Dear (future) host family,

I am Tessa, and I am 15 years old. I live in the northern part of Germany near Hamburg. My city has a population of around 250,000 people, and in my district around 20,000 people.

I live with my mum and dad and my two brothers, (17 and 12) in a house. My father is self-employed, and my mother is a housewife. Both of my siblings are students at the same school as I. My family is big, and they all live nearby, and we see each other regularly.

Now, I am in 10th grade. My favourite subjects are biology and Economic policy and I also enjoy other subjects like music, geography, and history. A normal school day starts early and ends early afternoon. After getting home, and having something to eat, I do my homework. Later, I go either riding or swimming. These are my main hobbies. I swim 6 times a week and before nearly every training I have an hour’s work out with my group. In total I am 10 to 15 hours per week in the swimming pool. On the weekends, I often have competitions around Germany. Before swimming, I often ride my horse Fiete. In total I ride 3 to 4 times a week. Fiete is 26 years old. He lives by my aunt on the farm. Fiete and I like to go riding in the woods, and we have fun every time.

I want to do an exchange year because my aunt is American, and she told me a lot of wonderful things about the country and the high schools in the United States. My brother did an exchange year in the US in 2023 and had a fantastic time. Furthermore, I want to learn more about your culture, to improve my English and to meet new friends. A few years ago me and my family travelled to Florida and last autumn we visited my brother’s host family in Milwaukee. This was when I decided that I want to spend a year in the US visiting a high school.

I am looking forward to meeting you in person.