Orson, I hope you didn't take anything I said as trying to discourage you. I really am trying to help you brainstorm ways to make this happen, but as someone who would currently find coming up with $2500 completely out of reach no matter how appealing the opportunity, I am also trying to help you find "good enough" substitutes in case you aren't successful in finding ways to bring the cost down or the resources up to something you can manage. I would love for my son to have been able to do a lot of educational things that he really wanted to do that I haven't been able to afford, so I know where you are coming from.
