Lettre pour sa famille d'accueil

Mélodie wrote:Hello everyone ! j'ai une question : Dans ma lettre j'ai dis que je préparais mon baccalauréat (comme je suis en terminale), donc l'equivalent du high school diploma. Est-ce un problème ? Car j'avais entendu dire qu'il aimaient pas trop qu'on soit déjà diplomé. Bien que je ne serais pas "graduée" donc admise dans une université française à la fin de ma terminale.

Dear future Host Family,

My name is Mélodie, I'm 17, and I live in the South-West of France, in a small town called Jonzac. It's one hour away from Bordeaux (famous for its vineyards), and thirty-five minutes away from the Atlantic Ocean. I love my region because there is a great diversity of landscapes.

I live with my parents, who both work in education. My mother is an administrator-accountant in a lycée (a high school), and my father is a biology and chemistry teacher in an agricultural secondary school. That's a good thing because we all have the same vacation so we can do more things together. At home, I'm more the kind to be independent. I almost never ask my parents when I have a problem with my homework. I prefer looking for a solution by myself or asking a friend to help me. I love talking with my parents, but I leave at school what belongs at school. When I go back home, after nine hours at school, I prefer talking about something else !

I have got a sister, Marina, who is 21. She actually lives in Paris for her studies in museology at the Ecole Du Louvre, but she will study at the University of Leeds, in England, next year. From a young age, my sister and I have been traveling all over the world, thanks to our parents who have a lot of free time especially during vacation . I will always thank them for what they did for us.

We went to North Africa (Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria – we were in the desert for a week, with Tuareg people, without any occidental comfort, and it was amazing ! -) ; we went to several European countries ( England, Spain and Canary Islands, Italy and Sardinia, Amsterdam, Greece); we also went to South Africa, Mexico, and finally Thailand for last Christmas. Yes, we are a family who love traveling ! I have even traveled alone, for example, I went to England last summer, in a friend's family who is English. Everytime I leave a country, I cry because I'm touched by people's generosity, the beautiful landscapes, and such a rich culture so different from mine. Wherever I go I am able to adapt. And I think the language is not a barrier :we can communicate by looks, laughs, smiles, but also with a lots of signs !

I go to the lycée at Jonzac, so it's not to far away from my house. I am actually preparing my baccalauréat, which is the equivalent of your high school diploma. There are different bac (as we call it) you can prepare : there is one which is based on literature (the main subject), with an important coefficient in philosophy ; another one with the main subject as economic and social sciences, based on business economy and world History ; and the last one mainly scientific (biology, chemistry, physics). I chose to prepare my baccalauréat in economic and social sciences. Then we have to choose a specialization : economics, math or English. So I specialized in English. My favorite subjects are History and English, so I can understand the world better. I also study Spanish as a second language (English is my first), and I have a smattering of Italian. I am in a special class, called European class, so I have extra courses in History and Geography entirely in English. I am in the drama option at school, but I used to be in a troupe before the lycée. I love acting. There is no limits on stage. Nobody can judge you because you are one or another person. And moreover I love it when I make people feel different emotions.

We don't have any free time at the lycée to do sport or anything else, because we finish at 5.10 pm everyday and we have a lot of homework. But sometimes when a teacher is absent, we go to the music room to play with my friends. I play the guitar a little bit.

Later, I'd like to study international relations or journalism, because I am conscious of the World's problems, and I want people to be aware of them.

Moreover, I like to listen to people. I am able to understand them without judging them. And I think that's an important thing you need to know about me.

My friends and my family say that I am funny, always cheerful, sensitive and diplomat. I am also curious. I love asking questions about everything !

I have even hosted three American girls from North-Carolina, New-Jersey and Colorado, but also two Spanish girls, a Bolivian girl and a New-Zealander girl.

Since the age of 4, I have been taking dance lessons; I began with ballet, and now I also do contemporary dance and modern-jazz. I dance 7 hours per week. I go on a dance vacation once a year, I tested bharata natyam (a classical dance from India), flamenco, but also improved my classical dances like contemporary or jazz with great professional dancers and choreographers. I like all types of dances. I wish I had many lives to test all of them, like Irish , African, or Polynesian dances. When I was younger, I played the drums, and for two years now, I have been playing the guitar (my name is not Mélodie for nothing !). As I said before, I have also been doing drama for the past eight years now. I am obviously open to other arts and sports !

I also enjoy cooking. When I test a new dessert recipe, I take my experiment to school and my friends are the guinea-pigs ! I love world's cuisine, But I can make many french courses. I have no allergies from any aliment. I like everything, and I love vegetables and fruits ! I think I could live on an island with only melon, apricots and peaches to survive !

During my week-ends, I dance on Saturday morning, then I do my homework, and I generally watch One Tree Hill on TV. Sometimes I go to the cinema with my family on Saturday night. Sunday is a day when I don't think about school. We visit my aunt, we have a walk on the beach... My friends live twenty minutes or forty-five minutes away from me so it's complicated to see each other during the week-ends. But during vacation, we organize pajama parties, where we watch a film and talk. I like spending time with my friends but I love being with my family, who live for the majority in the French Alps, on the East of France. My godmother is also my cousin, it's to say that there are very important to me.

For two years now, I have been planning to go to the United States of America for an exchange program in High School. Why your country ? Because it's a country we hear about everyday : in politics, in TV series (my favorite one is Desperate Housewives ! ), in history class... We hear about it everyday but I have never had the chance to discover it by myself. By the verb discover, I don't simply mean discover other landscapes, or confirm what I learn in history or what I see in TV series. I'd like to discover another way of life, another culture, brush all the clichés we can have aside and form my own opinion. I'd like to improve my English, by talking with people that I will meet, and letting them share my french culture. What's the best way to discover another culture than to live in it ?

If you are reading my letter, it's certainly because you too you consider living an amazing experience ! I am conscious about what this year could generate, for you and I. But if you are also interested in the diversity of cultures, if you enjoy the life, and if you want to know more about me and France and its culture, I am pretty sure we will have the best year of our lives !!

I hope you will give me the chance of being part of your family.

Faithfully yours,

your future host daughter who looks forward to be with you,

Mélodie xxx

Dear host family,
I'm Améline and I'm 17 years old. I live with my parents and my sister in a small village in south of Belgium. My mother, Sylvie, is 44 and is Social Worker. She works in a mental handicapped persons center. My father, Didier, is 44 too and is Security and SHE Manager. He works in two city administrations. My sister, Eloïse, is 14 and goes in the same school than me
.
I'm in senior year and I like to go to school. I'm learning mathematics, sciences and specially the languages! In addition of French which is my mother tongue, I'm learning English, Dutch and Latin at school and Spanish in evening class. For me, languages are very important because it is the way to communicate with a lot of people around the world. So, when I will be back in Belgium, I will study this matter in the university to improve my knowledge.

I practice Modern jazz for 10 years and ballet since last year. I love it! I practice dance 3 hours per week. This year, I will do drama. I've already done it few years ago and now I can't wait to do it again. I like spend time with my friends, go to cinema, etc. During my free time, I read, listen to music, watch movies and surf on web too. I also spend time with children, I often do babysitting and this summer I worked as Camp Counselor. However, I'm training to receive my certificate.

When you see me for the first time, you can think that I am a calm and shy person but when I am familiar with the people, I can be funny and a little bit crazy.

I think I could be a good exchange student because I'm mature and I decided to go to USA there are already 3 years ago. I have now the opportunity to live this experience from which one I am sure to learn a lot of. I will do my best to adapt me to your way of life and I hope that you will be enjoyed to live with me during this year.

I hope that this letter gives you a good view of my character.
See you soon,
Your future host daughter,
Améline.