Greetings, I'm very thrilled to be writing to you as my future host family in the U.S., and I'm incredibly thankful for the opportunity to stay with you while attending 11th grade in the U.S. Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Adel, and I'm 15 years old. My mom is a full-time banker with over 20 years of experience as a certified accountant. Over the past several years, she's been greatly invested in my education, as well as her own career development. My dad, on the other hand, is an active-duty military officer specializing in signal operations and systems engineering. He has spent a great deal of his time developing his skills as an engineer, earning two master's degrees from U.S. universities. Besides engineering, he's also into philosophy and is an avid runner. I also have a wonderful stepsister, who's only four and a half. Despite our age gap and living in separate homes, I enjoy her company a lot and miss our conversations when she is not around. Of the many activities we do as a family is camping. This activity brings together not only my family but also many of our acquaintances and their kids. While the parents are chattering, grilling food on the barbeque, or playing darts, the other kids and I usually enjoy physical activities, such as soccer or volleyball. My family, including my extended family, also gathers on weekends. During these gatherings, we'd have a nice meal together, whether for lunch or dinner. Then, we'd either watch something on TV, play cards or board games, or discuss something interesting. Many of the subjects that the adults discuss, especially those that involve economics or politics, also interest us as teenagers trying to make sense of the world around us. Apart from keeping my room clean and tidy, I don't have any particular responsibilities at home. But I still voluntarily help my mom out with her chores whenever I can or whenever she needs me to. Sometimes, I would offer to fix dinner or bake desserts. I'm a very active person, who regularly practices sports, including basketball, volleyball, soccer, ping-pong, and swimming. Among these sports, basketball is the one I feel most naturally skilled at, and this is why it is my favorite. In fact, I've been the captain of my school's basketball team for three years in a row, winning second place last year. As for friends, I prefer to keep a small circle of true and close friends. Right now, I have three such friends: Nooh, Ayham, and Abdullah. At first, we were just classmates, but we later became friends, so they're all around my age. We'd often study together and help each other out with our assignments. On top of that, we enjoy a range of outdoor activities, such as ice skating, roller skating, soccer, and many more. Funnily enough, we sometimes even cook together! I live in a small town on an artificial island. Although it hasn't been around for long, it has experienced tremendous development. With a population of nearly 100,000 people, it now has malls, cafes, and shops and is surrounded by marvelous beach resorts, where my family and I like to spend our vacations. After college, I'd like to start off with a career as an accountant, analyst, or consultant to prepare myself for a future career as an entrepreneur. So, starting up my company is what I eventually want to do. My focus would be on real estate development, because real estate projects have high returns in my country. To prepare for such a career, I'm planning to major in a business-related field in either Harvard or MIT. In the winter of 2022, I had the opportunity of visiting the U.S. for the first time. What I was excited about the most was the timing of the trip, which allowed me to celebrate both Christmas and New Year in the U.S. And coming from a region where it never snows, I was simply amazed by the snow. I ended up visiting Boston, New York City, and Orlando, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would definitely be Boston. Everybody there was very kind and welcoming. What I hope to gain from this exchange experience is to learn more about the American cultural traditions and norms in order to be well prepared for college in the U.S. I also hope to share some of my own cultural experiences with you as well. Last but not least, I'm very excited to become part of your family and community, even for such a short time period. Thank you for welcoming me into your home. Adel