Dear Host Family, I am very thankful that you gave me the opportunity to become a family member of your family. I am a Mongolian girl and it’s only been a year since I entered high school as for now. I love adventures, and trying new things, and I'm very curious. I'm an open-minded, creative, knowledgeable, and funny type of person. I like to play sports such as tennis, basketball, and volleyball which I trained in for four years, I love playing volleyball because it gives me a sense of peace and makes me forget about my problems. I am in the volleyball team of my current high school and I'm very confident that I will be able to be in the volleyball team of the school I get placed in. I am improving my English and I grew up only speaking my native language so I can’t wait to expand my use of English during the year I stay in America. My dad works as a thermal manager and my mom works as a statistics manager. I have two younger brothers and a younger sister and an older brother who’s in college. We go to the Mongolian countryside every summer for vacation. I was taught in a community school in the countryside from 1st to 9th grade and if I graduated there, the chances of me getting the education I needed was low, which is why my family was very content with the idea of me graduating a private high school in Ulaanbaatar city, which is the capital of my country. I go to a Cambridge-based high school here and most of the classes are taught in English, recently I found out about an exchange program and decided I should give it a go, my parents also supported the idea and they have provided and sacrificed so much for me, to be able to go on an exchange program. To know more about my country, the most interesting thing about my country is the fact that we have two major traditions. We have “Цагаан сар” or “Tsagaan sar” in the English alphabet, we spend a week with family and friends and visit close relatives that we don’t see often, it’s a celebration of appreciation. We give gifts and money as a thank you for visiting and eat traditional food called “Buuz”. The next tradition is “Наадам” and “Naadam” in the English alphabet, this happens every July, and we celebrate it for three days. We usually hang out with our family members and watch, Mongolian traditional wrestling, horseback riding, and archery, we also eat traditional food called “Huushuur”. My city isn’t that big, we have a population of almost over 3 million people in all of Mongolia and more people tend to live in the city for better opportunities. These were the things I had joy in sharing and I would love to get to know other cultures and get to meet new people and go on adventures, so once again, thank you for choosing me to be a part of your family. Best Wishes, Khulan