Dear American Family,

My name is Sreyoshi, and I am a Bangladeshi teenager who has always dreamed of experiencing true American high school life.

I come from a middle-class Bangladeshi joint family, which includes my parents, grandparents, uncle, little brother, and two adorable cats. Growing up, I was exposed to American culture through YouTube videos and cartoons I watched after school, such as "Powerpuff Girls", "Teen Titans Go" and "Milo Murphy's Law". Since then, my appreciation for Western culture has only grown tremendously.

At home, my family enjoys playing board games like carrom, watching movies together, sharing a nice warm meal, playing with our cats, and being in each other's company. I like playing chess with my dad on the weekends and occasionally with my uncle. I also assist my mother and grandmother in the kitchen. My brother and I usually play video games or watch TV together. When I am not studying or preoccupied with other tasks such as grooming our cats, I dust my room and re-organise things from time to time. Moreover, I also love reading books, although, I read much less than I would like to. My to-be-read pile of books keeps growing and growing each day!

I have many friends here in Bangladesh. I met most of my friends at school. Two of my closest friends had to change schools due to many reasons. I miss sharing the little bits of enjoyment at school with them. At school, my friends and I goof around a lot, making up random competitions or messing with each other. We have our serious moments and sometimes get into petty arguments that bring us a lot closer. Nowadays, with the cooler weather, we play a lot of badminton outside, but I certainly need more practice. If you were to ask my friends, they might describe me as the "mom" of the group. This might be because I'm
slightly more serious than them at certain times and tend to take more leadership roles in certain situations. However, I would say that I know how to have fun and loosen up, rather than always being uptight.

I grew up in a booming, overpopulated city. Despite the air quality being one of the worst in the world, my city is very beautiful and has a lot to offer. The various cultures of Bangladesh come together and shine the brightest in my hometown.

The future is uncertain, and its uncertainty scares me a little. However, I do have an outline of what I want my future to look like. I want to complete this program, finish my O-Levels and A-Levels in Bangladesh, and enrol in a Master's program for either Microbiology or Chemistry. I want to work in a research lab to develop vaccines and medicinal drugs to cure diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

I'm always open to trying new things and endeavour to take every opportunity presented to me. Despite being an unfortunate victim of procrastination, I do my best to get everything done and to stay motivated. I love learning about and exploring other lifestyles.

I am grateful to have been presented with this opportunity. I am excited to meet my American host family and tell them all about Bangladeshi culture and learn about theirs. This exchange is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I do not want to miss. I'm going on this journey to let others know about my culture which can often get overlooked. I hope to learn important life skills and gain an understanding of American culture way beyond my expectations.

-Sreyoshi

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