Dear Host Family, Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and that you will give me the possibility to join your family during my stay in the United Sates. My name is Amalia and I live with both my parents and our dog Cooper in a small city in the Northeast part of Germany. My older brother Alexander left home a couple of weeks ago to take up his studies in southern Germany. I only have one paternal grandma left and she and I go for dinner once a month. I am currently in the tenth grade of gymnasium and my favorite subjects are math, physics and English. My least favorite subject would be art because I am not the best drawer. In general, I am a quick study and prefer the beta subjects. I engage as a class representative or class mentor for the younger year groups at the school. I love gymnastics and have been joined at a club for quite some time now. Currently I train two to three times a week, our competitions are held at the end of the year. I also assist my coach in teaching the younger children. I am looking forward trying new sports and activities, as I have tried many before like soccer, swimming or taking up the violin. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always a big success. Meeting my friends is very important to me. We love talking a lot and doing sleepovers, but we also love cooking or baking together. My friends and I also visit amusement parks, trampoline parks or we go to the movies. We also like to stay inside and play board games together. I enjoy spending time with my family. Especially when we have dinner together and talk about our day at school or at work. At the weekend, we like to play board games, go for a walk or watch a movie together. As a family, we love traveling. The most mesmerising vacation was to Kenya. It was totally different from what I know from home, my personal highlight was the Safari we did. We took a two-day trip driving through the National Park and get a close look on wild elephants, monkeys and giraffes. We even got lucky and saw lions hiding in a bush preparing for their next attack. My brother decided to do an exchange year in New Zealand. His stories encouraged me to do a year abroad too. Skipping a year of school makes me a little nervous, after all, I want to get a good degree. The decision to go to the USA was easy for me, as it has always been my dream to visit this country one day. I'm interested in learning about the culture and history, getting to know the very different school system and becoming part of your family. In my host family I will try to convey as much as possible about the German culture, food and traditions. Thank you once again very much that you give me the possibility, getting this amazing chance. Looking forward to seeing you soon, Amalia