kia ora! (Hello!)
My name is Tanner Horton, I live in the very, very small town of Yreka, California. I am a sophomore in high school and am very involved in my school, sports, and community. For some time now I have been interested in studying abroad in another country. An opportunity has came to me to be an exchange student to the beautiful country of New Zealand! My hope is that I am able to go from January 2013 to July 2013.
While in New Zealand, I will be staying with a host family and going to school. I want to learn as much as possible about the native culture. Their way of life, views on other countries, view of the U.S., their morals, everything. I hope to exchange this information with them as well, and teach them about the United States. I recently learned that New Zealand requires all foreign exchange students to do a certain number of hours of community service! I absolutely can't wait to give back to my host country as much as I can.
I chose to go through AFS because I have heard so many great things about it. Last year at my school we had an exchange student from Columbia who went through AFS and she didn't have a single negative thing to say about it! I am excited to be working with such a great program.
My parents have agreed to pay half of whatever my tuition is, which can be anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000. That leaves me to raise $5,000 to $6,000. A very hard task to accomplish. I have until December 1st to raise all the money. There are 3 main ways I am going to try and raise the money. 1st, I am going to do TONS of yard work for people in my community, along with many other odd jobs. 2nd, I am going to write to local businesses asking to sponsor me. And lastly, there is this blog. My goal is to raise $3,000 by donations online. If anyone would like to help sponsor me on my trip you can donate here, by clicking the ChipIn button. I am extremely grateful for any amount you donate, it all adds up in the end.
I will post weekly updates on the status of my full application, how the fundraising is going, and anything else that comes up!
Thank you,
Tanner Horton.
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