Dear host family, My name is Lena, I am 16 years old, and I live in France. I am really excited to come to the United States because I love discovering and learning about new cultures, and I believe that doing an exchange program is the best way to do that. I think I might also be able to teach you some French things, maybe a few words or even some cooking. I enjoy cooking, even if I am not always very good at it. My birthday is on August 10th. My parents are separated, so I live with my mother during the week. One weekend, I go to my father’s house, and the next weekend, I go back to my mother’s. I have four sisters: one who has the same parents as me (Naelle), two who have the same father but not the same mother (Nora and Mya), and the youngest who has the same mother as me (Callie). I have two cats and one dog. I have a fun story about my cats’ names. Three years ago, we adopted a cat we found in the street. She was white and grey, so we called her “Chatchat,” which literally translates to “catcat” in English. This year, we adopted a second cat who is black, so we named her “Chatchat Noir,” which means “catcat black.” Now I would like to talk a little about my friends. We are a group of eight best friends, and for me that is the perfect number. We all go to different high schools, so when we want to see each other, we need to plan ahead. Most of the time, we walk around, swing at the park, and talk a lot. In this group, I have one best friend ever. We met in elementary school, we became really close in middle school, and now we tell each other everything. I do roller skating with another friend of mine whose name is also Léna. It is funny because when someone calls “Léna,” we never know who they are talking to. Sometimes on weekends, I go climbing with my family, and I really love that. At school, my favorite subjects are probably math, history, and English. I do not really like Spanish or physics and chemistry. After school, I love doing creative activities like drawing, painting, scrapbooking, making my own canvas art, or creating birthday cards. For my aunt’s birthday, I even made a “Guess Who” game with pictures of my family. I also like watching series. I have many favorites like One Tree Hill, Bones, Grey’s Anatomy, Teen Wolf, and Criminal Minds. In October, I went to a One Tree Hill convention and met many actors from the series. I do not watch many movies, but Harry Potter is definitely my favorite. When I walk or when I am in the car, I listen to music. My favorite artist is Ed Sheeran, and I even went to his concert last June. I also listen to Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, Bruno Mars, Myles Smith, and Disney music. I have a big collection of keychains. Everywhere I go, I buy one. I especially collect Disney keychains because my aunt works at Disney, so we go there often, and I have a lot of them. I love makeup and fashion, going shopping, buying clothes, makeup, and jewelry. It is true that I probably buy too many clothes. When I grow up, I would like to become a doctor. I do not know yet which specialty, maybe surgery or pediatrics, but I want to help as many people as I can. I also really love traveling. My dream is to visit as many countries as possible in my life. Thank you for reading my letter. I cannot wait to meet you. Lena