Dear host family, Thank you so much for giving me this amazing opportunity and accepting me in your family. To be honest, I didn’t always wanted to go on an exchange year, actually when I was a kid and my father told me that he had studied abroad and wanted me to have the same experience I cried for a whole night thinking that my parents just wanted me gone for a year, but as I grew up this idea also grew inside me, and became my biggest dream. I am an only child, and my parents are now divorced, but my whole family is still very close, I live most of the days with my mother and we do everything together, my father now has a wife and she has a son, he is not my brother by blood but I consider him as if he is, I am really grateful that we are close because I’ve always wanted to be a big sister. Traveling is one of my favorite things, mostly because I get to meet new people and new cultures, and that is exactly what I am looking forward to do, experience how it is to live in a different environment and to be part of another culture for a whole year, and besides that this program can also give me multiple opportunities for colleges and to improve my English skills. Swimming is a very important part of my life. I am a competitive swimmer and train almost every day, from Monday to Saturday. Swimming has taught me discipline, focus, independence and how to balance my time between school, social life and sports. Even though it takes a lot of effort, I love being in the water, it's part of who I am. Besides swimming, I also enjoy studying and spending time with my friends. From Monday to Friday I go to school until 1:00 pm, and I always try to do my best. I consider myself a hardworking and focused student, listening and participating in class. Other than school and sports, I am really passionate about movies and books. I love how they make me see the world from different perspectives, and to connect with the life of a character like it is my own. I also like singing, even though I'm not a professional singer and neither have taken any classes. Singing a song I love makes me feel happier and helps me relax. Most of my friends have been with me for a long time, especially because I studied in the same school most of my life, and also because of sport, which brought me many of my closest friends. I have big groups of friends and I feel like they helped me become the person I am today, without them I would be a completely different person, so I am really grateful to have such amazing and long-lasting friendships. Even though swimming has been a part of my life for so long, I would love to discover new hobbies throughout my exchange year, experiencing other sports, and learning whatever my host family is passionate about. I am looking forward to being involved in a new family routine, learning about your culture, traditions, customs and personalities. I hope this letter shows a little bit of who I am. I can’t wait to meet you! With love, Alice