Dear Host Family and School,

My name is Ines, and I’m 14 years old. I’m very excited about having the chance to live an American high school life for a year with a host family. I consider myself an open-minded and hardworking person, and I’m really eager about sharing my culture and traditions with new people at the same time I learn about yours.

I would describe myself as a responsible and empathetic person, and I’m always prepared to adapt to anything. I’m organized, I always try my best in everything, and I enjoy solving other people’s problems. Furthermore, I also like helping others, meeting new people, and working in teams. But my strongest characteristics are that I’m a decided and focused person but at the same time kind and grateful.

At home during the week, we only live with my father, my mother, and me this year because my brother is at the university, but on weekends he always comes home. I really miss him a lot during the week because now when I’m bored I can’t spend time with anyone until my parents arrive from work. I also have a hamster grey and white. My aunt, uncle, and two cousins live in another town, but we often meet with them for family dinners. Unfortunately, I don’t have any grandparents alive because my last grandmother died more or less two years ago. Anyways, I have loved them a lot, and I continue loving and missing them nowadays.

My family are essential people in my daily life, and they are very important to me. At home we usually spend time together watching films, baking, and helping each other. I regularly help them cleaning and doing housework. They have shown me loads of different values, such as respect, work, and patience. I enjoy spending a lot of time with them, and they always support me.

In my free time, I like baking, being with my friends, dancing, listening to music and crocheting; all these activities help me to relax and stay active. My favorite activity from these is baking and cooking, and I would prepare for you typical dishes from here because I’m wonderful at preparing them. Even though nowadays I’m not in any club, I have participated in loads of different activities since last year, such as traditional Basque dances, aerobics, handball, music lessons, violin lessons, and ballet.

During this exchange program, I have many goals, but the most important ones are to improve my English skills and to try new sports and activities. Moreover, I expect to grow up personally and academically while I become more responsible. I also want to be in an American family’s daily life and help with responsibilities and be respectful, open-minded, and cooperative with them. I also hope to make new friends and enjoy a different type of school and culture.

My biggest goal in my life is to visit and enjoy most of the places in the world because I like to learn about new things and different points of view all around the world. I think that this opportunity could be the beginning of this big dream becoming true for me, and I would be very upset with myself if I lost it.

I think that I would be a good exchange student for you because I am kind, responsible, and hardworking, and I'm going to try to take advantage of this opportunity as much as I can. I like helping others and participating in familiar activities. Likewise, I am open to new experiences, and I always try to contribute positively around me. Finally, I would love to share my culture with other people and learn more about your culture.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my letter, and I hope you enjoyed it. I look forward to learning from you and living new experiences together.

Best wishes,

Ines

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