Dear future host family, my name is Lennox, and I´m right now 16 years old.

I live in a small town with about 18000 inhabitants. It’s rather rural but still has everything you need. We live right on the border with Switzerland. France is also only a few minutes’ drive away.

I am currently in the 10th class at a secondary school, which I travel to every morning by train for about 30 minutes. My favourite subjects are math, chemistry, physics, English and sports. I like my class very much and am also friends with some of the students from this school and enjoy spending my free time or the weekend with them. Friends often stay over the weekend at our house, which I really enjoy.

I like to spend my free time not only with my friends, but also with my family or with both of them together. We play cards, board games, escape rooms, go swimming together or ice skating in winter. I also go into the countryside with my parents and we go on trips from time to time during the school vacations. We all love exploring new cultures and getting to know people. But it doesn’t always have to be a full program. Sometimes I just like to be in my room reading books or listening to music. I read all the Harry Potter books between the ages of 10 and 14, then some science fiction and currently I really like anime and manga, which you can see in the picture/video of me.

I’ve always been interested in all kinds of ball sports. I was in a basketball club for a long time and 3 years ago I switched to a soccer club to try something new. Since then, I have been training twice a week and, on some weekends, I play soccer against other teams. I also like table tennis, badminton, volleyball and table soccer. As I mentioned, I really like ball games. But I am also looking forward to maybe having the opportunity to try one more sport per semester in the USA.

When it comes to food, I have always been open to everything. In summer, we often have barbecues in our garden or at friends’ houses. About two weeks ago, we spontaneously made sausages and bread on a stick in the evening before winter sets in and it gets too cold outside.

I am also able to prepare or cook simple meals myself, which I do from time to time at lunchtime during the week as my parents are not always at home.

I live with my family, which consists of my mother, father and 2 grandparents. We also have an aquarium and 2 cats that I grew up with. My mom has worked in an art business for over 20 years – which also reflects her creativity, my dad works in chemistry as a product manager.

We live in a house, have a garden and as I am the only child I also have a room to myself. I’ve been doing everything in my room on my own for a while now. But I also help with vacuuming, emptying the dishwasher, setting and clearing the table or whatever my parents ask me to do.

My grandparents are my neighbours and my aunt and her husband and my cousins live two houses away. They are about my age, which has always been and often felt like my little brothers.

As I mentioned in my video, I have always been fascinated by America. It started with movies and series. We went there on vacation 2 years ago and it was even bigger and more open than I expected. The people are so open, everyone talks to everyone. Surely this was for vacation but here in Germany, it’s a bit more closed and cooler. I realize that high school won’t be like in the movies. But I’m looking forward to the school system, which is very different to ours. Here, even technology lessons are 80 percent theory. I’m very open to trying things out and learning new things. I hope to get to know new people. Furthermore, the thought of having a second family across the ocean is also great. Finally, of course improving my language and gaining experience for my future.

There is still so much to tell, and I am already very interested in what your interests are. What your everyday life and dreams look like.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I look forward to meeting you in person soon.

Many, many thanks and best wishes,

Lennox