Hello dear host family,

This is the letter about my application to live such a special experience like this one. First, I want to thank you for your generosity and the value you have in helping and exchanging values and culture with me.

I’m Eric, I’m 14 and I will be 15 in July. I go to a public high school in a small humble city surrounded by mountains. I have been living here since I was 6, before that I lived in Barcelona (capital of Catalonia, Spain), but here we found a house where I am delighted to live. I haven’t found a clear interest for the future yet, but I have different hobbies such as sports, technology, or nature.

I have some words that describe me, the first one is shyness, since I am a boy who at first finds it difficult to relate on my own initiative, but when I talk to people, I consider myself very polite and it is not really a big impediment for me to relate. Another thing about me is that I am very respectful. I like to have things clear before doing them, because if not, it is quite difficult for me to organize myself. And finally, I’m observant, I like to pay attention to details or think before saying anything. In summary, I think I’m a good person, observant, shy, and very respectful.

Family’s a big deal for me. My dad’s Jose (he’s 44) and I like to spend time with him and he helps me know how to do things well. My mom, Belén, is like me, she’s super organized and always takes care of us, she’s 50 and fun fact, I was born on her birthday. Then there’s my sister Nora, she’s super important to me. She has a giant heart and we spend a lot of time playing together. We are a very close-knit family and we do activities together, such as hiking in the mountains or playing board games. One of the most important activities we do every year is traveling. We have been to a variety of places, such as Thailand, Norway, Iceland, and Namibia, my favorite.

After talking about me, I would like to explain how this idea came about. About 2 months ago, my mom was looking into options to learn English abroad. And she found this one. We talked about it as a family to know my opinion, but without expecting any confirmation. When she said it, I had a feeling of admiration, thinking that there are really guys like me with the ability to do this. And that made me think about what kind of person would be a profile to make this exchange, and I thought about it. Little by little I began to feel that fear of seeing a possibility, I didn’t believe that I was considering it as a reality. As we talked more, that idea became more real and we decided to find out more in depth. And I said to myself, but Èric, you don’t know English, it can’t be that you can stand a year abroad, I saw it as something beyond my level. But in that meeting, and seeing that they treated me as a person to take as an example and capable of taking that step, they proposed to take the official exam that would really allow me to live that experience or not. Without expecting it, I passed it! This made me see a “you can really” inside me and I went to the final phase, to look at the pros and cons and already say the magic word: yes, I want.

I couldn’t go back, and seeing where I am now, writing a letter with emotions of motivation and fear, of joy and sadness, I am already convinced that my real and definitive decision is yes. I want to go to fulfill a goal: to learn. I think this great experience will help me evolve as a person and open my mind. I also think it is very important to leave my comfort zone, because I know that life will be full of difficult moments where I will need to adapt. I also want to learn a great culture like the American one, which will bring me another great amount of knowledge that I can share with the rest of my loved ones. This activity will make me mature, and grow to discover the path I want to follow.

Regarding you, I would like to thank you again for your courage, generosity, and great honesty in volunteering. I want to bring you great experiences, a new culture and memories that will always be present in you, and in me. I hope to bring happiness during the next year, and share, teach and learn the wonderful art of exchanging cultures and experiences.

Thank you for everything…

Èric