<p>It sure sounds like you’d be busy! Here’s another thought and a compromise assuming your parents don’t want you to move there as a HS student - I’ve hosted Japanese HS aged students for a few weeks in the summer a number of times. They come over here and stay in the home of a family here and attend classes as part of the program - not as part of a regular school. We, as the host family, give them a place to sleep, feed them, transport them to the class, and do things with them on weekends, etc. Around here that includes taking them to the beach, the park, doing more mundane things like walking the dog, going to a grocery, the mall, etc. If there’s a similar program where you could go over there for a couple of weeks in the summer it’d introduce you more to the country, the people, etc. more yet it’d only be for 2-3 weeks so you’d be back home with your family afterwards which might be more amenable to them. I don’t know what the cost would be or any specific programs.</p>
<p>My daughter is adopted Korean and she spent a summer in Japan when she was in high school. She lived witha Japanese family and took Japanese classes. She was treated like a princess by her host family, and encountered no racism from the Japanese. She is still in touch with her Japanese “sister” via Facebook, and considers her experience to have been one of the best things she’s ever done.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad and bagoshell:
Thank you! I asked my parents when I was in middle school if I could study abroad- they said wait for high school. Now in high school, they say wait for college. T_T
Once they hear I want to go to Japan for 4 years (well, 3 years if I study abroad in S. Korea for a year), I’m sure it will not go over well. I’ll try them again though! :)</p>
<p>What would you do if your son or daughter said they wanted to go study at a foreign university for 4 years?</p>
<p>emeraldkity4- Thank you for your input. Could you elaborate on why you would say no for undergraduate? What if your son/daughter wasn’t interested going to graduate school?</p>
<p>My daughter did tell me she wanted to go to university in England. I told her to research the financial aid and tuition costs and when she found out that there was no financial aid for international students and the tuition was far out of her range, she decided on a US university with a study abroad program. (University of Pennsylvania)</p>
<p>mdh625- Don’t despair and end up in a career you won’t like. It is definitely possible to make a reasonable living working for non-profits. You won’t get rich, but you can live comfortably. I know many people who do.</p>
<p>Another option, which may come with more salary stability, is working on environmental policy for the government. </p>
<p>One thing to be aware of is that environmental jobs can not be found everywhere. In the US they will likely be in DC, New York, or major metropolitan areas in California. </p>
<p>As far as getting started, you might want to look for an internship this summer. Some of them are paid and it will help you develop your resume and contacts in the field. idealist.org is a great place to look.</p>
<p>Why does a child obsess about leaving home so young ? My D started sleep-away camp at 7 for a month ,was all set to go to St. Andrews in the UK as undergrad ,spent all of last summer at an organic farm in Sweden (thank God she was accepted to Harvard ) .Why does Rayna want to leave her family while still very young ? Some children want to break away so young !! Do they not enjoy their present life ? As a mom of 4 , I don’t really understand why some children do this -the desire for early independence ? My D has always had lots of opportunity for independence- perhaps Rayna does not ? Looking for answers.</p>