Dear Host-family, I’m Francesca, and I can’t wait to leave for my desired year abroad. I live in a small city in the south of Italy and I really like where I live. In my free time, my friends and I usually meet them in the center to have an ice cream or to chat, but if we want to do something more exciting, like going to the cinema or going shopping, we need to move to the neighboring towns. I attend the Linguistic High School and my favorite subjects are the languages and also philosophy and art. I study Italian, Spanish, German, and English, but the latter has a special place in my heart. I don’t have a clear idea about what I’ll do in the future yet, perhaps because it is still too early to decide. I’m good at school and I put a lot of effort into studying. I love dancing (I think that I got it from my mother who likes it a lot) and I have Latin American dance lessons twice a week. It's a new thing and it's a lot of fun. I feel free, thoughtless, and relaxed when I dance. I’m not very athletic and this is the only sport I practice at the moment apart from going to the gym and swimming now and then. But this doesn’t mean I’m lazy! I’m very active: staying at home doing nothing bores me terribly. So, during my free time, I watch some films, read some books (I don’t have a favorite one, but I like fantasy novels and enemies-to-lovers love stories) and sometimes I draw. Also, something I discovered a few years ago is that I’m really into writing. I feel at ease when I write and it's something not so easy to explain, it's as if I express in an enigmatic way what I can't say in words. One of the best times of my life was definitely last summer because I traveled a lot. In July I spent two weeks in a college in London and this experience was important, because not only did I meet people from almost all over the world and therefore practice English, but it made me more independent and mature since my family was not there with me. Another beautiful moment during last summer was when I went to America for the first time with my family in August. I landed in Miami and at first, I couldn't believe it, it was always a dream of mine to visit America and now it was happening. From there we boarded our cruise ship and began a beautiful journey full of new places visiting places such as Jamaica and the Bahamas. Here I had one of the coolest experiences of my life: I swam with dolphins in their natural habitat and it is something that I will never forget. My father and my mother both work as employees. My mother works at a the large-scale retail chain and my father is employed by a company that provides water services for the region. Both my dad and my mum are hardworking, outgoing and one of the things that I appreciate so much about them is that I can talk to them about anything, from my most personal things, to what I did in the morning at school. I must say a very big “Thanks” to them for letting me live this experience! I also have a brother. I have a good bond with him and we get along. I’m an extremely friendly girl but sometimes, in new situations, I can seem a bit reserved. I don’t particularly like being at the center of attention. I’m also very determined and ambitious (I never give up, especially for something that I really care about). Another aspect of my personality is that I get serious when I'm in important situations, but I can also be very talkative and outgoing when I'm with family or friends in informal occasions. I’m calm and obedient. I like being independent, and realistic and I always try to see the positive side. I love traveling and discovering new places and cultures that are different from the ones I'm in every day. I adapt to new habits and know other cultures so that I can have new experiences and meet new people. I think there is always something to learn from others, so, after this travel, I know I will be rich in knowledge and experience. The reasons why I want to have this experience, which will be unforgettable and unique, are to improve my English (of course!), but also to meet new people, identify myself with new traditions and in a new way to live: to become a very American girl! Furthermore, I would like to live and take part in all the traditional American High School parties, to celebrate Thanksgiving, to watch and cheer on the school's sporting teams. I want to live the school spirit, to say “trick or treat” during Halloween, to spend Christmas and holidays with my host family and New Year’s Eve with my new friends, to test myself, to improve myself, to grow and learn, to immerse myself in one of my dreams. I’m sure this year will be one of the best of my life and I can’t wait to live it. Thank you for hosting me! Francesca