Dear future host family, Thank you for hosting me for a whole year. You are really making my dreams come true. I can’t wait to experience your culture and learn about you. What do you like? What are your hobbies? Do you enjoy baking and watching movies? I think I’m adaptable person, keen on discovering more about the world: I love to meet people and always learn something new. My friends describe me as generous, social and clever. They also think I am a bit self-critical, and maybe they’re right, but I am willing to work on this aspect of my personality, and I believe this experience will help me grow. I love to read and watch movies. I’ve recently started reading the Harry Potter saga in English which is my favorite series of all times. I also like to play board games like card games and Monopoly, I’m actually undefeated in it! My friends and I also enjoy solving unsolved cases, games where you are a detective who has to solve a case in order to win. I hope you also like it because I would love to play it with you. Another thing I love to do is cooking. I’ll be happy to cook for you, maybe a traditional dish or some desserts, which are my specialties! I can’t wait to learn about your culture, but also to share mine with you. I’m really looking forward to getting to know about how you celebrate Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving and other American festivities. My family consists of four people: my father Claudio, my mother Simona, my older brother Riccardo, and me. We also have a nine year old cat, Iris, I really love her especially because I have grown alongside her. We are a close family: we usually like to joke around and have a laugh together, but we also help each other in any way that is possible for us. Both my father and my brother work, so I spend most of my time with my mother since she is a housewife. Whenever I can I try to help her with the chores around the house. We share part of our house with other family members: my grandfather on my mother's side, Angelo, and my uncle, Davide, who is my cousin’s dad. My cousin, Emma, has just turned 10 and sometimes she asks me to help her with her homework, something I really like doing because I always enjoy working with kids. For example, in the summer I usually work in a summer camp taking care of children that go from the age of six to the age of eleven. I have a close bond with relatives on my father’s side too. My aunt and I like to go to the theater to watch musicals or plays. My family and I really like to go hiking in the mountains. I think the mountains have always been like a second home for me because since I was three, I have been going on holiday there. I quite enjoy the beach too, but we don’t go there as much. I really enjoy to sleep in in the morning, but unfortunately I have to get up early to get ready for school, which is quite far from my home. The school I attend is focused on classical subjects: for example, I study Latin and Ancient Greek, two languages which I find exciting. I can’t wait to arrive in the USA and get to know more about you and your culture! I believe that doing something out of place from your usual life is really important for personal development because it teaches you different aspects of the world that you may not know. I hope to be able to become a part of your family and to create a long lasting bond with you. Thank you for reading my letter. I wish to hear from you soon and to be able to share my culture and experience with you! Cecilia