Dear host family,

My name is Emma and I´m 15 years old (16 when I arrive). I´m very interested in spending some time in the US as I like to explore different countries and cultures and I also want to improve my English level.

I live in a small rural town in the middle west of Germany. Here I live with my parents and my two younger siblings. We also have a cat who is a really cranky Garfield cat but also very sweet. She loves to share my bed with me and wakes me up in the middle of the night to beg for food. Sometimes we enjoy playing board games on winter evenings or we spend time at our garden pool in summer. I also like our family holidays very much, where we discover different areas of Germany and Europe or go skiing once a year. Sometimes my sister and I go shopping together and get some new books, clothes or other other stuff. And even if my siblings can sometimes be really annoying I still enjoy spending time with them.

I would describe myself as a very friendly and respectful person. Even if I sometimes can be a bit shy I like to meet new people and get to know them. I´m also very creative and love to draw and craft and I have a general interest in nearly everything. I like to learn new things and to increase my general knowledge.

I like to spend my free time with my friends. In summer we often go all together to the public outdoor pool where we swim and talk until evening. In winter, when the public outdoor pool is closed, we take the train and bus to the ice skating center in a town near by. We always have a lot of fun and laugh a lot together. And if we don´t feel like doing those things we walk around the town, go shopping or we just sit all together at someone’s house, talk and listen to music and enjoy our time. Every Thursday I go swimming at the local surf club. And on Friday me and my best friend and another friend of mine have hip hop training. I also play piano and flute since I was little and still love to do it. My best friend and I also often train with her nursing pony and help with the stables work. When I was a bit younger we had our own pony, that we worked with and rode but we sadly had to sell it do to time problems. My me time, when I like to read all different type of books, draw some sketches, craft, cook, or do my hair and make up, is also very important to me, especially on stressful days. I don´t really have a favorite food. I love to explore new dishes and to experience by cooking. But there are some that I like more than others. For example couscous pan, egg fried rice, Roulades and much more. My favorite holidays are probably the Christmas holidays. When its cold outside and the fireplace is on. Around Xmas everything just feels so cozy and smells like tangerines, cinnamon and gingerbread. On the day after Xmas we always go to our grandma where the whole family comes together and eats a fabulous 3 course meal. The first one is alphabet soup. After that the main meal, deer with croquettes and red cabbage, is served. And at last some kind of desert that my mom makes. But the good food from my grandma is not the only reason why I like that tradition. It is also very nice to celebrate Xmas together with the whole family and listen to the old stories.

I hope to learn about the culture and history of the US and to get a look at the life of an american high school student. I want to meet new people there and make friends. I also want to learn more about life in the US, with all its positive and negative sides and all the differences to life in Germany. And of course I hope to improve my English too.

Sincerely,

Emma