The Start

Ahhh the start... Hi my name is Elijah Popham and I am 16 years old. I am currently a sophomore at San Dimas High School in Southern California. My life is full of adventure and I'm always doing different things. I love going surfing and snowboarding and I go whenever I can. But what I love to do most is travel that is why I'm planning to study abroad with AFS in the 2010-2011 school year. The country I have chosen for my trip is the Czech Republic. I chose this country because from the moment I saw it and read about it I wanted to live there. There was just something mesmerizing about the rolling hills in the country to the mythical castles and random villages all throughout. Everything about this country just seems amazing to me and I can't wait until my departure.
When I leave for my trip I plan to discover a new and life changing culture. As I plan to study abroad in the Czech Republic I can't help but think what new outlooks I will have on my life and life in general. I can't wait to discover the Czech cuisine and everyday lifestyle. I'm so excited to see how this next year will turn out for me. When I'm there I know that my actions will represent America and Americans so I plan to give us a very good name by always being polite and respectful, which isn't hard for me at all. When I get back to the States I probably wont be able to keep my mouth shut about my trip. I'm going to tell everyone what happened on my trip and my many many experiences. I am also going to keep this blog going so keep reading it and you'll know all about my trip as it unfolds.
To make my dream of this trip to come true though I do need funds. My trip costs 8,900$ but I got granted a scholarship from the AFS Global Leaders Scholarships for 4,000$. Still I have a large sum to get. I have earned about 1,500$ selling family cookbooks to friends and family and I have held a couple of yard sales and a few odd jobs here and there. But i still need to make more so I'm still hard at work to do so. If you would like to help me obtain my goal in my AFS program now, please click the Chipln button. thanks so much and I'll keep you all up dated.