Dear host family,

Let me introduce myself; my name is Neomi, I’m 16 years old, I’m a girl who loves to travel and have new experiences, who likes to go out with her friends. I’m very friendly and extroverted, sporty, active, confident, very chatty, pacifist in fact, I don’t love discussing and arguing with people but I prefer to talk and clarify while also taking on my responsibilities. I like in Italy with my beautiful and particular family made up of 5 people, my father Alessandro, as well as my volleyball coach, is one of the most generous people I know, he always puts my happiness and that of my sisters and my mother first. He is very ironic person who loves to joke, especially with me. In fact we have a really good relationship. Then there is my mother Maria Grazia, who I would define as my best friend. I talk to her about everything because I know that she loves me and that she always wants to listen to me and support me. We understand each other immediately and we are very similar. She trusts me completely, and I trust her with my life. She and my father allow me to do many things with my friends because they know that I am a responsible person and I know how to organize all my commitments and duties. I have two wonderful sisters who I am very fond of. My biggest sister is named Alessandra, she is 19 years old. I get along very well with her even though we have two very different personalities, she is a very sweet girl and loves physical contact. We both have a passion for volleyball, and this has allowed us, ever since we were little, to play a lot together. Our parents actually met thanks to it, in fact my father was my mother’s coach and so they met on the volleyball courts. We are a very athletic family. Emma is my second sister, she is 13 years old and I love her with all my heart. I have a beautiful but different relationship with her since she has a serious rare genetic disease which creates a serious cognitive and motor delay, she is not able to speak but has beautiful smiles. She uses a wheelchair as she is unable to walk and is fed via a feeding tube. Thanks to her, since I was a child, I have developed a strong sensitivity and love toward others. I have learned a lot from her and this has made me grow a lot, allowing me to see life through the eyes of love, this journey certainly wasn’t easy and it still isn’t because living with her obviously involves changes in the life of the whole family, but will continue to fight and be strong for Emma. I conclude by introducing you to my beloved dogs: Flash and Gas, who I love very much and with whome I like to take long walks, playing with them. In our family we help and support each other even in household chores, in fact everyone has their own tasks to help in managing the house, for example I wash the dishes, I help in cleaning the house, I take the dogs out, I clean my room and I help mom with Emma. Here in Italy I attend the high school of human sciences which has as its main subjects psychology, which is my favorite subject, pedagogy, sociology and anthropology, and basic subjects such as mathematics, Italian, and English. My relationship with school and learning in general is good because I like learning new things even if they are difficult because I think that learning difficult things helps challenge my brain, helping me grow. For example, even though I think I am not good at scientific subjects because although I study them, I still have some difficulty in getting high grades like in other subjects, but this doesn’t stop me. In fact, it makes me work even harder to be able to meet my expectations. I like going to school especially because there is my group of friends made up of 8 girls, all different from each other but who get along really well together, without them everything would be too boring. In fact, My hope would be to find good friends in the United States too, but despite this, I will still work twice as hard there at school since it will be more demanding. Besides school there is another thing that occupies a good part of my time; volleyball, as I have already said, I have been playing it since I was a child and my goal is to be able to go and play in increasingly higher categories, I am already in a very important championship, in face I played in Series C, here in Italy it is a high level championship level for a 16 uear old girl who takes me to play away from home, and a young championship, I train 4 times a week plus 2 games on the weekend. I hope to be able to find a good team in the United States to be able to continue cultivating this my passion and maybe open some paths for the future. Ever since I was little, I have been in love with American culture, its high schools, the famous prom, the football games, the cheerleaders, the beautiful American houses and above all the vitality of the Americans, in fact I hope to travel a lot with my host family, since for as long as I can remember, I have always been used to taking trips in a motorhome/camper with my family. In fact, thanks to the camper, I have developed a great sense of adaptation. Above all, I hope to be able to form a beautiful relationship with them as I would like to be able to create a bond that will last even after my return to Italy, and to be able to build a relationship based on trust so that they trust me. I hope to make many friends to be able to totally immerse myself in the American Lifestyle. I think it will be hard to be without my family on the other side of the world, but I’m ready to accept the challenge, I think this trip will help me a lot to understand who I am and what I want to do and be when I grow up, understand what I’m into able to to do and what my limites are and if I can overcome them. I am convinced that I will overcome all the difficulties that arise during this experience becuase I am very motivated and convinced of this choice of this choice so much so that I can’t wait to leave.