Dear Host Family,

My name is Elyne Schneider, and I am 17 years old. I'm from France, and I'm excited about the opportunity to spend a year in the United States with your family as part of a high school exchange program. I want to share a little about myself, my life in France, and what I hope to experience during my stay.

I live with my parents, my little brother, and my dog Oopy, a lively female French bulldog who loves to steal the spotlight! Oopy brings a lot of joy and energy to our home, and her playful nature makes every day fun.

I am currently in a program called STMG (Science and Technology of Management and Administration) at school. I am passionate about my studies, especially in law and marketing, as they give me insight into how businesses operate and how societies function. I take my education seriously and strive to do my best while balancing it with fun and social activities.

In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with friends, exploring new cafes, and having movie nights. I also have a strong interest in fashion and luxury brands, which I love to follow closely even if I can’t attend the big runway shows myself ! Keeping up with trends and seeing what the top designers are creating inspires me, and I try to bring a bit of that style into my own life. These moments are important to me because they let me relax, have fun, and express myself.

I would describe myself as friendly, curious, and adaptable. I thrive on meeting new people and learning about different cultures, believing that everyone has a unique story to share. I approach challenges with a positive attitude and am always ready to embrace new experiences.

I have always been fascinated by the United States the rich culture, diversity, and endless opportunities for exploration. I am particularly looking forward to living with a host family and attending a nearby high school, as I want to experience American life firsthand. If possible, I would love to visit some interesting places around the country after all, I want to see more than just the inside of a classroom! I promise I won’t ask for a guided tour of every café, but I do hope to try a few local specialties.

In conclusion, I am eager for this adventure. I believe that living with your family will not only help me grow but also create lasting memories together. Thank you for considering me as part of your family for the year. I can’t wait to meet you and start this exciting journey!

Best wishes,

Elyne Schneider

Hello dear host parents, 

I'm Tim and I'm 16 years old. Me and my parents live in the east of Germany. Currently I'm in 10th grade at a grammar school and at the moment my favorite subjects are PE, history and math. I'm very happy to have the opportunity to do an exchange year in America. 

I hope that I can learn a lot from you about the traditions that are common in your country, but I'm also happy to share typical German traditions with you. 

I am a very openminded person who loves to spending time with my friends and meet new people. I am very ambitious and dedicated, which means that I often try to solve my problems on my own first. I set myself goals that I stick to. I'm an active person and like to do sports. 

Mainly, I've been playing soccer in a club for over 10 years. It feels good to be on the pitch after a hard day and clearing my head. I'm curious to see how the American style of play differs from that of the Germans. I even coached a team of younger players for a while, but unfortunately school doesn't leave me any time for that now. I would be very happy if I could continue to play soccer in America. 

In summer I also like to go on little trips with them on our stand-up paddling boards. I also sail from time to time or do a bit of motor boating. I can sail quite well because I've been a member of a sailing club since I was born and I'm also a good motorboat driver. If you are interested in water activities as well, it would be great. If you want to get to know how to drive a boat, I could try to teach you. 

During the winter season I often go skiing with my mom and friends. I love to carve down and improve my abilities and tricks. We always have fun, while playing a game where we try to hit each other with snowballs. 

From time to time, I also train in a small outdoor gym to improve my physique. I'm also interested in other sports that are typical for America and it would be great if I could experience these too. I especially like American football very much. It would be super cool if I could watch the iconic college football games of my school's team. Maybe I'll even get a few tips and tricks. 

My family is a big part of my life too and I love spending time with them. I especially enjoy our barbecues together, where sometimes other family members come and my father and I barbecue for everyone. Last vacation, I visited the United States with them and loved the cities, the country and all the nice people that we have met. 

Then I was very interested in, how the vacation differs from everyday life there. In my eyes the exchange year is the best opportunity to find out. I have also attended a few English camps in the past and I really enjoy being able to communicate in a foreign language.

I am really looking forward to getting to know you, joining your family and having a great time with you. 

Best regards 

Tim 

Dear exchange Family. 

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to make my long time dream of making an exchange year true. 

My name is Ida-Marie, but everyone just calls me Ida. Right now I am fifteen years old and I am going to be sixteen when I will do my exchange year. 

I live in a house with my parents Yvonne and Christian. 

I don't have any siblings but I have two little cousins which I love spending time with. 

I am a big dog person. 

We had a little dog named Daisy. 

My hobbies are going to the gym and I want to start with 

cheerleading soon. 

My first time in the US was when I was four years old. 

Since then we were there nearly every year for vacation. 

From the start I was interested in learning the language and to know more about it. 

Since I can remember I always wanted to do the exchange year. To really get to know how it is to live there and how an American school is like. 

Also I think it will help me to make my English even better. 

I am very excited to meet my exchange family and to have the 

once in a live chance to have an exchange year. 

I am looking forward to meet new people and experience new things. 

Thank you so much again. 

Can't wait to meet you. 

Sincerely,

Ida

Dear host family,

My name is Camilla, and I am 16 years old. Through this letter, I want to share with you something about myself, my family, my friends, and my passions so that you can know me better before we meet.

To be honest, it is very strange thinking that in less than a year I will be on the other side of the world without knowing exactly what to expect: a new family, new friends, habits, schedules, but I’m not scared in fact, since I was a child, I have always been a person who loves to travel and discover different cultures, thanks also to my family with whom I have traveled all over the world. One of

my favorite trip was the one we did in America.

Talking further on about myself, I must admit that, in the beginning, I may find it difficult to open completely, because I have always been a rather shy and reserved person, but don't worry, I just need to get a little comfortable and immediately become a friendly and sociable girl. I am a sensitive and empathetic person and I like listening to others and knowing I can help.

I think I can be a good friend and a good daughter by helping you whenever you need it, and I hope you will do the same for me.

Let's talk about my family. There are four of us: my dad Andrea, who is a military doctor, mom Chiara who works in an insurance company, and my older brother Alessandro who started medical university this year. I consider myself lucky because I know I have a good relationship with my brother, even though we argue sometimes (I believe it is normal), since we were kids, we have always helped each other in difficult situations. With both mom and dad, we’ve had our disagreements at times. However, in the end, I can honestly say that we always manage to resolve our differences with love and understanding.

For the past four years, Otto has been part of our family, a Beagle who has become very important and essential in my life. Otto is like a friend to me, he manages to make me have fun and calm down when I'm feeling down; it never makes me feel alone, on the contrary, it is always with me while I study, get ready, and watch my favorite TV series.

We live in a house with a garden, this is a great fortune for me but especially for Otto. In fact, much of the time we spend together is either playing in the garden or cuddling each other.From the second year of high school, I started attending a scientific high school.

Through the third year, and to tell the truth, it's more complicated than I expected; even though I am more interested in the study of scientific subjects. I have never been a great student, but I can say that I have

always worked hard to achieve good results, always doing my duty and organizing my work, trying to find the right balance between study, fun, and other passions.

Finally, I hope I have managed to tell you about myself as best as I could. It wasn't easy, but I did it with enthusiasm because I hope that from this letter, you can already appreciate me.

Camilla

Heyy, I am Jasmijn I am 17 years old and I live in the Netherlands in a small village and I really like it here. I am now in the 11th grade. Besides school I play football and go to the gym. My football team is a really nice group of girls and they have really become friends. We do not have any sports at school except gym with your class. So you play football in your own time and in your own place of residence. I often go to the gym with a friend or otherwise alone. I really like sports and especially football because of the nice group of girls. We play in the 1st division in the Netherlands in the girls under 17. Our competition is going quite well despite the fact that we have moved up 2 levels. At school I do my best to pass the year because I am really looking forward to my Exchange year, I am very motivated to pass this year even before I had this plan in my head because I do not like to give up and always want to get more out of myself. I have a lot of friends at school and I also really enjoy my class. I don't have any practical subjects but only theory. My favorite is math, because I have a nice teacher and secretly also a bit because I'm good at it. My least favorite subject is French, this is because of the teacher but also because I'm just not that good at it. With my family I have already gotten to know many new cultures when we go on vacation. We also go on a ski vacation 1/2 times a year which I also really like. Maybe one of the best vacations of the year. When I come to America I would like to get to know more of the culture and experience all the typical American things. I would also like to let you get to know my culture and tell you about it. I am really looking forward to my adventure and I hope to meet you soon! Greetings Jasmijn