Motivational Friday/ Life Update

Well I think that this is a great mantra to life. I am to often scared of doing things because I'm afraid that I don't know what to expect and that it would be too hard. I need to just stop and say yes to doing amazing and exciting things. So I am really going to take this to heart this year...

I found out about this program called ilp- international language program. It is a program that sends volunteers to places around the world to teach kids english. I heard about this around September last year and I immediately was so interested by the thought. As I researched more and more about it I became obsessed with the thought of going and doing this. I remember the first night I found out about it, I couldn't sleep because my mind was filled with thoughts of how it would be to live in another country for four months. I went to a meeting that they had about it and became even more obsessed. So you go to a country (Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Thailand, Mexico or China) and you either stay with a host family or in an apartment close to the school. You teach around 3-4 hours every day with 20 minute lessons and a rotating group of kids. I was worried at first that I would have to know the language to go (not that it wouldn't help... a lot) but you don't, the lessons with the kids are just basically doing little activities and games in english. Also obviously one of the most exciting things about going to a new country will be traveling around so with ILP you get I think 2 full weeks of vacation plus weekends, so there will be time to explore the country!! Now I know what you are thinking, is this even safe? Well ILP has a head teacher over the group of volunteer teachers and there is a local coordinator who oversees your vacations, curfew time etc. Also if you go you have to agree to follow LDS standards. They do a few other things to ensure your safety and well being in the country and I think it will be a completely safe experience. Also the price is really good. I've heard of lots of programs that go to country for only around 4 weeks with the cost being more than 5,000!!! However ILP is only 2,500 (plus whatever you need for travel) and that includes housing, food, airfare, visas etc., so it really is a good price. 

Now at this point I was super excited but also a little scared of going to a new place for four months without anyone I knew. I told my cousin, Mikala, about the program and she was also really interested in going. We got our parents ok and bam, we were applying to ILP the next day. After quite a long time of getting the references and everything put together to apply, we were both accepted!! Then we had to fill out these documents and do a few more tedious things to actually hold a spot for us, but now we are officially going! We both really wanted to go to Thailand as our first option but with Thailand being an extremely popular country of the ilp program, all the spots were filled for Fall 2015. So we are on a waiting list for Thailand so if two spots open up we will go there but thats unlikely so we are probably going to China!!! Which is super exciting! I've always wanted to go to Asia, I feel like I have been blessed enough to have been able to explore Europe in my childhood so now it is time for a new country/continent! So sometime this August I will be flying off to live in China for four months how crazy amazing is that??!!? So if anyone who reads this has been to China and has any tips or anything let me know!

I'm also pretty excited that Mikala will be going with me. She has never even been on a plane before so seeing her experience all these new things associated with traveling will probably be fantastically hilarious. Also it will be great to at least know one person that will be in my group. Now of course we just have to make the money to go.... On the IlP site it talks about how if you are creative you can fundraise basically all of the program fee with things like a website, yard sales etc. So we are in the planning process of fundraising. We made a website for donations that we are going to put up on Facebook and hopefully people won't think we are demanding money or anything. Of course we made the website before we knew Thailand was full so the url has to Thailand in it but oh well haha. Anyway there is my exciting, probably super rambling explanation of my life plan.