#1 15. Januar 2012 Ich habe jetzt den halben Tag an meinem Host Family Letter geschrieben, den ich am Donnerstag zu meinem Bewerbungsgespräch mitbringen muss und deshalb würde ich mich freuen, wenn jemand noch einmal kurz darüber lesen könntet, da mir das Ende etwas schwerer gefallen ist und ich da etwas mit Formulierungen und Inhalt gekämpft habe. (Es waren 2 Word-Seiten vorgegeben und irgendwann ging mir ernsthaft das Material aus, was ich anfangs gar nicht vermutet hätte.) Dear host family, My name is XXX and I would like to describe myself with this letter. It always has been a great dream of mine to live in a foreign country and I am really excited that it will become reality soon. I would like to go to Ireland because I think it is a beautiful country with its old and interesting culture. I am fascinated by the stunning landscape and of the friendly people living in Ireland. So first of all I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to collect invaluable experiences in a country I always have been mesmerized of. To start at the beginning, I am a 15-year-old girl and I live with my parents in XXX, located about an hour away from Hamburg. XXX, which is in Lower Saxony, is a small village with circa six thousand inhabitants. I am a student in 9th form at Gymnasium XXX in XXX, the neighbouring city to XXX. My favorite subjects are English, German, French and biology. I have been learning English for 5 years now and I can almost speak it fluently and I have nearly no problems to understand it, but I make some grammar mistakes sometimes. My second foreign language is French and I have been learning it for 3 years and, of course, my mother tongue is German. I am sure that the high school year in Ireland will be a great improvement for my social skills and my English accomplishments. After my high school year abroad, I will go on attending school to do Abitur (similar to A levels) and go to university after it, but I am not sure what I want to do yet. For me, it is sure, that I want to do something creative in my future career. My parents are very important to me because I know that I always can rely on them. Even though we argue betweenwhiles, I consider that I have a great family. My father, XXX (49 years old), does not have much time for the family because he is an economic promoter of the city of XXX, and works a lot, but that does not bother me, because we understand very well. My mother, XXX (48 years old), is a housewife and mostly at home, which is good in my opinion because I love talking to her and we have a lot in common. Although she is the one I have most arguments with, she is also the one who means most to me. Besides, I have an older brother, XXX, who is 17 years old and studying hard for his Abitur at the moment. For the simple reason that we do not see each other often we do not talk very much but I like him a lot. He is a kind and intelligent person and when I have got some homework questions I can always ask him to help me. Except from our interest in computers we have not got very much in common but I like him anyway. All in all, our relationship is very good and I am happy to have them as my family. I trust them and they support me and my decision to spend an exchange year in Ireland although I know that it is difficult for them to accept that I will be away for nearly a year. But there are not only human members in my family – even our dog XXX belongs to us. She is a seven-year-old crossbreed and we got her from a German animal welfare organisation which had saved her life at a Spanish animal’s home. I always have been very pet-loving but since XXX lives among us it changed a lot because she showed me how to carry responsibility. Since I was about seven years old I do horseback-riding which is actually my favourite hobby. My mother owns a Shagya Arabian horse as well and I have got a riding participation on three ponies in my nearby village. I am spending most of my free time with them – not just riding, but rather cleaning the stable or taking photos since photography is another hobby I really like to exert. I have got a digital camera but when I am allowed to I utilize the digital single lens camera of my mother I am happy. Since my tenth birthday I have been into photography and filming and I could imagine to do this after my graduation even though I am not sure actually. Moreover, I spend the rest of me free time with meeting friends, writing stories and poems, swimming or reading. By the way I listen to music for relaxation and for positive thoughts. My style of music is rather quiet, like Indie, Indie-Rock and Alternative but I am not determined by these genres inasmuch as I can get enthusiastic about different kinds of songs, too. It would be very fine, if I could continue some of my hobbies when I am with you. But if this is not the case, it does not matter because I am also interested in learning new things that I never did before. I am not really sporty however I really like to be outside. Friendship is a thing which is very important to me though I am not a person who steps at easily to everyone. My friends here in Germany are a main part of my life and I consider the importance of trusting them. We spend a lot of time together, not only at school, and if I have got problems I can always talk to them. I am sure that the friends and acquaintances I will make in Ireland are great, too and it will be superb if I stay in contact with them after my return to Germany. As you could read some lines before, I am a very family-orientated person who is ambitious at school and receptive to new things. I would say that I am able to get along with nearly everyone and that I will fall into line quickly after my arrival. My friends often describe me as humorous, honest and helpful. Since November 2011 I give private coaching in French to a student who is in the 8th form now and it is great fun. As a less good characteristic I would name my self-confidence which is not extraordinary bold but I work on it permanently. I really wish that I will find a nice and loving family that will not treat me as a guest but rather as a full family member with all his duties and rights. I do not have any problems with helping in the household and I like cooking and baking and if desired, I would like to serve you some German specialities. I will do my best to make this year enyoable for us and I think that we can have a great time together. Best wishes, + Multi-Zitat Zitieren