Dear Host Family, My name is Martina. Thank you for hosting me for ten months. I am very grateful to you for letting me have this experience. It has been my dream since I was little. I have always dreamed of spending some time in the United States. Your culture fascinates me, and I hope to learn a lot from you. This experience is very important to me because it opens many doors for the future—doors that people who don’t take an experience like this might not have. I am a little bit afraid of being far from home in a country I don’t know for ten months, but I think that this is normal. Often, if something is challenging, it helps to step out of my comfort zone. I think this is the right choice for me, and I hope I am the right choice for you too! I cannot wait to meet you! I am very curious to know who you are, what your passions are, your favorite activities, and your favorite foods. I hope we will create a bond that will last a long time. I think I am a very cheerful person. I like to laugh and have fun. I enjoy being with people, but I am also a bit shy at the beginning. I think I am open-minded and someone who is easy to talk to. My friends and family say I am very empathetic, sensitive, and a good listener. I can understand how people feel and put myself in their place. I hate seeing the people I love feeling sad. I am happy when people tell me that I can make them feel better, heard, and understood. They also consider me responsible and willing to help others. I really like listening to music and watching movies and TV series. I am curious about your favorite music or favorite movie. I cannot wait to know—it is a topic I really enjoy talking about. I also love traveling. I have been to New York, and I fell in love with the city and the United States. That trip was very important for me because I stayed with friends of my parents who live there. I flew alone for the first time, and it helped me grow a lot. I believe that spending a year abroad will help me grow even more. I like visiting new places. Do you like traveling? What is your favorite place? Another thing I like a lot is psychology. I study it in high school, and I find it fascinating to learn how the human mind works, how we are made, and what made us like this. I study psychology, sociology, anthropology, and pedagogy in a human sciences high school. I really like these subjects and I love talking about what I have learned. I do well at school, even if it is sometimes difficult, but I always try my best. I wonder what school will be like for me in the U.S.! I have always imagined myself in a real American high school, and I cannot wait to tell you about Italian school! I like going out with my friends. Often, we meet in the main square of our town (it is very common in Italy), or sometimes we go shopping or eat out, maybe pizza or sushi. Sometimes we meet at one of our houses to talk or watch something. We really enjoy doing these things. I am not very sporty, but I swam for many years and I was quite good. Maybe I will start swimming again, or maybe I will find a new sport I like. Even if I don’t love sports, I don’t want that to stop me from trying new things while I am there. I cannot wait to see how you celebrate holidays, like Christmas or Thanksgiving. Did you know that in Italy we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving? I have always seen it in movies, and I have always wanted to celebrate it for real. I don’t have a big family; I am an only child. My dad’s name is Paolo, and he is a police officer. My mom’s name is Sara, and she is a psychologist. I love my parents—they have always been a point of reference for me. We also have two dogs and three cats. I really like animals. Do you have pets, or would you like to have some? I hope that the time we spend together will help me create a sincere bond with you. I would like to share small moments of daily life and feel part of your family, getting to know each other day by day. For me, it would be very nice to build a peaceful and trusting relationship, where everyone feels comfortable. I really hope this experience will bring us closer and make my stay in the United States meaningful for all of us. I hope you will be happy to have me, and that our bond will never be broken. Thank you! With love, Martina.