To my dear new host family,

My name is Catalina and I would like to thank you in advance for taking me as an exchange student. I am incredibly looking forward to the exciting time with my new family in the USA, my absolute dream country.

I am 15 years old and live with my family in Germany. We live in a house with a garden and lots of nature around us. My family includes my parents, my 9-year-old brother and our dog Benni.

My parents are self-employed with a craft business.

I am now in 10th grade and I am very interested in getting to know the English language and American culture even better. My favorite subjects at the moment are English and biology.

My everyday (school) life currently looks like this:

I have to get up at 6:00 a.m. in order to be at school on time for the 7:30 a.m. start of classes. School finishes at 12:40 p.m. After school, I like to cook and bake for myself and my family. My everyday tasks include kitchen duty and cleaning my room regularly. I also do my own laundry.

Getting a dog has always been my dream. I am very reliable and look after him responsibly. I take him for a run after school. I am very fond of animals and look forward to maybe getting to know pets in your home too.

In my free time I like to spend time with my friends. We often go shopping, chill out together or play with my dog Benni. On the weekends I enjoy my free time and sleeping in from an exhausting school week.

I also love traveling and have been to many European countries with my family. I recently visited the Czech Republic with my grandma and my orchestra and played the piano at a concert there.

You may be wondering why I chose the USA for my year abroad

the USA has long been my absolute dream country. I have already visited my uncle near Washington DC twice and was able to gain some exciting insights and was very pleasantly surprised at how well I already understood the English language.

The diversity of cultures, the open and friendly people and the numerous opportunities to discover and learn new things fascinate me. I also want to improve my English skills and experience American culture first-hand.

I am looking forward to the coming months and the many new experiences I will have with you as host family and school. I am excited to get to know you and learn more about life in the USA.

Thank you again for giving me this unique opportunity.

happy greetings from Germany

Catalina