New Blog for my year in Ghana

http://goinggoinggoingghana.weebly.com/ghana-blog.html Check it out! Instead of posting here I'll be using the link above to let everyone know how my year in Ghana is going!

GOING TO GHANA

At 4:35 PM today I received the most amazing email EVER. It read as follows: Dear Alison, Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a Finalist for a 2013-14 Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad scholarship for study in Ghana! The YES Abroad program is funded by the U.S. Department of State, and is administered by the YES Consortium led by American Councils for International Education in partnership with AFS Intercultural Programs (AFS), the American-Mideast Educational and Training Service (AMIDEAST), and the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN). Please discuss all of these materials with your parents or legal guardians, and return the scholarship acceptance form to your implementing organization by the date specified. The scholarship acceptance form also gives contact information for your implementing organization should you or your parents/legal guardians have any questions. Congratulations on your remarkable achievement! Sincerely, Gabriel GUYS I AM GOING TO GHANA FOR A YEAR. IS THIS REAL LIFE?!?!?!???!!??! Allie

YES Abroad and Fostering Relations With the World

About YES Abroad The Kennedy-Lugar YES Abroad program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is offering American high school students and recent graduates in the U.S. full scholarships for up to one academic year in countries with significant Muslim populations. The YES Abroad program was initiated as a reciprocal extension of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program for international students from countries with significant Muslim populations. The first group of Americans participated in YES Abroad in the 2009-2010 academic year, living and studying in ten select YES countries. The program now offers 65 full scholarships to American students nationwide. YES Abroad students serve as “youth ambassadors” of the United States, promoting mutual understanding by forming lasting relationships with their host families and communities. Participants live with a host family, attend a local high school, acquire leadership skills, and engage in activities to learn about the host country’s society and values while helping to educate others about American society and values. For specific details, click on any of the participating countries in the list above. As the days are winding down to the day Finalist notifications are to come out, I've been working on a research paper for my AP English class. This particular paper was about War on Terror. Though I had an idea of what "War on Terror" was, being able to delve into it and write about it was really eye-opening and made me realize that what YES Abroad is doing is beyond what you would consider "great." In fact, it being "great" is an understatement. A quote that stood out for me in my research was on of Martin Luther King Jr.'s: "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." Wholeheartedly, I believe that this quote speaks volumes. "How can you win a war on terror with terror, I doubt it is by creating deadlier remote controlled killing machines." And lastly, for this year's semi-finalists and those semi-finalists to come if you don't get the scholarship don't let that dissuade you. Don't "splinter" and only see a small portion of the picture. look at the picture as a whole and remember that when one door closes, another one opens. Continue to build onto your dreams and intentions to foster relations with America, the Middle-East and the world. Allie Campbell

IPSE

To basically sum up the IPSE, it was a weekend full of adventure, new friendships and nervous feels. I met so many amazing people in just a short amount of time and no matter what happens, scholarship or not, I will never forget that weekend or any of the people that I met there! I can't talk much about the Individual Interview portion, or the group evaluation portion but just BE YOURSELF and you'll do great!

Kennedy-Lugar YES abroad SEMI-FINALIST

I'M A SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE YES ABROAD SCHOLARSHIP!! If you couldn't already tell by my post title. I recieved my email at 7:34 PM in which it read: Dear YES Abroad Applicant, The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad consortium is pleased to inform you that the Scholarship Review Committee has chosen you as a Semi-Finalist for the YES Abroad program. It went on to discuss that the consortium is made up of American Councils, AFS, AMIDEAST and iEARN. Then the email furthered discussed the In-Person Selection Event (IPSE) There will be 120 semi-finalists this year due to the program offering more scholarships (65). The IPSE will be from March 22-24 in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Which surprised us all, because it has been in Denver for every year before except for the very first year. Still excited! I seriously wish I would have recorded my reaction to the email. I received the email and only read "We are pleased to inform..." and then ran through the house to the living room where all my friends were sitting and tackled them all. I was a shaking, crying hot mess, but only because I was so happy. I didn't even read the whole email until 25 minutes later. (I accidentally deleted it and had to go retrieve it from my trash folder)! It still seems so surreal! I can't believe I made it this far already. Last year when I applied, I didn't even make it to the semi-finalist round, I believe that's why I cried so much this time, because I truly do want this more than anything. GOING TO ROCK THAT INTERVIEW FO' SHO' And I can't wait to meet the other 119 applicants, WE'LL ALL BE BEST FRIENDS

In which I rocked my YFU Interview & I may work alongside one of the interviewers as a Diplomat one day

I rocked my interview guys. I arrived an hour and a half early had a White Hot Chocolate mocha and a Double Choclaty Chip Frappe, I was good to go. My Interviewers were so cool, I felt completely comfortable during the whole interview. (Shout out to Judy and -guy whose name escapes me but we'll work alongside each other one day- you guys are the bomb). The questions were a breeze. Maybe I'll be in Vietnam for a year =O

In which I have an Interview tomorrow & other news

I found out yesterday that I have an interview with YFU for the Vietnam scholarship. Quietly, I am freaking out because this will be what decides if I get it in or not. But I have no doubt in my mind, nor does anyone in my family or my friends here and on Facebook (Thanks guys), that I will do great. I mean, I've had two study abroad interviews in the past to learn from...let's see if that works. We're meeting at Starbuck's but she said I would know who she is because she will probably be the only one there that looks like she is about to give an interview.... man...means I'm going to have to dress all "fancy-smancy- Maybe like dress pants and a dressy shirt with flats? Or who knows, maybe I'll go out with a dress.... ahhh, decisions. In other news, coming at you in bullet form: -Au pair in Germany? -CBYX Vocational Germany? -YES Abroad? -Webster University Leiden? -Colorado University? My life is an International chaotic mess, but I couldn't be happier. I look forward to knowing where I will be at come this August.

Twitter. Life. Exchange.

Twitter So the other day I decided to make a Twitter to see what all the fuss was about, because everyone made it seem SO awesome. Let me tell you something. IT IS AWESOME. I posted something about waiting to hear back about my semi finalist status for YES Abroad and tagged the YES Abroad people on Twitter along with ExchangesConnect. YES ABROAD RETWEETED AND MENTIONED ME. I had a moment where I was all like "OMG THEY RETWEETED AND MENTIONED ME I NO LONGER NEED MEANING IN MY LIFE 'CAUSE THIS IS THE MEANING" Trust me, it was a cool moment. Life So I was accepted into the University of Colorado Boulder for their Arts and Sciences International Affairs program. Not like that was my DREAM SCHOOL or anything. Exchange T-minus 4 1/2 weeks until I hear back about my semi finalist status for YES and CBYX. OH AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE APPLYING TO STUDY ABROAD OR PLAN TO IN THE FUTURE. WHEN THE APPLICATION/OR PROCESS IN GENERAL GETS TOUGH AND YOU FEEL LIKE GIVING UP JUST KNOW THAT, YOU ARE 2 LEGIT 2 QUIT. With love and good vibes, Allie

There's a World out there.

As an ambassador to the United States, one should know what is going on in the world. While there are a multitude of stories on the news every day, there is one that has caught my attention. Recently, Cuba made a new law. Travelers can now stay away for two years instead of 11 months and extend that time further; those who left illegally over eight years ago will no longer face difficulties to return. The government, which once denounced those who left Cuba as "worms" and traitors, now talks of them simply as economic migrants. The authorities are gambling that by making it easier to travel, more Cubans will work and study abroad then bring their money and expertise back to the island. As Cuba starts seeing better days in it's future, for most people, going abroad will continue to only be a dream even with the new law in place. Cuba is a developing country and where, here in America, we are paid minimum wage, Cubans are paid less than that. So even with the huge drop of price on passports in Cuba (went from $300 to $100), some people still cannot afford them. Bittersweet if you ask me. In America we don't really think about developing countries as much as we should. Hopefully by sharing this story I can help bring attention to countries like Cuba. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21008571

The Wait

4 weeks until I hear back about Semi-finalists stage for both YES and Nacel CBYX. I'm having those hopeful exchange dreams, and I just..... I can't even. WHAT IF THEY'RE JUST TAUNTING ME?! I want this so bad. I think a Gap year would be a great year for me. I wouldn't have to focus on academics as much, I could just enjoy myself, and the world. Anyways, I hope to look like this when I get the email about semi-finals:

For my fellow YES hopefuls

I recently applied to a scholarship called the Kennedy-Lugar YES Abroad Program. The Kennedy-Lugar YES Abroad program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is offering American high school students and recent graduates in the U.S. full scholarships for up to one academic year in countries with significant Muslim populations. I worked feverishly on my application and I can only hope that the people reviewing my application will see me as a potential YES Abroad scholar, and I get invited to the interview so that I can show them that I'm not only expressive and qualified on paper, but in person as well. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF THE YES ABROAD APPLICANTS!! I hope to see you all at the IPSE!

Bosnia and Herzegovina; breathtaking.

South Africa is a country newly added to the YES abroad US high school progam!

Egypt!

Ghana

India

Malaysia

Mali

Morocco

Oman

Indonesia

Thailand & Tunisia & Turkey!!