Hi! My name is Madelyn Wilson Patterson. I'm 16 years old and live in the wonderful town of Boulder, Colorado. I've attended Fairview High School for the last two years and have loved it. But this upcoming semester I've decided to travel thousands of miles away to Argentina, where I will be an exchange student.  I am going through a program called AFS. AFS is a non-profit organization that works toward a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools, and communities through a global volunteer partnership. I'm extremely excited to go, but also very nervous. The application process has been long and not always easy but I am so thankful that I have officially been accepted into the AFS Argentina program. I will be leaving this February and will be there for about 6 months. This next semester will be a new adventure and life changing experience for sure. I decided that I wanted to be an exchange student in Argentina because of many different reasons.

All my life I have lived in or around Boulder, Colorado. I have loved it but recently I have started to wonder what life is like somewhere completely different. I want to go on this exchange so that I can experience and learn about a culture and life that's so different from my own. My mother is fluent in Spanish and I enjoy listening to her speak the language. I've always wanted to speak Spanish myself and this exchange will help me do that! Hopefully I will come back and be able to speak Spanish with my mom. Argentina is European influenced and that is why I chose it out of all the Latin American countries.  I have only been around Spanish from Central America and Mexico and I am very curious to know how Argentinian Spanish is different from that. There is a huge emphasis on tradition and hospitality in Argentina and it seems like an extremely loving country. Art and Dancing also are popular in Argentina and being a dancer myself, I look forward to seeing what dance is like in another country.

I recently applied for a scholarship that was based on essays I wrote and my entire AFS application. It was worth half the cost of the trip and I got it! Although it was a giant help and truly such a wonderful gift, I am still trying to raise funds for the other half of the costs for the trip. I deeply believe that this trip is what I need right now in my life to really grow as a person and broaden my view on different cultures and people. I'm trying to raise around 3,000 dollars to make this trip possible. If you are interested in helping me out you can donate right on this site. I really would appreciate it. Seriously any amount will help. Even if its only a dollar! To sponsor my AFS program now, please click the ChipIn button. Your donation will go directly to my AFS tuition account.