Dear Host family,

I’m Giovanna and I’m sixteen years old. In this year I have realized that one of my biggest dreams is to live far from home in another country, and the thought of spending part of my life in the United States fascinates me.
At school I attend a Cambridge course which should give me the opportunity to improve my English, but I know that there is no better way to know it than speaking it daily, so I take this opportunity as a help to improve it. I think I’m a friendly person so this experience can be useful for me to meet amazing new people and make new friends that I will keep in my heart forever; also, the fact of knowing new cultures is an extraordinary thing for me and for my personal growth.

I’ve been to Edinburgh for two weeks when I was just eleven and that was the first time away from home without my family. I also did this type of study trip in July 2022 in London, in January 2023 in Velber, Germany and in January 2024 in Dublin. For the first two holidays I went in a college, but for the third and the fourth I was a guest of a family for five days and I attended the same school as its daughter; I felt a bit awkward at the beginning, but from day 2, I started to act like it was my country and that I had been there for 10 years. This helped me feeling at ease, and go on with the program.

I live with my mom, my dad, and my little brother Luca; I don’t spend so much time with them, but I love the relationship that I have mostly with my brother. Me and him bicker so often, many times because of housework, but we love so much each other. I help my mom at cleaning house, setting up and clearing the table, but the fact that my brother doesn’t do anything of these things gets me upset.

I don’t have any particular hobbies; I like practicing some sports during the week. I spend most of my free time at the gym training for my goals and health. I like to take care of my person and my looks; in fact, I like to wear makeup when I do something different from my daily routine, like going out with friends or shopping with my mom and things like that. I also like to take pictures when I do something special, for example when I go to a city far from mine, when I organize something fun with my friends or simply some silly photos with them. Unfortunately, I get very gloomy when it’s rainy and foggy but, otherwise, when it is sunny I feel completely strong and active. However, nothing energizes me like food especially chocolate, potatoes, and meat. When I don’t sleep enough, I can be a bit down and look unpleasant but I’m able to change my mood just with a piece of cake. I’ve tried to summarize all my personality and I really hope you like it!

I thank you so much for the incredible opportunity you are giving me, and I hope that we’ll have a wonderful time together!

See you soon!

Giovanna