Dear host family,

I live with my family in Western Germany. I have 2 siblings. My younger sister Finja and my younger brother Peet. Finja is a very kind and calm person. She is creative and likes to tinker and draw. Peet on the other hand is always very active and always has to do something. His favorite thing is to go fishing and he annoys my father every weekend with it.
My mother is very helpful and nice to everyone. In the afternoon she is home for us kids when we get out of school. Otherwise, she works as a pharmaceutical consultant, does property management for an apartment building and runs 2 vacation homes. One of the apartments is in our house. Ukrainian refugees have been living there for a year.
My father is social, funny and nice. He is the manager of his own company and travels a lot to meet customers. The house we live in used to belong to my grandparents, who lived here with us until 2 years ago. They unfortunately had to move out because my grandma needed an apartment where she can move around with a wheelchair.

My father and I go bouldering 2 times a week, usually my mother comes too. My two siblings prefer to play tennis. But we all like to go hiking. Whether it’s in the Alps or in the forest next to us.

I am very social, communicative and outgoing. I like to chat with anyone, about any topic. I love the company and do not like to be alone. Also, I am very sporty and am quick to learn something new. I always help my mother a lot in the household. For example, I set the table, take out the garbage or I clean up the kitchen. I am kind and caring with my brother and sister. From time to time we quarrel, but after a while we get along again. When I don’t go to sports or meet with my friends, I like to play video games on my PC and I’m not bad at most games. The only disadvantage is that I sit too much at my computer and forget to study for school.

My favorite activities are: Bouldering, biking, playing video games with friends, meeting outside with friends or doing something with my family. I also like many sports such as volleyball, basketball or track and field. I don’t really have favorite foods but what I like very much is tarte flambée. This is a thin dough with sour cream on it, bacon and spring onions. It goes into the oven like a pizza. I don’t have allergies in the usual sense, but I can’t tolerate pumpkin seeds and poppy seeds. If I ever accidentally eat any of those, I get sick, stomach cramps, and throw up.
My favorite holidays are the carnival. The carnival season starts on 11.11 at 11:11. But the most important days here are Weiberdonnerstag through Aschermittwoch. On these days, people dress up, sing, go to parties and dance a lot. Because everyone is in a good mood and fun on those days, it’s my favorite holidays. I am very curious about it to spend holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving with you.

An Exchange year is a great opportunity to learn something about the US, the Culture and to gain experiences in different environments. I would also like to be able to speak English intuitively and fluently. I am very curious to see what it will be like to live without my parents for such a long time. It won’t always be easy, but it will make me a more confident person. When I come back from the U.S., I would like to graduate from high school and later study business administration. I have the desire to start my own hardware company later.

I am very interested in learning how to play baseball and America Football. There are a lot of things I would like to see. For example, the Statue of Liberty, New York, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon and many more. I know I won’t be able to see everything, but I think it will still be a great time. I am also very interested in what there is to eat in the U.S., which we do not know here in Europe.
On the other hand, I would like to tell you a lot about our life, our culture and our country.

I am curious to know how you live, how your everyday life goes and what things in life are important to you. I am sure I will have many great experiences and memories with you that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Ideally, we will stay in touch for a long time after my time with you. Having friends all over the world is a beautiful thought!

I hope you are happy to see me. I am also looking forward to meet you and spend time with you. I am so exited already.

Until I see you, I wish you all the best.

Tom