JZ's Japan Trip Journal

Thank You!!!

2009-02-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

Due to a few recent donations, I have acquired my goal. My trip to Japan is ensured.
My goal has been reached and I will now be using this site to bring news updates and such from Japan and international links.

To all my readers, thank you for helping support this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Next week I'll talk about a new article.

The Economy

2009-02-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

As you all know the U.S. economy is going through some harsh times. My family has also taken a huge hit, but luckily we are still able to keep our house and such. It isn't just us though that have had hard times, most of the other people here have also gone through the same, although some of them have lost their homes or jobs.

This has made raising money to go to Japan much harder. We are within three weeks of having to drop out due to the fact that we're a little short of money. Our current amount is $1902.00 and it is $600 short of the next payment. I really want to go to Japan and share my experiences with you all. The "Donate Button" is at the top right of the screen.

Thank you for your support.

All Caught Up

2008-12-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

With the holidays here and there, I've been busy with school until the last day. I have also been busy with preparing for the holidays. But now I have an update on the total amount and a little news on how the first meeting of the delegates went.

Our new total is $1491.00 and is still rising thanks to all the donors. We are still trying to come up with fundraising ideas, and if you have any, please post a comment with your idea. Unfortunately a few ideas have already been unapproved. ex. a school or club bake sale has been disapproved because "it will be competing with the cafeteria"

On a brighter side, the first People to People meeting was a great success. All the eligible delegates have met each other and I am pretty sure we will all get along quite nicely.

Fundraising Auction

2008-12-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

My mom is selling the following books on eBay. All are autographed. All are in "brand new" or "like new" condition with no broken spines or significant wear on the covers or pages). All the money goes toward my expenses for the People to People Student Ambassador program. More information about the program can be found here: http://www.peopletopeople.com/ If you are interested in these items, please click the links and enter a bid. The auctions are open for only a short period (3 days), to informally guarantee delivery for Christmas/Hanukkah.

LJ Maas' "Meridio's Daughter" (2001; Yellow Rose Books / Renaissance Alliance) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120349733404

KG MacGregor's "Mulligan" (2006; Bella) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120349743680

Fran Heckrotte's "Bloodlust" (2007; Intaglio) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120349752411

Mid-week I will be auctioning off some photo poster (13"x19") prints that a photographer friend of my mom's donated to be sold.

A Governmental Change

2008-12-11T04:24:00.000-08:00

A new thing popped up in the tech news recently. President elect Barack O'Bama has installed a Digg-like tool in his website change.gov to help the people decide the policy of the government.
I find this a nice thing to do especially since the current presidency has done things against the approval of the people. This gives me more confidence of the incoming presidency and will help the government knok what the people want done.

In other news my month's total is $140. My complete total is $1140.00 and is still growing. Thank you everybody that has helped in any way. Just mentioning the website helps out greatly. I have also fixed my Donate button and it should work now. Again thank you all and look for another post.

2008-12-01T04:30:00.000-08:00

I was writting an ESSAY recently about the United States. I decided that I was going to share it with you as well. Here it is...

As an American, I am proud to live in this country. We have rights that people in many other countries don't. We have established a Constitution that enforces and describes our rights and many other things that make our country unique. Through the Constitution we are unified under our rights in a way that separates us from other countries.
As everybody knows, our government is a three branch republic. We as a people elect a candidate to represent us as a whole. When we all come together to pick a new, or reelect an old, president, the rest of the world watches in awe. They are amazed that we can do this freely without interference.
The Constitution was written in 1787 and sets the base for our government. The amendments of the Constitution are what actually give us our rights. This document has more importance than the Declaration of Independence in my opinion. The Constitution allows us to defend ourselves even against the state. We all have the right to a trial and a speedy trial as well. We are not automatically guilty and must prove our innocence but rather the opposite. We are not required to house military personnel even in times of war. Under these rights and many more we are united. Our common rights give us all something to defend.
This is the best country in the world, not just for its advances in technology and in society, but for the inalienable rights that we are naturally born with. Who knew that a bunch of old guys sitting around, talking, could make a document that enables us to do the many things they couldn't under British control. They wanted a country whose citizens would be free and the generations after would be also. They wrote the Constitution that did exactly that.

That was my take on the unity of the U.S. I hope you liked it.
In other news I have the new total for the funds which is $1020. Thank you everybody!!! We were able to make the first month payment. I thank you again for all the things you did.

Recycled Urine Water

2008-11-24T05:26:00.000-08:00

The space shuttle that arrived at the ISS (International Space Station) was carrying an experimental piece of equipment. It is a device that recycles human urine into drinkable water, hopefully. The system cost $250 million to make and is using cutting edge technology. One astronaut commented that," Will make yesterday's coffee into today's coffee." If you want to read the article for yourself the link is here.

In other news, I have an updated amount that has been recieved. The new total is $940. I would like to give my thanks to everybody who has visited my blog and helped out. Even if you just talked about it recently I still give my thanks.

2008-11-17T04:06:00.000-08:00

I read in an article of Japan Times that the Prime Minister himself stressed the importance of the economic "crisis." The link is here.

I also have an update on the amount that people have donated. The current amount is $840.
I give my utmost thanks to every person who donated or just visited the site.
If anybody has any ideas on how to raise money, please post a blog and help out.

Newest Update

2008-11-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the donations made by readers and friends, my new total is $655.
This is a significant dent in the goal of $7000.

Again thank you all for donating and helping me achieve my goal.
On a side note i found an article on the discusion of the media.
It debates whether or not the media is centered on improving itself or just
situational crisis. I have installed the link here.

How to Help

2008-11-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

I have installed a donate button at the main page so anybody who wants to help me achieve my goal, can help. It is located at the bottom of the right bar on the page. My goal is approximately $1000 a month. When May of 2009 comes, i hope to have the money to go to Japan.

Welcome

2008-11-08T09:45:00.000-08:00

Hello to all of those who are visiting this site for the first time. Here is a little information about myself and my goal.

I am in tenth grade and go to Colonial High School. I have been accepted to a program called People to People. This year we are going to Japan, where we will be for two weeks. We will be engulfed within the culture of this country. In order to go to on this trip, I need to raise $7,000.