Dear future host family I am the exchange student who will hopefully be coming to live with you and your family from fall 2026 to 2027, my name is Phoebe. I will hereafter try to introduce myself. But first, I would like to thank you in advance for your kind hospitality and your intention to let me become a part of your family for one year. This is so special for me and my family, and I am very excited about this adventure. My family likes to travel a lot since my father works for an airline and my mother works with hotels. I have been to the US before as a tourist and already then decided, that one day, I would like to stay in the US for a longer time. To stay with you during this year is a unique opportunity to learn more about your country and to really get to know your culture. My brother is currently with the same Ayusa program in the US as an exchange student and has also inspired me to do the same. With my family I have been to California, as my mother wanted to go there for her 40th birthday. We went to see San Francisco and Los Angeles, but I have not so many memories of this. I am very interested in seeing the different landscapes in the US and meeting lots of people. I love nature and great landscapes. With my family I live in a rural village in the centre of Germany, within a large metropolitan areas with several big cities within short reach. My family consists of my parents and my brother, and I also have grandparents which live nearby. We live in a house with a garden close to the forest and we have a large dog. We also have a budgie. We like animals a lot in our family. My mother is Austrian, and my father is German. Thereby, my brother and I have two nationalities, German and Austrian. We also have the house of my mother’s family in Austria where we spend a lot of time in the mountains in our holidays. Once a year we go on a long-haul trip. I love Austria very much for the mountains and the food. We go hiking a lot, collect mushrooms in fall, go skiing in winter and spend time at the lakes in summer. I also like to bring my friends to Austria and we go swimming and shopping in the nearby town. Our family is very active in sports and running and my brother and I are in a running club in the nearby town. Usually, once a year, we also go t a running camp with Kenyan runners in the Austrian mountains, where we live and train with those elite runners on the trails. That's a lot of fun. During normal school days, my brother and I take the bus to school as we live about 20 minutes away from school. My normal daily routine starts at 6:30 a.m., I get ready, and we all have breakfast together. Then I get on the bus at 7:30 am. School starts at 8:00 a.m. and I'm usually back home at 3:00 p.m., when I start doing my homework. If I don't have to do anything for school, I like to read, paint/draw, bake or watch TV. In the evening, usually at 5.30 p.m., my athletic training with my team begins, which I do three times a week. I also go to the gym with friends twice during the week. On weekends I go running, to the gym or meet up with my friends. With my friends we like to picnic in the park in summer or hang out. In winter I love to go to the ice skating-disco with my friends. For the most part, in addition to school, I like drawing a lot. We also do family activities or visit my grandparents. I hope I could give you some insights on myself. If you want to know more about me, you can contact me anytime and we can exchange. I am also excited to hear about your family and am looking forward to hearing from you. See you soon! Yours sincerely, Phoebe