Study Abroad Experience in Spain!

Kyung Ju Lee Start Date: May 20, 2016 - End Date: Dec 15, 2016
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Study/Degree Abroad

My Travel Story

by: Kyung Ju Lee Start Date: May 20, 2016 - End Date: Dec 15, 2016
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Study/Degree Abroad
Hello,
My name is Kyung Ju Lee, and to start off I will just tell you a little bit about myself. I am in the eighth grade and I live in Hawaii, USA. I am currently studying my second year of Spanish. My name is Korean because I am an immigrant from Korea. I came to the U.S. When I was five years old. My passion is traveling and filmmaking. I'm really lucky to be going to a great school where I am able to study an equally great language.

In the short fourteen years of my life, I've been on a plane on three occasions. Once when I was very little moving to the U.S., once when I went back to Korea with my sisters one summer and once when I was able to win a trip to China through a school competition. I've loved it every single time. To some, traveling away from home may be bothersome and even scary, but to me it is an adventure. I love landing in a new place and finding things to learn about and new exciting experiences.

When I went into Spanish in seventh grade, I didn't really know what I was doing or why I chose Spanish. But now, I am sure that it was the right choice for me. There are so many countries around the world that speak it and each brings history and culture and to be somehow connected to that, through language, is really cool. I would like to venture into one (Spain) in the winter of 2017 (My freshman year of high school). I know that I am much younger than most people on this site, but I truly believe that going to Spain and immersing myself into the culture and language will strengthen my Spanish so much.

My parents are not able to afford this kind of a trip because they are already very busy with my private school's tuition as well as other needs around the house. Although I do have financial aid, my two sisters go to the same school, so it does get a little hard to pay for extracurriculars and other such activities.

It costs 14,000 dollars for me to go to Spain, but I am only expecting a fraction of that on this site and can and will come up with the rest of the money through fundraising during all of my summer and fall of next year. I really hope you are able to help me out, even if it is just a little, anything will help.

Thank you, Kyung Ju