Dear host family, Hello! My name is Tom and I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce myself to you. I am a French boy living in the south of France in a small town of 2,500 people. I live with my parents and my little sister Elsa, who will be 12 years old in October. My father is a business director and my mother is a teacher. We live near the beach in a big house with a yard and a swimming pool. As far as my hobbies are concerned, I love to travel around the world with my family. We usually travel to other countries twice a year. We enjoy discovering new people, cultures, and customs. We have visited many cities and countries. I have also travelled without my family. In the summer of 2022, I spent 2 weeks with a host family in Scotland, and this year I had a wonderful 3 week stay with a lovely host family in Tonganoxie, KS, USA. Additionally, I enjoy many different kinds of sports. In winter I usually go skiing for two weeks in the French Alps. Skiing is one of my favorite activities! I also play tennis twice a week. I am a member of the tennis club in my town. I have a practice once a week, and I also play with my family or with my friends once a week. On Saturdays I play matches with my town’s team. Furthermore, I swim once a week in the city swimming pool and practice many different techniques such as freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. I also enjoy scuba diving in order to look at sea animals and swim with them. I am very interested in sharks. In the summer of 2022, I had the opportunity to swim with sea turtles and rays in the West Indies. Lastly, I also love baseball. I’ve had the opportunity to play baseball at school and I love this sport! As you can see, I really enjoy being active. I also enjoy playing cards and board games. Another activity I’m fond of is cooking and baking. I especially like baking cakes. Similarly, I like tasting different types of foods. On Friday nights I always eat at a restaurant with my family. Words to describe my personality include: quiet, curious, open-minded, serious, nice, cheerful and reliable. At school I study subjects such as history, geography, sciences, French, Latin, German, and chemistry. My favorite subjects are math, physics and English. In September I will attend a high school and I will be in year 10. My future goals are to study to become an airplane pilot because I am fond of aeronautics and I love to travel around the world. I have always dreamt of studying in an English-speaking country. I would like to become an exchange student because I would like to be fluent in English. To my mind, this program is the best opportunity to better my English skills since I will have no contact with French speaking people for a year. This program will also enable me to discover your customs, your daily life, and celebrations such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Halloween. Thanksgiving is not celebrated in France. Moreover, I will have the opportunity to study in an American high school like an American student, which must be a wonderful experience! I would be extremely delighted to get on the famous yellow school buses and to join a sport club! I like your country because it is a high-tech country and it is a country where different landscapes can be seen. Please be assured, I am ready to help out with family chores. At home I usually bake bread for my family. I often set and clear the table. I always empty the dishwasher. I will contribute to life in your family by setting and clearing the table. We could cook or bake together. It would be a great pleasure for me to prepare some French recipes if you are interested in trying them. I made crepes for my host family last summer and they very much enjoyed the experience! I would be happy to go shopping with you and to help you with laundry. To conclude, I am highly motivated and that is the reason why I can confidently tell you that I will do my best to be part of your family! Thank you very much for your time and attention. Hopefully you have enjoyed getting to know more about me! I remain at your disposal, if you require further information. I look forward to meeting you soon. Kind Regards, Tom