Theo 16M Germany

Introduction Message:

I'm a very outgoing, social and trustworthy person. I love to spend my time with friends and having fun together while doing activities like listening to music, playing sports, going for walks or just relax. In addition I am a handball player and coach. Because of that I have 4-6 practices/games a week. One of my favourite things to do on my own is cooking food and listening to music. While being in the U.S. I would enjoy to be part of team and spending my time with my host family and friends.

Interests:

• Handball
• Cooking
• Basketball
• Travel
• Photography

Host Family Letter:

Dear future host family,

I am really looking forward to stay with you for these exciting 10 months. I'm 16 years old and live in a small town next to one of the biggest cities in Germany. I have 3 siblings. Beside my oldest brother we live together and I share with my family a lot of same interests. My brothers, my father and I are all interested in handball. My sister and I have both a passion for traveling and photography. With my oldest brother and my sister I went to Slovenia last autumn where I enjoyed seeing the capital and the Mediterranian coast and being able to do a lot of photography. My mother and I both enjoy to cook. Besides my family, my friends are really important to me and I try to spend as much time as possible with them together. My friends describe me as reliable, smart and funny. On a regular day I have school until lunchtime. After that I often meet my friends or visit my grandmother/brother. In the evening I do some sort of sport like playing handball, basketball or others. In the U.S. I would love to do these things with you too. Showing you how to cook German meals or talking about Germany/the U.S. are fun activities for me. I hope that I can learn more about what I want for my future with all the experiences that I'm gonna collect with you. I am looking forward to spend this time with your family and want to thank you for considering hosting me.

Parent Letter:

Dear Family,

Many thanks for considering to have Theo as your guest child for as long as 10 months.

We are a currently a family of five living in a flat near a big city. Theo and his twin sister are 16, their older brother is 18. Our first son finished his master, is 26 years old and works in a research project.

Theo likes to plan adventures and so one day he surprised us with his idea to apply for a year at a U.S. high school. In his first application round, he did not win the scholarship. Then he took part in a 3 week trip to a High School in Wisconsin with a few days in Chicago planned by his school. So he has a short experience how it feels to be in a guest family.

We are happy about his successful second application and trust that this will be a formative experience for him. Traveling and getting to know new things and people mean a lot to him.

As a family, we are a bit restricted to see the wider world, because both parents are handicapped and unable to walk longer distances. So we spent our holidays mainly in Germany. Our children are used to plan trips and travel without us, using trains and public transport. All are self-confident and value their independence.

We parents got to know each other in East Germany just after the fall of the Berlin wall, and later moved to former West Germany for our work. That’s why our children are interested in getting to know and compare societies.

We expect that Theo’s exchange time will be exciting for him as well as for your family.

USAHSID: CBE24523