Dear family, I'm R. and I'm an Italian boy. I live in a small town in Northern Italy, not very far from the town where my school is. I’m a very curious person, I love to learn new things and when I’m interested in a topic I always try to dive deeper into it, for example by watching youtube videos about it. I’m very active and I like to always have something to do in my free time and on weekends. I’m interested in many different things, like sports, languages, history, video games, music, cinema and much more. My family is made up of me, my parents and my older sister. We all live in the same house and we have a beautiful relationship with each other, I’m very attached to them. My mom is very caring and she’s always there if I need help. Me and my dad did many cool things when I was a kid. Now we spend less time together but we still have a lot of fun when we do. My older sister is very important to me as I can talk freely to her about anything and she’s always there to give me some advice. I’m very grateful for the family I have because at home there’s a beautiful environment where we are open with one another and we help each other if there’s any kind of problem. My school is located in a town near mine, so I go there by bus. It’s pretty average in both size and number of students. My educational track is the scientific high school, so I study a lot of scientific subjects, but the program includes many hours of humanistic subjects too. I find basically every subject interesting in one way or the other, but my favorite ones are History and Physics. I also really like languages, but we only study English. I have many friends at school, mainly in my class but not only, so for me it’s a great environment to be in. One of my greatest hobbies is building with Legos. Since I was a child they’ve always been a passion of mine and my room is full of sets and of my own creations. Now that I’m older I have more complex and decorative sets. I don’t see them simply as a childish toy but almost as a form of art and expression. I love listening to music too. My favorite genres are American hip hop, Italian rap and rock, but I listen to pretty much any genre. Usually when I find a song or an artist interesting I dive deeper by listening to similar songs or to their whole discography, so I often listen to albums as opposed to single songs. The passion for rock music has been passed on to me by my parents who really like it. I also like to read. I used to do it more as a child, then I stopped for some time but now I’m starting to do it more often once again. I do athletics and I really love it. I’ve done it since primary school and it has become a very important part of my life. I go to practice almost every day and at the weekend I often have competitions. My main event is the long jump. I love athletics because it makes me feel free and joyful every time I’m on the track. It has taught me many important things, such as determination, discipline and hard work. I also have a fantastic team, I’ve made a lot of friends thanks to this sport. It’s the only sport I’ve ever done but it isn’t the only sport I like. I enjoy playing and watching basketball, especially the NBA, even though I can’t watch games live due to the different time zones. I also play soccer a lot with my friends, since the majority of them play it, and volleyball too. When I was a kid I used to play baseball with my dad and sometimes we went surfing. I would like to do this experience abroad because I think it will help me develop many skills that will make me grow, like autonomy and adaptability. I’m also really eager to learn more about the world and the various cultures and lifestyles different from my Italian ones. It's a big opportunity, a once in a lifetime one, and I think it will teach me a lot about myself. I thank you for your attention and I hope you’ll have a beautiful experience with the exchange student you’ll choose. Sincerely R.