Dear Host Family Letter

Hallo ihr Lieben,

habe mal wieder fleißig wie ich nun mal bin an meiner Bewerbung weiter gearbeitet. Daher möchte ich euch heute mal meinen 'Dear Host Family'-Letter zeigen. Vielleicht hilft er der einen oder anderen von euch ja, ihren Brief zu schreiben. Vorab möchte ich sagen, dass es wichtig ist, dass eure eigene Persönlichkeit bei dem Brief zum Vorschein kommt und daher *bitte* kopiert keine Teile von meinem Text und fügt sie bei euch ein, sondern versucht euren eigenen Charakter darzustellen.

"Without further ado" wie die Amerikaner sagen, hier ist mein Brief.

Hello future host family!

My name is Anna, I am 22 years old and I want to become your au pair! This will be my second au pair experience in the US since I already spent a year on Long Island, New York from 2011-2012. During this time, I fell in love with the US and I am fascinated by the American way of life. It has been almost three years since I came back but I have always known that I wanted to return!

During my first year as an au pair I took care of two girls, named Sloane and Sydney, who were 3 and 5 years old upon my arrival. I loved taking care of them and I had a great relationship with my host family. For me, there is nothing more interesting that watching children growing up while living abroad in the most fascinating and diverse country in the world.

I come from a typical German family of four. My father Jürgen (53), my mother Brigitte (52), my younger brother Raoul (21) and myself. I have a great relationship with my family and we try to spend as much time together as possible, even though I have moved out. My father works as a psychologist at an open psychiatry, my mother is in charge of billing large companies at an electricity firm, and my brother is an economics major at the University of my home town Cologne. We all like food and cooking, being active and traveling. They all support my dream to go back to the US. My boyfriend of two and a half years, Leon (25), whom I have met in my first year as an au pair, is also very supportive when it comes to living my dream.

Since I came back from the US in 2012 I moved to the Netherlands to attend University there. I started working towards my Bachelor's degree in psychology which I will complete in June 2015. I had the chance to not only get to know a new country but also to learn Dutch, even though my University program is in English. In the Netherlands, I live in a shared flat with three other girls. We like to cook, do sports, or to hang out and watch movies together.

In my freetime I enjoy meeting my friends and doing sports. I love to travel and being active. Living healthy is very important for me, therefore I like to prepare healthy meals and I love cooking and baking in general. When I am with my friends, we like going shopping or go to the cinema.

My child care experiences include baby-sitting a girl in Germany from 2006-2011, and two kids in the Netherlands from 2012 until now. Luana, the German girl I took care of was 6 months old when I started baby-sitting her and I took care of her until she was 5 years old. Alena and Derek, my two Dutch baby-sitter kids, were 1 and 4 when I started taking care of them, and are now 3 and 6.

Furthermore I was a summer camp counselor four years in a row from 2008-2011 where I was in charge of 30-40 children, most of them 8 to 15 years old. In addition to being an au pair in the US for a year, I also spent a summer au pairing for a family with two children, an 11 year old girl and a 13 year old boy, in Spain. The children I took care of ranged in age from 6 months to 15 years and I value all of the experiences I was able to make this far greatly.

I passed my driver's license in April 2009. I have had my own car since I passed my driver's license and I drive at least five times a week without any accidents. In my first au pair year I was also responsible for driving the children in a large SUV. I feel comfortable driving on all kinds of streets with all kinds of weather.

As an au pair, I like to be accepted not only as an employee but also as a new family member. I believe that a family-like atmosphere makes working as an au pair much more fun and worth while.
I would be a great au pair because I am a very committed and responsible person, who is a loving and creative care taker for your children. I try to give my best at everything I do and I always give as much love and support as I can. I am a very warm, fun-loving and flexible girl, and I will ensure your children's safety at all times.

I want to experience more of the American culture, but I would also like to show you some of mine. I would love to cook a typical German meal for you or to show your some of our traditions. If you are looking for an au pair, who has a positive attitude and who will always try to satisfy your family's needs, you should contact me.

Thank you for taking your time to read my letter!

Best regards,
Anna