Dear Host Family Hello. My name is Yuko. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to study abroad. This is my first time traveling to America, and I’m looking forward to staying with your family. I’ll try to do a lot of things to make the most of this opportunity. First, I will introduce myself. I belong to the basketball club. I like playing sports and I’m good at many sports. And I like watching sports too, but I prefer doing it by myself, so I would like to experience trying many kinds of sports in America. I like listening to music. I often listen to folk songs by “Yuzu”, a Japanese folk-rock duo. Their music encourages me. Also, I’m good at Japanese traditional games such as Kendama, Koma, origami, and so on. I’d like to play them with you too. I’m interested in stocks at the moment. I have been studying Japanese economics in a class. I learned that the World Situation affects the value of stocks. For example, when Ukraine and Russia started fighting, stocks of companies that produce weapons rose. In this way, it is interesting to consider what makes stock prices rise and fall. Second, I’ll introduce my typical daily life. I wake up at 5:00 a.m and go to bed at 9:30 p.m every day. I water vegetables before going to school every day. I have grown green soybeans and okra. I go to school by bicycle it takes about twenty minutes. I usually talk to my friends at recess. My friends' stories are very funny. I always hear them and laugh. I like talking, so I’d like to enjoy talking with you! I like sports, so I like P.E. Math is my second favorite subject after P.E. because it is fun to be able to solve difficult problems. As my parents come home late I often go home from school and I make dinner for my family on weekdays. So I can do all the housework, and I can cook Japanese food. I would be happy to help out with anything that you like! I practice basketball at school during the holidays. I visit my grandparents’ house and talk to them on my days off. I go bowling with my friends on my days off too. Third, I’ll explain why I decided to study abroad and do a homestay. I would like to live with you, a local family, and spend time in America where there are different kinds of ideas, and experience ideas that are different from my own. If I live with you, I can notice the differences and similarities between America and Japan. I’d like to participate in lots of volunteer activities. Also, I’m curious about American high school students who are the same age as me and have what kinds of ideas they have, and what kind of classes they are taking. And I’d like to experience their classes. I haven’t fully decided on a job yet. But, I’d like to get a job that has to do with people. I’d like to know what American high school students think about their future. With that in mind, I would like to consider what I’d like to do in the future. For these reasons, I thought that I’d like to participate in this program. Finally, I’ll introduce my family. There are four people in my family: my parents, my older brother, and myself. My parents work for a company. My father is good at cooking, his dishes are very delicious. And he often reads books. My mother likes shopping. My brother is a college student, he is five years older than me. He often teaches me how to study. I enjoy spending time with my family. I will make an effort to make life pleasant for you and your family. Thank you for accepting to be my Host Family. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of you. And I am looking forward to living with you for about a year too. Thank you for reading to the end. Yours sincerely Yuko