Help Geordan get to Wales!
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Hi Everyone! My name is Geordan and I am a graduate student currently living and studying in Dayton, Ohio. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’ve decided to start a GoFundMe in attempt to reach a goal that is very important to me – I am trying to go to Wales in the summer of 2017! It’s a pretty long story as to how/why I got interested in the Welsh language and in the country of Wales itself, but I’ll do my best to give a brief overview.
My introduction to Wales and to the Welsh language happened back in October of 2011 after being introduced to the music of Gruff Rhys, a musician from Wales who writes songs in both English and Welsh. After listening to his songs, I quickly developed an interest in the language and decided that I wanted to learn a few words and phrases. Fortunately, I found an amazing online course called SaySomethingInWelsh that taught me much more than I was ever expecting to learn. After finishing that course and starting a few others, I decided to see just how much Welsh I could learn, and the rest is history. Over the past 5 years, through some amazing strokes of luck, I have met some of my favorite Welsh musicians in person, been featured in a Welsh-language magazine, been on Welsh-language radio, and most recently participated in a Welsh-language documentary about the upcoming 2016 presidential election here in the United States. I’ve also been fortunate enough to connect with so many other Welsh speakers from Wales and from around the world.
Anyway, the biggest reason that I’ve decided to start this GoFundMe is because I was invited to come to this year’s National Eisteddfod (the annual Welsh-language language and culture festival) after I made this video of myself speakingWelsh.
The video circulated online and earned me quite a bit of attention, and, before I knew it, I had been nominated twice to compete in the Dysgwr y Flwyddyn (Learner of the Year) competition. Many people were willing to help me raise money to come to the Eisteddfod and to compete in the competition, but I had to decline, due to a time conflict with my job. However, I was able to keep my nomination and I should be free to visit Wales during the 2017 National Eisteddfod.
I am ecstatic to participate in the Dysgwr y Flwyddyn competition! But, even more than that, I would love to travel to this beautiful country that I have been dreaming of visiting for so long. The connections that I have made with so many people and the kindness that everyone has shown me has made such an impact on my life.
From the research that I have done, I’ve found that a round trip plane ticket to Wales from Cleveland (my hometown) would cost anywhere between $1300 and $1700. I am trying to raise about $2000 so that I would also have money for accommodations/a place to stay once I get to Wales. For anything else, I would use my own savings. The Eisteddfod is also 9 months away, which gives me 8 months to raise funds, so I figured I’d give this a try!
Anyway, any donation amount would mean the world to me, as would a reshare/repost/retweet, etc. Thank you so much for reading !!
Geordan
My introduction to Wales and to the Welsh language happened back in October of 2011 after being introduced to the music of Gruff Rhys, a musician from Wales who writes songs in both English and Welsh. After listening to his songs, I quickly developed an interest in the language and decided that I wanted to learn a few words and phrases. Fortunately, I found an amazing online course called SaySomethingInWelsh that taught me much more than I was ever expecting to learn. After finishing that course and starting a few others, I decided to see just how much Welsh I could learn, and the rest is history. Over the past 5 years, through some amazing strokes of luck, I have met some of my favorite Welsh musicians in person, been featured in a Welsh-language magazine, been on Welsh-language radio, and most recently participated in a Welsh-language documentary about the upcoming 2016 presidential election here in the United States. I’ve also been fortunate enough to connect with so many other Welsh speakers from Wales and from around the world.
Anyway, the biggest reason that I’ve decided to start this GoFundMe is because I was invited to come to this year’s National Eisteddfod (the annual Welsh-language language and culture festival) after I made this video of myself speakingWelsh.
The video circulated online and earned me quite a bit of attention, and, before I knew it, I had been nominated twice to compete in the Dysgwr y Flwyddyn (Learner of the Year) competition. Many people were willing to help me raise money to come to the Eisteddfod and to compete in the competition, but I had to decline, due to a time conflict with my job. However, I was able to keep my nomination and I should be free to visit Wales during the 2017 National Eisteddfod.
I am ecstatic to participate in the Dysgwr y Flwyddyn competition! But, even more than that, I would love to travel to this beautiful country that I have been dreaming of visiting for so long. The connections that I have made with so many people and the kindness that everyone has shown me has made such an impact on my life.
From the research that I have done, I’ve found that a round trip plane ticket to Wales from Cleveland (my hometown) would cost anywhere between $1300 and $1700. I am trying to raise about $2000 so that I would also have money for accommodations/a place to stay once I get to Wales. For anything else, I would use my own savings. The Eisteddfod is also 9 months away, which gives me 8 months to raise funds, so I figured I’d give this a try!
Anyway, any donation amount would mean the world to me, as would a reshare/repost/retweet, etc. Thank you so much for reading !!
Geordan
Organizer
Geordan Burress
Organizer
Dayton, OH
