Hello, my dear future host family,

First of all, I would like to thank you for choosing me, because you will host me for ten months, which is not a matter of course! I am also very grateful that you want me to be a part of your family! You contribute a huge part to my dream as an exchange student for which I would also like to thank you!

Since I do not know you yet, I will introduce myself to you now. This letter is about me, my life in Germany and about why I want to do a year abroad:

I am Marja 15 (next year 16) years old and I live in the outskirts of East Germany. I live together with my sister, who is two years older then me, and with my mother. My parents are separated for eight years now. With my sister and my mother I can have a lot of fun and I know that they are always there for me. I am very grateful that they support me in my dream to go for a year abroad.

The three of us spend a lot of time together, like playing table tennis, cooking and eating together, making trips or spending holidays and vacations together. Nevertheless, each of us has her free time for privacy and personal development. I help in the household by putting the dishes in and out of the dishwasher, keeping my room tidy, cleaning our bathroom, vacuuming, taking the garbage out and support shopping and putting away the groceries. I also like baking cakes and waffles or making pancakes.

My most important hobby is volleyball. I started playing volleyball six years ago at the age of nine years. I am a member in two Volleyball teams, on the one hand in the team under 18 (U-18) and on the other hand in the first women team. I am the team captain of my volleyball team. Playing volleyball and my team have become an important part of my life. My second hobby is being creative. This includes painting, drawing and photography. While being creative I can relax very well. Also very important to me are my friends. With them, I can talk about everything. We always have fun together and laugh a lot. My friends and I often go to the lake for swimming and laying in the sun. Sometimes we go shopping in the city or out for dinner. We also like to stay overnight with and at friends, talking and watching movies.

I would like to spend ten months in the USA because I would like to get to know the American way of life and the culture of the USA, like the daily life, the family life, the traditions, the nature, places of interests, the food and for instance special events or festivals. I also would like to find out what it is like to go to an American high school, experiencing the high school spirit and making new friends. Most of all I am looking forward to meeting you, my host family! Beyond that, I’m very excited to learn about high school life. And over all I am looking forward to having a lot of new experiences with new people and experiencing many wonderful moments.

I am infinitely grateful for the unique opportunity that you will make possible for me with your hospitality! I am open to many things and I look very much forward to the time we will share together!

Warm regards,

Marja 🙂