Dear host family,

my name is Marlene and I am 15 years old. I live in a small town in Germany, with my parents and my little sister.

We have a house, with a small backyard, where my sister and I have our own rooms.

About 38.600 citizens live in our town, located in the northwest of Germany. We have our own reservoir lake here. Many tourists come to our town for a day trip because of its beautiful nature and landscapes. Here I visit my school with about 750 students.

I am in 10th grade at the moment. Through out my school journey I have participated in many extracurricular activities since I am very committed to my school. For example the student council, the school’s own library, the generation swap “AG”, where we go to the local retirement home and spend time together with the residents. Now, in my last year, I am also joining the yearbook club.

My favourite subjects have always been foreign languages, which is also why I chose French as my fourth main subject besides German, Math and English. Out of those, English is my favourite. My other favourite subjects in school are Physical education, History and Geography. In general, I am a good student.

During the last two years I have had the opportunity to travel to France and the Netherlands for short student exchanges. I stayed twice in France for 1 week with a host family whose child also stayed 1 week at my place afterwards. In the Netherlands we only stayed for 3 days. This exchange was made for the improvement of our English skills. Those exchanges have already taught me a little how to fit into a different family in a foreign country.

Outside of school I like to meet my friends. We are a group out of 8 girls and we often do several activities together like shopping, having sleepovers, cooking or just hanging out.

When I was younger, I played Volleyball for a couple of years, and I would like to start doing it again in the near future. After quitting Volleyball I practiced gymnastics for some time. Unfortunately, I haven't found my passion when it comes to sports but I really enjoy trying out new sports.

In my spare time I also like to read, listen to music and spend time with my family. On my weekends I sometimes work in my local sports club. Children can book a gymnasium for a few hours to celebrate their birthday with their friends. It is my job to look after the children and help a grown up to entertain the children. We play games with them, build parcours or just let them do whatever they want.

My mother works as a physical therapist in a hospital nearby. My father works as a leading data analyst for a couple of hospitals. Both of them like doing sports, my father plays volleyball and does mountain biking and my mother does Yoga, strength training and also sings in a band.

My sister visits the same school as I do and is in 7th grade. She is also very active in sports, and she likes to cook and bake. Mostly my relationship to my sister is good but sometimes we disagree like other siblings do too.

I was inspired to do this student exchange by my aunt, my mothers sister, and by my mother herself, who have both been to the USA for an exchange when they were younger. For them it was a great experience and they often tell stories about it which made me want to make this experience too.

I really want to get to know the American way of life, meet new people from other cultures, improve my English skills and make new friends. I want to experience a totally different lifestyle before continuing my journey here in Germany.

In the future I could imagine to study psychology and become a therapist.

My family and friends would describe me as a friendly, empathetic, open-minded person who is very independent although when you fist meet me, I appear to be a little reticent. But that changes quickly when I start to feel comfortable with a person. I am able to fit into diverse settings.

I don't have any known food allergies, and I am not a vegetarian or vegan.

I am very grateful for the chance to take a part in this program and for you, dear host family, that you are willing to share your life and home with me.

I am really looking forward to get to know you!

Best wishes,

Marlene

Interested in hosting—whether 6-8 weeks or the entire school year?