Thank You Letter

Here is my Thank You Letter I sent to AFS thanking them for my scholarship.
Sorry it's slightly long, i was having problems with indentation from the original so I had to just put an entirely new space.

Dear Scholarship Sponsor,

Words can hardly express how grateful I am for the scholarship money I have been awarded towards my exchange year in Japan. The fee for Japan is no small amount so every bit helps.

Since before I was born, my life has been a mix of cultures. My mother is Brazilian and my father is American. After my birth, my parents wanted to be sure that my Brazilian heritage was not lost to me and that I did not lose touch with my grandmother, aunts, and uncles who only speak Portuguese. My mother taught me Portuguese while my father, an American, taught me English. I have also traveled out of the U.S. to go to Brazil about every other year since I was born. Last year (2008) I had my 15th Birthday party, or Festa de Quinze Anos, which is an important coming of age party for a young woman in Latin American culture. That year my grandmother came to visit us.

I am extremely grateful for my parents’ decision to immerse me in the Brazilian culture. I have learned so much about the people and the life of Brazil. I will never forget or keep those years out of my memory; they have become a part of me. I can’t imagine myself another way. Now, though, I feel I am prepared to take the next step. I want to be able to experience the life and people of other cultures around the world. Japan is the leading interest for me.

The first time I had ever seen anything from Japan was when I stayed the night at my friend’s house five years ago. She had these strange picture books, comic books, that were written backwards. When I asked her she said they were “manga”, Japanese comic books. I soon found myself buying and collecting, reading and re-reading, even drawing these books. Different publishers included different things in the back of their books. One particular publisher had “Translator’s Notes” which gave marked explanations about things mentioned in the manga that were a part of Japanese culture with which an American might be unfamiliar.

First taking the challenge of learning to read manga right-to-left I began something that would affect me the rest of my life. Those books were the spark that helped to grow into the flame that is now my deep interest in Japan. Their culture is so different from America’s and every time I learn something new it keeps me wanting to know more. I have come a long way from where I was and for the past 4 years my life has been about Japan and how to get there.From taking classes in advance or extras to earn enough credits to graduate on time, to learning the language, the prospect of being in Japan has kept my life busy.

Going to Japan is the opportunity of a lifetime that not many get to enjoy. I am thankful for all the support my family and friends have given me. I am equally grateful for all of the knowledge my Japanese teacher, Akemi, has generously poured out to me about her Japanese culture and life.

I am most grateful to AFS for being able to provide the opportunity. I’m sure you hear these words of gratitude all the time but I hope it means something more every time you hear it.
Thank you all so much.

Sincerely,

Betania Pawson