Dear host family,

First, I really want to thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your family and to spend a year in the United States.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself and my family. My name is Carl and I’m 15 years old. I’m going to turn 16 in 2024 and currently I’m attending 10th grade in high school. I live in a big city with my parents and my little sister.

My favorite subjects are History, Politics and of course Sports.

My mother works as a sports therapist in her own business. My father is a teacher for English and Chemistry but has been a high school principal for almost four years now. My sister is also at my high school and I’m very happy about that as we get along very well.

After I have tried different sport like soccer or athletics, I started playing basketball about a year ago and I love it. Besides practice I often play on open courts with my friends in the neighborhood. I also go swimming once a week because I’ve always enjoyed being in the water. In the winter I always go skiing in Austria with my family and close
friends. I’m a very talkative and social person, so when I’m not doing any sports, I spend time with my friends and we watch movies or just talk. But I also often study for school or do homework. Recently I’ve started working as a babysitter for a family in the neighborhood. I like working with kids and they seem to like me, too.

My cousin, who is a police officer now, was an exchange student at a high school in Nebraska and she told me how much she liked it there. But what really sparked my interest in doing an exchange year was my old friend from kindergarten, who lives next door. He told me about his own plans of going to the US, so that was when I started considering this for myself. I was sure that my family would support me as my father spent a year at university and he always told me how exciting his experience was. Because of this we still have friends in the US and I‘m touch with their 15-year-old son, who also encouraged me to take the chance of going to the United States.

With my family I have visited many countries in Europe and for the last four years I took part in a summer camp for teenagers in Sardegna, Italy.

But I think spending a full school year abroad gives me the chance of really getting to know the American culture by experiencing it every day and not just from movies or as tourist. I’m really looking forward to meeting new
people and making a lot of new friends when I go to school and participate in many different activities with them.

Being away from home and my family for so long is a challenge but I’m already very excited and curious. I would like to express my thankfulness for your hospitality and generosity. I’m sure it will be a great experience to stay with you and also share some of my culture with you.

Kind regards,

Carl