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| Dear future host family, My name is Miguel, a 15-year-old boy from Spain. I want to share a bit about myself and why I’m excited about being a part of your family. I love meeting new people and making new friends. One of my greatest passions is sports. I started playing soccer when I was 6 years old and, since then, I’ve been playing as a midfielder on a local club. I also really enjoy tennis and paddle tennis, and whenever I can, I gather with my friends to play. Additionally, I am a big fan of American sports like football, basketball, and baseball. In our home, my father, my brother, and I enjoy watching football games on TV, but we’re particularly enthusiastic NBA fans. I study in a Catholic school in Spain. I’m about to start the 4th grade of ESO, which is equivalent to the 10th grade in the United States. My school has over 1,200 students, so I’ve had the opportunity to meet many people. My favorite subjects are mathematics and geography, although I’m also interested in technology and economics. In Spain, most of the subjects we study each year are compulsory for all students, and we have limited choices. One of the things that excites me about attending an American high school is having more flexibility to choose my subjects. Speaking of Spain, it’s a beautiful country with a rich culture. We’re surrounded by beaches and have diverse landscapes. In the north and west, we’ve got the Atlantic Ocean, including the Cantabrian Sea, while to the south, we have the Mediterranean Sea. In the north, we’ve got the Pyrenees mountains, where it can get snowy and cold in the winter. But where I live, in the south, we enjoy warm and pleasant weather throughout the year. When it comes to food, Spanish cuisine is very good and is based on the Mediterranean diet. We have a wide variety of dishes, but some of the most typical are paella, tortilla de patata, gazpacho and salmorejo. They are not very difficult to make! Normally, my mother or our maid prepares our meals. We typically have lunch in the dining room and dinner in the living room. Lunch is the most significant meal of the day in Spain and is usually served between 2:00 and 3:00 pm. I usually have lunch at 3:00 because I finish school at 2:30 pm. Dinner is around 9:30 pm on weekdays, and it’s even later on weekends. I enjoy cooking, and if I have to prepare my own food, I can make simple dishes like pasta, soup, or omelettes. Besides, nowadays, with the videos you can find on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, it’s very easy! I would like to tell you about my family. I have an older brother who has started his engineering studies at the university this year. My father is the CEO of his own company, which specializes in developing technological tools. My mother is a university accounting professor. They met while working as auditors for an American multinational corporation, and they have been together for almost 25 years. We live in the city center in a flat. Although it’s a flat, it’s on the first floor, and we are fortunate to have a patio. We also have a beachfront apartment where we spend our summer vacations. During the year, we visit occasionally, but since I have soccer matches almost every weekend, most of the time, I can’t go. We are a sports-loving family. As I mentioned earlier, I play soccer. My brother plays as well, but he’s also become fond of going to the gym. My father enjoys paddle tennis and going to the gym. Since last year, he’s taken up boxing, and he absolutely loves it! He is also the assistant coach for my soccer team. My mother plays paddle tennis and likes to do home workouts with cardio and toning videos. Skiing is a sport we all enjoy, and at least once a year, we spend an entire week at a ski resort. I have a close group of friends. Most of us have been friends since we were three years old because we started kindergarten together, but over the years other friends from other schools and the football team have joined us. On Friday afternoons most of us go to catechesis so that we can be confirmed when we’re 17, and then we usually have a drink at someone’s house or go to a hamburger or pizza place. In the summer we usually meet at a swimming pool. My mum and grandma have one at their house and I have a lot of friends who have one too. My friends are a lot of fun and we laugh a lot when we are together. I’m looking forward to next year when I’ll be attending an American high school. Having this experience is one of the reasons why I decided to apply for the exchange program My brother went to Michigan two years ago and when he talks about that year, he describes it as one of the best years of his life. He keeps in touch with all his friends and his host family, who really made him feel at home. That’s another thing I’ve always heard about American families – their generosity and hospitality is second to none. Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity; without families like yours, students like me wouldn’t be able to fulfill our dream of spending an academic year in the USA. All the best, Miguel |
LETTER FROM Miguel
