Dear host family, My name is Kirsten. I am from the Netherlands. I love going on new adventures, so I am really looking forward to spending a year in the United States, and to learn about the culture and traditions of your country. First off, I am very thankful that you are willing to welcome me into your home and be the biggest part of my exchange year. I will tell you about myself so that you can get to know me. Right now, I am in the 11th grade of high school, and I really enjoy it. I am a creative, studious, autonomous, extroverted, loving girl. My favorite thing to do is to sew, but besides sewing I also love to paint, draw, and do other things that involve handwork. Other things that I like to do are baking and cooking, playing games, hanging out with my friends, and skiing. I learned to ski at three years old, so twice a year I go skiing with family and friends in the Austrian or Swiss Alps. At the moment I also work at a Dutch supermarket as a cashier, I do this 2-3 times a week. I hope while on the program that I can attend or join an art related extra curricular at school. I live with my mom and dad; my older sister and brother have moved to other parts of the country because they attend university. My dad is a CEO at a real estate company, my mom is a behavior specialist at multiple high schools, my sister studies aerospace engineering and my brother studies economics and business economics. After I have finished the exchange program, I am hoping to study at a collage that teaches fashion design, because my biggest dream is to become a fashion designer and to have my own clothing lines. I am looking forward to hearing about what you all do, what your daily lives look like and to become a part of that. I first came across the idea of doing an exchange year in my second year of high school, and last schoolyear when I started looking for what I wanted to study I came back to this idea. For me it feels like an amazing opportunity to go a year abroad because I get to experience and learn about a completely different and new culture, which fits me well since I am eager to learn new things, and it would of course also improve my English. A contributing factor is also the fact that I did not want to enter a study as a younger student and be in a class with student 3-4 years older than me, so a year abroad at a high school surrounded by people of my age sounded like the perfect plan. I am curious to see if the image I have in my head is how it is in real live, and how different or similar the Netherland and the US might be. I hope you can teach me about your country and culture and help me answer my question. I would also love to teach you a bit about the Dutch culture, so be prepared to eat some delicious Dutch snacks and listen to my favorite Dutch songs. Thank you for reading this letter. I am really looking forward to meeting you, and to have you be a part in one of my most amazing adventures. Kind and warm regards, Kirsten