Dear Host Family, Thank you very much for reading my letter and that you are willing to participate in the exchange program. My name is Frederike but most people just call me Fred. I live with my parents and my younger brother in a small town in the north of Germany. We live in a house with a garden and friendly neighbors. I like to try new things and I would love to learn more about the American culture and experience life in an American host family. I am an open, kind, independent, humorous and fun-loving person. I have got a good sense of humor and I like to laugh. In my spare time I love to do sports like dancing and Pilates and playing the piano makes me very happy. I also like to meet my friends. During the summer months we often go swimming or have fun outside. Moreover, I enjoy going to the shopping mall or to cook and bake with my friends. But sometimes I am just happy having some time on my own so that I can read a book or watch an episode of my favorite TV series. I am really looking forward to my first American school day. Here in Germany the school life differs from high schools in the USA. A normal day in my school week starts at 6:30 a.m. I get up and get ready for school and eat breakfast with my family. At 7:30 a.m. my best friend and her mother take me to school by car. My favorite subjects are politics and chemistry. Our school starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. After that my mother drives us home where we have lunch together. Afterwards I usually play the piano and do my homework. Most of the time In Germany, there are no sport clubs organized by high schools. That is why I find high schools in the USA very interesting because they very often offer various after school activities like cheerleading, football, basketball or other clubs. I find it fascinating that most students support their high school sports teams. Four times a week in the afternoon I have dancing classes in a professional dancing school. My teammates and I have lessons not only in ballet but also in tap, jazz, modern, contemporary, commercial and musical dance. Besides performing in shows, we participate in national and international dance competitions. Dancing is an important part of my life. I understand that I may not be able to continue dancing in my American high school so I am interested in trying other things and joining school clubs. My whole family loves sport. My brother Alex (10) and my mother play basketball and my father likes cycling and sailing. I am always happy when we all have time together, because I also really enjoy spending time with my little brother and my parents. Together we watch movies or play card and board games. Sometimes we also visit other cities or on school holidays we visit other European countries. After finishing my high school, I like to visit many countries and learn about their culture and meet interesting people. At this time my dream is to become a judge and therefore I plan to study law. Even though I am actually an outgoing person I can imagine that I will be a little bit shy in the beginning of my stay in the USA. But I have always dreamed of traveling to America and I am hoping to get this chance now. The reason why I would like to spend half a year with you is not just to improve my English but to get to know your culture, your typical food, the high school life and I would love to make friends for life. I enjoy to learn new things and I think that living in the USA will be an amazing experience for me and that it will have a big influence on my life and personality. I hope I can also show you something from my culture by cooking my favorite dish for you or teaching you some words in German. Thank you very much for letting my dream come true! I really look forward to meet you and I am excited to become a part of your family! Warm Regards, Frederike