Dear host family, My name is Floris. I live in the Netherlands. Before I continue into my junior high, I would love to see the world and discover different cultures. When I was 6 years old, my dad died. I was devastated by that, as he was my hero. It took a while to deal with my grief and get used to the new situation, but then I realised he’s still with us in our heart and memories. I hope he’s proud of me. Like my dad, I’m absolutely crazy about sports, like soccer, cycling and chess. I play soccer, I cycle (mainly to and from school; a 22km ride a day) and I play chess. So going to the US and living with you to experience the American way of living, with it's strong focus on sports, sounds like the perfect opportunity to combine my interest with my passion. I live together with my mother, stepdad, younger sister and our cat. We love watching movies together and playing games. We are very close, so I bet I’ll miss them when I’m with you. But I hope to become part of your family and enjoy every minute of me being there with you. I’m an outgoing guy, with a genuine interest in others. I’m caring and I love helping other people. I love spending time with younger kids, so I babysit and help to training young soccer players. It’s wonderful to be able to teach them something, to see them develop and to see them enjoy themselves. I help an elderly lady out in her garden and I’ve just recently started working in the kitchen in the local golf club. When I come and live with you, I’ll definitely help out around the house too. I love the outdoors and animals too, so I help friends of my mum by walking their dogs. Maybe I can do some voluntary work in America, too? In my spare time I love gaming and listening to music. I’ve tried to learn to play the piano, but I have not been very successful at it yet. Maybe learning to play an instrument is something I can do in America. I look forward to meeting you! Kind regards, Floris