Dear host family!

My name is Ainara, and I am very excited about this experience that, thanks to you, will be possible. I would love to be able to have this opportunity of living and getting to know the culture of the USA for ten months living as an American teenage and it has always been my dream, so I would be willing to do whatever it takes to make this experience unforgettable for both me and you.

If I had to describe my personality, I would say that I am a responsible person and I like the people around me to feel comfortable with me. I am also very affectionate, it’s just that sometimes it’s a little hard for me to express it. I’m organized and sometimes too perfectionist, which can sometimes be a little frustrating because not everything goes the way I want; I understand the mistakes of others, but it is difficult for me to admit my own mistakes.

I would also describe myself as a happy and active person, I like to do sports, visit different places, meet new people… and when I am resting, I usually read or watch movies and series.

In my family we are five people. My father is a manager of a supermarket;and my mother is head of administration at a high school, she likes to go out on her bicycle and read. They work a lot, but they always look for time to spend with the family, like playing board games, watching movies, traveling or doing any thing together. This is sometimes complicated since my brothers, and I don’t usually have the same hobbies. My sister is twelve years old, and she loves rollerskating. She trains many days a week and has participated in national and even in international championships.

However, my brother is nine years old, and he loves soccer, he plays a lot with my father because he also loves this sport. I usually spend more time with my sister because we are of a similar age and we share more opinions and hobbies like going shopping together, we even share some friends. It is very different from the relationship I have with my brother, because I take care of him and teach him things.

We all love music; my father sings in a group with his friends, and they do concerts in different places in Spain; my sister plays the clarinet; my brother, the saxophone and when I was their age, I played the guitar. We also went to the choir in the town where we live. The town where we live is close to a city, where I go to high school, go shopping, go out with friends and do my daily life.

I love spending time with my family; my uncles, grandparents and cousins. My father’s and my mother’s family get along very well so we always spend Christmas, my favorite holiday, together. I really like it; my cousins and I get along very well, sometimes they help me because they are older than me and we make plans like going to concerts together. However, I have always wanted to have a little cousin because I love children.

I have many friends, but I am usually with my two best friends, Claudia and Martina. I’ve known them since we were little and we’ve always been together, except this year because Martina went on an exchange to the USA. At first, we were both going to go this year, but since I’m younger than her I had to wait a year. We usually spend a lot of time together and our families make a lot of plans together. They play volleyball and although I always try to learn to play, I have never been very good at it.

I have tried many sports throughout my life: swimming, hockey, athletics… and I like them, but without a doubt the sports that I like the most are those that have to do with expressing myself with music, doing a choreography, such as rhythmic gymnastics or roller skating, which is the one I have been practicing until now. I would love to try to be cheerleader because there is none in Spain and I would be very excited.

As I already said, among my hobbies are music and sports, but I also love to travel. I love seeing new places and colorful landscapes with friends and family. We have made many trips in Spain; on summer we always go to the beach to my grandparents’ house. I have also traveled to London with my friends and last year I went with my family to take a tour of France until we arrived in Paris and went to Disneyland. I loved going to Disneyland because I have always loved Disney movies.We plan to go to Portugal and Italy soon.

As I just said, I like Disney, romance and fiction movies, my reading tastes are the same. I usually also watch a lot of American movies and series because I like them so much.

I also really like to cook; my parents and my aunt are teaching me how to make new dishes. What I like to cook the most are desserts, and I will be happy to prepare them and some Spanish food for you to try, such as Spanish omelet, paella or croquettes. Croquettes are my favorite food and I think you might like them.

My father has been to the United States several times and he has always told us that he loves American culture, that is one of the reasons why I really want to get to know it, and of course, I will adapt to your customs and habits. I would like to know the lifestyle there, your traditions, how you celebrate holidays…

I really want to make this possible since it is going to be one of the best experiences of my life in that it will teach me many things, I will meet new people, new friends and I’m sure I’ll never forget it.

I think it is a unique opportunity and thank you very much for making this dream come true.

Ainara