My name is Dean Shaff. Currently, I live in St. Paul, go to high school, and when I have the time, hang out with my friends. However, in the 2009-2010 school year, I am going abroad with AFS. I plan to stay in Portugal. As of right now, I don't know where in Portugal. AFS, in the last couple of months has become very important to me, both as an exciting lookout for the upcoming year, and also as a way to challenge myself in ways I never have before. I will be getting on a plane, sometime in early September, and after two orientations about Portugal and the local culture, will be staying with a completely new set of people, who live in a different culture, and who live in a society with different values than my own. On top of that, I will be immersed in a culture and language in which I am not very well-versed. AFS is a great opportunity for me to challenge myself in new and powerful ways, and it is both very exciting and scary to me.
A lot of people ask me why I want to go abroad. Some ask if I like to travel. I do like to travel, but I don't think that my AFS experience will be as much about travel as about integrating myself into a new part of the world. Other people ask if I think that by going abroad, I can make the world a better place. I say that I think that by going to Portugal, and learning their language, and experiencing their culture, that I might become a more "global citizen." By this, I mean that I want to become someone who knows other people's culture, and can gain new insights about my own culture by doing this. Perhaps, even, I can find out more about myself. Through talking to people currently involved with AFS, and reading huge amounts of literature supplied by AFS, I have discovered that the best way to integrate myself in a new culture is by throwing myself at it (instead of just "going with it"). Instead of saying that something is better or worse, I should just think of it as different. Plus, for the last couple of years, I have been fascinated by the Portuguese language, and Portuguese customs, as well as the geography of Portugal. It is a beautiful country, about half as small as my home state, Minnesota, and about twice as geographically diverse. The country is surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean, and as a result, I want the opportunity to live by the ocean.
Applying for AFS was an arduous and lengthy process. My mom and and I, because we don't have a scanner, went back and forth from Kinko's, sometimes late at night (so as to meat deadlines) to scan form after form. However, the format and layout of the AFS application is simple enough, it just has many parts. Besides this, I had to make some very difficult decisions. I remember sitting at the kitchen table, sitting with my parents, talking about my future in the next year. I was very excited to do the program (like now) but my parents were talking to me about the issues that come with the program. What will my mom (who lives without my dad, as he is getting his Ph.D in Iowa City) do when I leave? What about the hefty price tag on the program? How will I get comfortable with living in another country? How much Portuguese do I really know? My mom was incredibly worried, but after talking about it, she told me that if we could find the money, that we should do the program.
Money is difficult to come by with two family members at the university. Fortunately for me, I got a scholarship from AFS, and I am adding (slowly) to the money in my bank account by working at the local bike shop. My parents say that they can help as much as possible. I am planning a fundraising dinner at my church, and my brother, who is in a band, is planning on doing a fundraising show for me. Plus, I am asking for donations from as many people as I know. I think that with some work, I will be able to to pay for my AFS experience.
