Dear Host Family, First, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and respect for your love to nourish future talent like me. I can’t tell you how much I am grateful for your time and effort to make a change in younger generations. If I can stay with you, I would like to spend time with you as much as possible. I want to visit many places in the U.S. as well. I also want to enjoy music and participate in volunteering with you because I like listening to music. I would like to participate in any activities with you. I would like to enjoy any events such as Halloween and Christmas with you. There are five things that I want to tell you. First, I would like to share with you about Japanese culture. I would like to play Japanese traditional games such as Koma, Maritsuki, Otedama, Kendama, Origami, etc with you. I have also studied Japanese calligraphy for a long time and am familiar with manga, which is Japanese comic books, so I would like to share. I would also like to serve traditional Japanese dishes. In addition, I would like to share not only traditional Japanese culture but also my different values and ways of thinking with you. Second, I try to look at the positive aspects of those around me and remember to be grateful. Another thing that attracts me is my ability to care about the people around me. Third, let me introduce you to my daily life. I go to school every weekday and take classes. What I like about my school is that it actively incorporates research and global activities. My favorite class at school is history. I like history class because it is very interesting to learn how the teacher relates current events to past events. At school, I chat a lot with my friends about things ranging from trivial topics to deeper topics. Spending time with my friends energizes me and makes my daily life much brighter. I and my friends also inspire each other to work harder to achieve our goals. After school, I participate in the Astronomy Club for astronomical observations and the English Debate Club. On my days off, I watch movies with my family or go shopping. My favorite movies are Harry Potter and Star Wars. I also sometimes read manga and books at home. I also like listening to music and I listen to a wide range of music, including J-POP, K-POP, and pop music or English music. Sometimes I and my family go on trips. We go to castles and museums and eat delicious food. Fourth, why I joined this program is that it makes my dream come true to study abroad. I became interested in studying abroad because of my experience in the U.S. when I was a child. This led me to wonder what life in the U.S. is like, and at the same time, I developed a strong longing to live abroad. I became interested in studying abroad in the U.S. because a major factor in my interest in studying abroad is my experience of living in the U.S. and the fact that my mother and older sister had studied abroad in the U.S. Fifth, this is the future career path that I want to pursue. I am currently interested in a variety of fields, including international studies, aerospace studies, education, and politics and economics, so I have not decided yet what I would like to study as my major. However, I am especially interested in international cooperation activities where people from different backgrounds can discuss and come up with solutions to these issues. At this stage, I have not decided what I want to major in. However, I believe that by specializing in the field I am interested in during the first two years at a university in the US, I will be able to take the time to decide what I want to do most. Thank you so much for your generosity in hosting me. I appreciate you allowing me to study abroad. Once I become a member of your family, I would like to contribute to creating a loving home with you. I look forward to hearing from you soon and living with you. Sincerely, Manami