Hello, I'm Macaela Thoelke! I have been studying Japanese for the last 3 years with my high school and have been presented the opportunity to go to Japan! I'd be going to Niigata and some parts of Tokyo! I will be immersing myself in the culture and getting to use the language I've worked so hard to study! Japanese is very time-consuming to learn; it has three alphabets, tons of different conjugations, and particles which can make or break a sentence. Going to Japan to practice and show off what I know will only increase the skills I have gained because I will be with native speakers. For those of you that know me, this is a lifelong dream of mine to be able to go! The costs of this GoFundMe would cover the rest of my transportation (plane and rail pass), food, and boarding.