Dear family,

My name is Maddalen and I am 15 years old. I study 4 ESO (10th grade) and I would love to study the 11th grade in the United States of America.

I live in a big house with my mom, my dad and my dog, Lea. My mother is a pharmacy assistant in a hospital and although my father studied engineering, he is the head of a company. Lea is a german shepherd and she is 11 months old. I love all of the members of my family because each one compliments me in a different way. For example, my father helps me with everything and is always ready to listen to me. My mother, on the other hand, advises me to move forward whenever I have an issue. And even though Lea is a dog and can't talk to me, I know through its non-verbal language that it loves me and respects me in its own way.

My grandmother by my dad’s side is a very special woman for me. She is my greatest role model and I trust her fully. Even though I don't see her every week, I make sure to see her at least once a month so she can tell me how things are going. As a result of the fact that she doesn't know how to use her cell phone well, I almost never talk to her via the internet. The same thing happens with my maternal grandfather. Since I don't have the opportunity to see him every week, I see him at least once a month. This one, on the other hand, does manage with his cell phone, so I call him every time I can. I love them so much.

I don't have any human siblings, although my dog sister is Lea. When they ask me if I would like to have siblings, I answer yes, since although I have enjoyed my childhood the most, I always wanted to have a sister to share my experiences with. Of course, I'm also very good alone! In my exchange year experience, I would like to have American siblings, whether older or younger.

I study in a school which is near my village and I have been studying there since I was 2 years old. Now I study 4 ESO. I don’t have a favorite subject but if i have to choose one I would choose Spanish because of my Spanish teacher. She is a wonderful person and I love how she teaches. I would highlight her way of speaking since she has a very extensive lexicon and is a very cultured woman. Mathematics and physics are not subjects that I like because of the fact that I am not really good at them. Even so, I keep trying to improve in each one of them every day. I consider English as an easy subject since I think I am really good at it.

I am a very social person and I have lots of friends. I have my friends for summer holidays and my friends of my high school. Some of these ones are also my summer friends and I can see them usually. My whole class is very united, friendly and talkative and we all are friends of the echo over. My friends (with my family) are the most important part of my life.

I think I have a lot of hobbies and interests like, for example, going for walks. I enjoy my free time a lot, because I am able to spend time with myself. Going for walks helps me connect with myself. I also love cooking and baking some delicious desserts for my family. My “star plate” are the Croissants. One of my favourite hobbies is photography, since I love being able to capture a moment and make it inmortal. I practice this hobby with my own phone and also with an old camera. In summer, I usually have more hobbies, since I do a grand variety of activities, such as hiking, snorkelling, surfing, partying…

My biggest goal in life is being happy. In my opinion, the key to be happy is enjoying every little moment. I want to be old, and not to regret of not doing something. I also want to be rich in cultures, languages, experiences, friendships, wisdom, love… I think I can easily reach this goals in my experience abroad, and obviously, this are my principal goals for my exchange experience. I also want to form a family with whom I can share experiences. And as a personal goal, I would say that I want to achieve something in life and that those around me are proud of me. Of course, I want to accept all the opportunities that are given to me to travel around the world. The places I would like to visit the most are Zanzibar, Japan, Brasil, Finland, Greece and Australia.

Answering the question about what my passion is is an easy task for me, since the answer is very simple: spending time with those I love the most and making those around me happy. It doesn't matter what activity we are doing because if I am with the people i love, I know that everything will be fine. I also enjoy a lot making them happy. Their happiness is also my happiness.

Yours faithfully,

Maialen

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