Dear host family,

Firstly, I want to thank you for reading my letter. I am really grateful to have the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Nina and I’m 16 years old. One of my favourite personality traits is my perfectionism, which can sometimes be one of my weaknesses, because it leads me to set extremely high standards and expectations for myself, making it hard to accept anything less than perfect. I consider myself emotionally mature and I think I can handle tense or conflict situations without arguments. The people who I’m closest with can always rely on me and come to me with anything that they are struggling with.

I have a younger sister Lea, she’s 13 years old. I kind of take credit for how mature she is for her age. I admire her braveness. My mother is really caring and puts me in my place when I’m wrong about something. On my father I admire his wisdom and how he can handle situations without losing his calm. I’m happy to be surrounded by people who inspire me. For instance, my grandma, who is a really intelligent woman and after every conversation with her I feel more motivated to pursue my own goals with the same wisdom she embodies. My other grandma motivates me to always be kind, because from my perspective she’s the embodiment of kindness. A big part of my life is my best friend Carolina, who I got really close to over this past year.

When I was younger my biggest passion was dance, more specifically ballroom dancing. I took part in a lot of competitions and I’m extremely grateful for my supportive family members, especially my grandpa, who drove me to every single training I had and waited for two hours to drove me back home. As the time passed, my interests changed, as is it is a case in life, but dancing will always have a special place in my heart. I played actively beach volleyball for over three years and now it’s one of the after-school activities I enjoy doing with my friends. In my exchange year, I am open to improving in these areas and I’m not afraid of trying new things, for example I would love to try cheerleading. My favourite form of relaxing and clearing my head is reading psychology books, baking or listening to music. My other passion is fashion, whether it’s diving into the history of designers or curating outfits from my own wardrobe. Many of my favourite memories come from travelling with my family, where I’ve had the chance to explore new cultures and soak up the energy of new places.

I am ready to make most out of this once-in-a-lifetime experience, because I’m aware that many kids my age with the same dream that I have don’t have this opportunity. I am open and more than excited to know all about your culture and learn your traditions and on the contrary familiarise you with our traditions if you let me. Also I think this experience will help me be more independent and it will make it easier for me to step into my adulthood life.

Thank you and I look forward to meeting you soon!