Dear host family, My name is Lena and I live in Germany. I live together with my mom, my dad and my little brother in a village. We live in a house with a big garden and have some animals, I take care of, two cats and two rabbits. I am a friendly, optimistic and always positive person, whom you can have a lot of fun with. Furthermore, I am helpful, kind and good at school. If you ask my friends, they would describe me as lovely and intelligent girl. I am very excited about my one year abroad. I want to live in the United States for a year because I would like to improve my English skills, get to know new friends and learn and live the American culture. In addition, I am very keen to try out the different types of sports at school and get to know the typical High School life, because the school system seems to be very different compared to ours in Germany. During a normal school week here in Germany, I do gymnastics two times a week and meet my friends regularly. In winter we sometimes go ice-skating and in summer we often cycle to a lake closeby to go swimming. My dad works in a big company and plans the production. He loves to spent time in our garden. My mom works in accounting and loves doing sports. My little brother is three years younger than me and goes to 6th grade. We have a lot of fun together and on the weekends, we do family trips, play games or do movies nights. On a regular school day I often learn for good grades at school, as we do write many tests or exams. During my spare time I enjoy reading books. After my one year abroad in the US, I am going to finish my high school diploma at my school and afterwards plan to start studying. I am very excited and looking forward to start my exchange year and get to know you, the new school, the sports, the culture, the country and new friends. Best Wishes, Lena