Dear guest family, Thank you so much for being willing to participate in the exchange program and accepting me to live with your family. I am Pascal and I am a boy from Germany and have just finished 9th grade. I grew up in a small suburban city, I live in a house with a small garden together with my mom, her partner and our dog, Charly. I also have got an older sister. Her name is Sophie and she is 19 years old. She studies in another big German city and plays team handball there. My mom’s name is Kerstin and she works as a teacher at an Elementary School. My mom’s partner also works at school as a facility manager. His name is Thomas. We have got a poodle for three years now. He is a sunshine in our life and makes us very happy. Besides my close family my grandparents and aunt live nearby, so I can visit them often. In our family we have a very good relationship. Sometimes we visit theme parks, go swimming, riding a bike or go bowling. When we are on winter vacation I love to go snowboarding and in summer I like swimming in the sea and relaxing on the beach. Last spring we were on vacation in California. I enjoyed it very much. Since then, I would like to go to America again, would like to live there for some time and go to school there to learn about the American culture and the school spirit. I am very excited to get to know some customs of the festivals like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m looking forward to join your family and share some typical American family moments. Now I visit 10th grade of a Junior Highschool which is nearby. Every day I go there by bike. I like going to school and meeting my friends. My favorite subjects are PE, English, and math. My school starts at 7.30 am and ends at 3.00 pm. After being back from the USA I would like to finish the A-Level (12th grade) and start studying. In my free-time I love playing basketball. It would be great, if I can play it in American school too and try some other sports. I have been playing basketball for 9 years now. I practice it 3 to 4 times a week. Our coach is an American too. At the weekend I usually have one match. Some of my friends I got to know from playing basketball. When I don’t practice, I meet my friends from school. We sometimes go to the cinema, eat something or go to a friend’s home. When I visit my grandparents, I go fishing with my grandpa. Sometimes I like to cook and bake for my family. At home I have to clear the table, take out the rubbish, clean my room as well as feeding the dog and go for a walk with him. I think that living in the USA will be an awesome experience for me and that it will have a big influence on my life and personality. I like to try new things, find out about different cultures, people and languages. I hope that after the time in your family, the US will be a second home to me. I'm happy that I’ll soon get the chance to get to know the country and the American way of life. Thank you for reading this letter. I hope you’re going to be my host family and if so, thank you very much! dankeschön! Warm Regards, Pascal