The blog of a travel freak

Sorry everyone, but my blog has been moved to http://melissahepburnsafsadventure.blogspot.com/ scholarship instructions

EEK!!! I just sent in my application. I put Argentina as my first choice, Brazil as my second, and Japan third. I hope nothings wrong with it. So, nothing's been happening lately, besides my in-home interview. It went well. =)  Im sooooo bored!!! School starts soon. yuck. Anyway, I dont have much to say now, so I'll update later. Oh, btw I tried the atkins diet. Hmmm,well I only lasted 3 days. I have no willpower =(. I'm going to try weight watchers. I have seven monthes ( I want to go on exchange then) to lose my extra flab. Target weight: 135 Pray for me!

I got an account on Culture Schocked forum and people there have convinced me to get more info on Rotary. I sent an email!!!! Tomorrow, Im going to the midnight showing of.............. Harry Potter. =) I am so excited. I already bought my tickets. I said in an earlier blog that I would tell about my previous trip. I will try to upload my video soon. I turn in my application for Hy-vee tomorrow, and leave for youth camp on the 19th. Besides that, not much has been going on. I watched the Japanese tv series "Life" for the 15th time today. lol. Have you seen it. If you have, comment! I wantto know your thoughts on the evil Katsumi-kun. and Manami. Ugh!

            Bye Bye

Blog 2

Soooo, I picked up a job application to help fund my AFS program yesterday. I am applying to work at my local HY-VEE! I wonder what my job will be bagging, cleaning, stocking, checking people out( only if they are guys and HOT ones) lol. I want to start working after I get back from youth camp. Maybe the end of July. I havent done much lately, just sleeping, eating, filling out my applications. I finished my host letter!!! Wanna read it??? Oh and, I read on fml that if you poke someone 2 inches above the belly button that they will have insant diarrhea. I cant wait to try it on someone! If any of you have tried it, leave a comment telling me about your results. Here is the letter..................... Comment!!!!!!!!

Dear Host family,

  I am very curious about you.  I can’t wait until I meet you and become a part of your family! You’re probably wondering what I am like, and if we are compatible.  My name is Melissa Hepburn, I am a 16 year old girl, and I live in Reynolds, which is a small town in Western Illinois. My town has a school, many houses, and a gas station. There are only about five hundred and fifty people living here, so five of the nearby towns go to school together. There are about seven hundred students at my school. I live with my mother, Jeanie, and I have a dog named Wayne. According to my friends and family, I am outgoing, friendly, determined, and funny. I absolutely  love my family and friends, and value them greatly. I don’t have any siblings, but I am flexible and excited to meet any children you may have. My mother and I are very close, so I also hope to have a close, fun, honest, relationship with you too. I seek advice from my mother about school and many other big decisions.
 In my free time,  I enjoy reading, writing, traveling, making videos, and spending time with my friends and family. I don’t have much experience in cooking, but I would love to learn how to make many of your cultural dishes. Normally, I will read three to four books a week. I like the Twilight series and Harry Potter, but my favorite books are ones that take place in other countries, and teach me things about that place. I am also interested in history. I write as often as possible about a variety of things. I hope to journal my experiences in your country, and perhaps write a blog. The last couple of years I have been traveling as much as possible, and found that I enjoy home stays more than tourist trips. I discovered that spending time in a family is much more valuable than taking photos and sleeping in expensive hotels.  I don’t travel much in my country, but I love traveling internationally. I have been to England, France, Ireland, Wales, Belgium, and Holland. I really enjoy talking and making friends, and I tend to spend a lot of time with the people I care about.
  Last year in school, I studied Driving, French, Health, Algebra, English, Biology, and Spanish.  Math and Science are not my strong points, but I excel in Reading and my language classes. I was a part of the French club, and the Spanish club last year, and am going to join again. This year, I plan to study: Advanced English, French, Spanish, Geometry, Science, Physical Education, and World Cultures. I also hope to join the speech team.
 I have moved often in the past, which has taught me to adapt quickly. Because of this, I am very outgoing. I believe my sense of humor will help me through the early stages where I may make language mistakes.
 I was a member of Girl Scouts for nine years, and Rainbow Girls for one. I am very active in my church youth group, and while I am open-minded, I would really appreciate having a local church. With my church, I went to camp in New York, and did a mission trip in Tennessee.  Making international friends has been an important part of my life for the past two years, and I hope it is a big part of my future. I recently did an exchange with a girl in France, and we still talk. I hope that you will come to visit me and we will never lose contact.
  I applied for the AFS program because I have wanted to spend a year abroad for a long time. I hope to become fluent in your language and not only learn about your culture, but live it. I understand that this will be a challenge, but I know it will be an awarding experience. I want to grow as a person by stepping out of my comfort zone and by becoming an ambassador of my country. My goals on this program will be to become as proficient as possible in your language, improve my international awareness, and make many life-long friends.
 I believe that the hardest part of my daily life is waking up to an alarm in the morning. I am working very hard on that though. The biggest challenge in my life was growing up as the only African-American in a small, all Caucasian town. This was a challenge because I tend to stand out in a crowd and as a young child I didn’t like being different. I have overcome this challenge by finding positive qualities about myself and am now outgoing and strange looks don’t bother me at all anymore. In fact, now I enjoy being different!
  Someday, I hope to become an interpreter or maybe work in international relations. In college, I want to major in those subjects. The language and cultural experience I will gain in your country will certainly help me achieve these goals. After I return, I plan to continue studying your language and learn many more.
  I will study hard at school, and possibly join a club.  I don’t play any sports at my school here, and because I am not athletic, I don’t know if I will join a sports team there. If there is a sport that is unique to your country I may try it though.
 If you choose me to be a part of your family, you will gain a new member that will work hard, and become close to you. I want to learn many new things, and hope to teach you about my culture too. 
  Thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and I hope we will have an amazing year together.
 
 Sincerely, 
                  Melissa Hepburn

Blog #1

Hmmmm, this is my first blog. Today nothing important happened, but I'll tell you all about it anyway. So, at about 3:30p.m. , I woke up and had a bagel from panera bread. (yum). I went for a short walk/jog and sold coupon books for my AFS application. I need 760 more dollars before I can turn it in! YAY. For all of you who don't know me, my name is Melissa and I am 15 years old. I like travelling, and other stuff all of which you can view on my handy-dandy profile. I started this blog a bit early, but I was hoping for help from other AFSers. I am currently writing my letter for my host family, and am unsure about lenght, content, .............. It says 2 pages and stuff about an event you have overcome. I have about 1 page and no event. Im off to a great start =). Back to my introduction. I like Twilight, Harry Potter, and many other books including the bible. I have a facebook and an interpals, so if you have either send me a request. I think maybe i'll blog about the exchange I just returned from. Later.............. I have a dog! His name is Wayne. He is huge. lol By huge I mean fat. I may put a picture up. At school I study Spanish and French. So if you speak either, message me. I would love to practice. Its kinda late so i'll talk to ya later.

                                      Bye