About Me

1/20/15

 

Can I just say that China was awesome? I LOVED my experience! My ILP days though are over for the time being. I am now embarking on a new journey, to serve an LDS mission, for a period of 18 months. My mission area covers parts of Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. I am excited to get out there and serve those who need me.

 

I have been able to update my blog on my own during my Russia and China semesters, but my mother will be so graciously handling my blog for me while I am on my mission. I will be emailing updates and news to her, and she will then post it on this blog. I will try to keep it updated on a weekly basis, but posts may not be as long or detailed as I have done before!

 

I would love to hear from anyone during my mission, so be sure to check out my blog post with my mission address. Thanks!

Wish me luck.

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4/3/14

Here I am. I completed my first volunteer trip aboard, which was from Aug-Dec 2013. It was the one of the hardest things I've done. But to be frank, I would go back to visit Russia in a heartbeat. I miss it dearly!

After getting back to the U.S. in January, I've been working two jobs and getting back to usual life. I've enjoyed spending lots of time with my family. But soon, this August, I will be jet-set again, off to China for 4 months, volunteering as a Head Teacher for ILP. A Head Teacher helps to manage and guide the group of volunteers who are there to teach.

Unlike my last trip, Head Teachers' expenses are paid by ILP. I even get a stipend for living and travel. So I do not have to fundraise like I did last year. It's an amazing opportunity to go live in a foreign country, pretty much for free!

I have to attend two different trainings, and continue on getting the appropriate documents to ILP, in preparation for my trip.

Wish me luck. ;)

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 8/3/13

Here I am. A recent high-school graduate, waitress, and enthusiastic world traveler (or at least I hope to be soon).

My name is Maegan, and I am heading to St Petersburg, Russia, from August 26th - December 18th, 2013, for a volunteer trip. During this time I will be planning, preparing, and teaching English to Russian kids for a couple of hours everyday.

This adventure has left me beyond excited. I have never been out of the U.S., never lived out of my dusty home-state (which I do love, dearly), and I have never lived on my own before. These facts do leave me nervous, but that is to be expected. In this case, I think it is more of a fear of the unknown. I just have to remind myself that I've conquered fears before, and I can do it again.

 

 

Because of the support of my family, friends, and customers (you guys are the best!), I have been able to fundraise my volunteer trip with ILP. I have raised around $3,200. I cannot believe my success and am very thankful for all the donations and help!

My activities in St Pete's will include: volunteer teaching daily, encounters with the host family I will be living with, sight-seeing in the city, vacationing in Russia as well as surrounding countries, and much more. When contemplating of all the things I can do and see there, I know I'm going to stay busy.

Since being accepted into ILP on August 31st, 2012, I've been able to have a lot of different conversations with people at my work, at church, and with my peers, on the matter of me going to Russia. It's been interesting that a lot of people want to and expect me to follow the popular "routine" of life; supposing that I'm going to jump right into college. But what is that inspirational term we are constantly trying to remind ourselves... oh yeah: follow your dreams (especially when you're young, because it's easy to do when you're not "tied down"). I wanted to think outside of the box, and do something that will help me grow as an individual. Once I even read a review on ILP's website that stated something like, "one semester with ILP abroad is about equivalent to a semester at school." Cultural understanding, exposure to different environments and food, language study, ect. ... these are the things I will be doing abroad. Not to mention learning to live on my own, as well as planning lessons/teaching in a classroom.

Yes, I am interested in going to college. Right now I am simply taking something that sparked an interest in me--seeing and living in a new country, eating and experiencing new things, and maybe, just maybe, learning a bit about myself along the way--and igniting it.

 

Sure, plenty of people do world-travel day-to-day, and as fortunate as they are, maybe they have the resources to hop on a plane every few months and go to Cambodia or Ireland. Some people fly around the globe, simply because that is part of their job.

What I'm doing with ILP isn't anything new. This program has existed for 21 years, and hundreds of volunteers have gone out and done exactly what I will be doing this Fall.

Although my little 4-month trip may seem insignificant in comparison to the grand scheme of things, I am beyond thrilled. Moreover, to tell it to you frankly, I am sick of talking about it and just want to hop on that plane and go already!

Russia has a lot to offer me. The people, who seem modest and cold on the outside, are some of the most warm people (or at least that's what I heard.) Their history is rich and their museums full. They are famous for their vodka (although I'm not really interested in this, personally...). It is highly unlikely that I will be recruited by the mafia, but if I am, please reassure my mother that I'll be alright. Yes, it will get cold in the last couple months I am there, but I promise that it's nothing too severe, and I admit I'm looking forward to living in a "real" winter wonderland.

Thank you for visiting my blog and please be sure to comment!
Dasvidaniya!