Dear Host Family,

First of all, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to fulfill my dream of doing an exchange year in the US. I’m so grateful and incredibly excited to get to know you and become a part of your family.

My name is Liya and I go to a bilingual (English-German) school. I live with my parents, and my grandparents live close by as well. To me, family is very important, which is why we try to see my grandparents as often as possible and, for example, go out to eat and spend time with them. My parents and I like to go on trips or play golf together. We also value that we eat together every day to talk about our day or any current topics affecting us individually or as a family. My friends are also a big part of my life and I love to meet with them to go shopping, go out to eat or to cafes, study together or do fun activities like making crafts or watching movies.

My hobbies include playing golf, which I do three times a week. I am part of my club’s youth team and this season we reached 5th place in the German National Finals. I play the piano, and also like dancing hip hop, reading and baking. I would love to bake German cakes or pastries for you to show you a bit more of the things I like and do in my life here. I am also on my school’s English debate team where we do competitions and just this year we finished 2nd in the Junior League National Finals.

On weekends I go to Korean school, play golf tournaments, meet with friends or family and study for school. Another one of my interests is traveling. I have been to many countries, including the US, as vacation with my parents or even with my school, which has allowed me to see many
different cultures and cities and I am very grateful that I am able to visit so many new places and get to know the world.

My plans for the future are to graduate high school in Germany and then study at a university abroad and, later on, have a job that is preferably international and brings joy to me. One of my biggest goals is to have seen a lot of places in life and to gather many memorable experiences.

That includes an exchange year in the US. I’m thrilled to learn about American culture, as well as meet new friends and personally grow from this experience. As schools in America are probably different from the ones in Germany, I am also excited to study different subjects and experience high school life in general, as I enjoy learning about new things. I’m not only very grateful that you are going to make my exchange year possible, but also to learn new things about life, myself and most importantly, to experience all this together with you.

“Life is short, and it is here to be lived.” – Kate Winslet

I can’t wait to meet you!

Yours,
Liya