My trip to Ecuador!

Hi!

My name is Ellie Greenler and I am currently a sophomore in high school in Stoughton, Wisconsin. I have recently applied and been accepted into a study abroad program through American Field Service (AFS) Intercultural Exchange Programs. I am lucky enough to get to spend next year in Ecuador! This is an amazing opportunity and I am truly excited to embark on this journey.

I will be living with a family for the 10 months that I am in Ecuador. There I will be attending school and going about daily activities. I will be learning spanish, as it is most likely that my family will not speak english. But I will be learning so much more than spanish; I will be learning about a different culture, about different people, and about myself. I am extremely excited to have this experience and can't wait for this chapter in my life to start.

During the school year here I am a very busy person. I am on the Stoughton high school cross country and track teams and in the winter I ski competitively with the Madison Nordic High School Ski Team. I am also an active member in the Stoughton high school key club where I volunteer in the community. In addition, my days are filled with cooking, photography, reading, laughing, church, family, working on our family farm, friends, and sleep (as it fits in). :)

I am hoping to gain a lot from this experience and I know it will be life changing. I hope that it will widen my views and make me a better person as a whole. With this I hope to pass along happiness and knowledge to my community and the people in my life. I hope to gain great life skills and I hope that they help me along its path.

This will be the adventure of a life time, but I need a little help to make this dream come true. I am hoping to fundraise $5,000 to help me pay for the program and get to have this amazing experience. I have been babysitting and working to get money to help me pay for this trip, but I need some outside help to make this happen. If you are able to donate any amount of money it would be incredibly useful. I know these are hard times, so I appreciate anything you could do. To sponsor my AFS program now, please click the ChipIn button. Thanks so much for your thoughts and time.

~Ellie