Monday, April 15, 2013

And the journey begins...

Ciao!

My name is Adriana Gonzales, and I am a student at Legacy High School in Colorado. Right now, I am embarking on a life-changing journey: I am going to live and study in Sanremo, Italy for 10 months beginning in September of 2013. I am a girl who is simply in love with different countries, languages and cultures around the world. I have traveled around the United States, Mexico, and Western Europe with my family and I simply cannot get enough. I am not only attempting to see new places, but to live and breathe the full culture through learning languages as well (my goal right now is to learn the Western Romance languages: Italian, Portuguese, French and Spanish).

Ultimately, my life goal is to make an impact on humankind-- particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where I feel there is a dire need for a change. Traveling now in high school will give me a new, broader lens through which I will look at the world. I will also have a base in many languages as I am studying all four Western Romance languages (though Italian is of utmost priority with my trip coming quickly).  I will be a well-cultured person with the skills it takes to make a new place my home, to connect with people and to understand who I am. My study abroad trip to Italy is a stepping stone in my bigger, life-long journey.

As of right now I am preparing in every way I can: learning Italian, cooking Italian food, working with the program I am going with (AFS USA), and raising money. This program is something that my heart is set on, and I am taking all the necessary steps that it takes to get there. If you would like to help me, I have a donation widget on this blog for anyone who would like to donate to my "SmartyPig" account at https://www.smartypig.com/loves/AdrianaG. My current fundraising goal through this is $10,000 through these donations and all of my other fundraising efforts. Feel free to donate in other forms by commenting with any tips, words of wisdom, encouragement, etc., that you would like to offer-- anything and everything helps! I also accept prayers and positive vibes!  In exchange for your help, I will be updating this blog from this point forward; I will post about checkpoints in my process, how I am feeling about my trip, how my fundraising is going, and all about my life once I am in Italy.

I cannot explain how excited I am to have been given this opportunity, and I am truly grateful for it. Thank you for your time and any donations (spiritual, emotional, physical, and so on); I am forever grateful for your help in making my dreams come true. 


Molto amore!
Adriana

P.S. Feel free to share with your friends, family and acquaintances! Anybody!
ladolceadriana.blogspot.com
P.P.S. Go like my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AdrianaGonzalesExchangeInItaly :)