Dear Host family,

First, thanks for taking the time to read my letter and getting to know me a bit better. We obviously have never met before - so I try my best to sum up my life in a few lines and give you an impression of who I am and why I want to spend 10 months studying abroad.

My Name is Lisa, and I am a fifteen year old girl. People would describe me as humorous, self-confident and open-minded, someone who’s always happy and deeply cares for others. They say I’m helpful and empathic.

As for me, I’d just say that I try to fulfill my life with things that make me happy. And I try to see a piece of art in everything; that’s my kind of way of approaching things.

I live in a suburb in a little house, together with my parents, my sister, and our rabbit Max. As a family, I’d say we have a pretty strong bond. There's always an inside joke we laugh about or a movie we want to watch together. An activity that’s been on our to-do list way too long, or a simple round of cards and afternoon baked goods. I love to bake or cook with my mom, gossiping about school and her work, or I accompany her wherever she has to go. With my dad, I share the same kind of humor, and I love to spend simple time with him, at the dinner table or when we play one-player games together on our PS4. Dad and I also have a traditional, annual motorcycle trip each year, where we spend a weekend together, discovering some trails and beautiful views. But the happiest I am whenever I spend time with my older sister. Growing up, we obviously fought a lot over nonsense, and I’d lie, saying it got way better, but still, she is the person I feel most comfortable around. We grew up to be very alike, and my friends say they always envy us a bit about the strong bond that we hold up. When we can, we practically do everything together, from doing chores or singing late night in the kitchen to doing random activities or going to concerts.

So next to spending time with my family, I also love to meet up with friends and find anything to do with them. Whether it’s meeting up at the lake up until late summer hours or to walk around some Christmas markets in the winter, I am always open to any activity as long as I spend that time with people that make me laugh. I participate in a lot of school-offered clubs, like the drama club or our choir; I am a part of a project planning group and enlisted in a program where we visit once a month a theater play. I love to do those things with my friends but also try to do some things on my own to get some independence. Next to being on the first aid team in my school, I worked the last two years in a program where I helped primary school kids with their homework and tutored them. I liked this job, especially because I could bond with the younger kids and improve my social skills a lot. I learned a lot on how to communicate with others and why to be interested in everything that’s around us, and it gave me clarity that I want to do something social as my future job. Though I’m interested in becoming a lawyer and fighting for justice, I see myself as a police officer since I was in third grade and will definitely consider that after having graduated in three years.  

As my hobby, I could either pull out a list of the 200 interests that I occasionally try out, or just tell you - well, technically everything. I mean, my spectrum is wide; I love anything that has to do with cooking and baking; I love doing sports, dancing, running, and yoga; I even was a part of my local competitive swimming group from 2017 to 2022. 

You could say that I am interested in everything that has to do with the arts, literature or music. I love scientific topics and even math, but at the same time I am a passionate writer and reader, someone who loves to talk about whatever is on their mind and does not back off from a challenge.

Another of my passions is to read books, listen to music or watch films. And while I’m not picky on choosing there, I’d say as for books, I love some good romance, I’m listening on repeat to 70s’ and 80s’ music with ABBA and Queen or Michael Jackson, and I adore fantasy classics like Harry Potter, Hobbit or Narnia.

Well, to sum that up again, my hobby is to do several, different ones. I enjoy multitasking and challenging myself to achive the best outcome in everything I do.  Like I said, I am a very open person and love to try out new things that are being offered to me. I love to spend time outside; a simple walk in the afternoon makes my day ten times better, and I am always open to discovering the world around me. Especially on vacations, I am interested in finding out more about the inhabitants’ life and their way of living; I am interested in knowing cultures and those things unknown to me. And I am interested in finding That out in the United States of America.

Ever since growing up, the country itself has fascinated me, and I am positive that I will make the most out of the experience given to me as an exchange student. I want to face new challenges, find out a lot more about the world and me, and get to know the infamous “American Dream.”. I want to try out so many things, such as cheerleading or Basketball, am interested in studying abroad in a differen school system, and would be happy to continue being part of the drama club. I’m looking forward to step out of my comfort zone abroad and grow as a person. I’m eager to learn from you, share my own culture and am ready to embrace every opportunity with my energy, heart and open mind. I’m so excited to begin this adventure.

 I hope you could get an inside into myself and my life and enjoy getting to know me so far.

Thanks again for considering me as your exchange student; I’m looking forward to getting to know you as well.            

Yours,

Lisa :)

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