Dear Host Family,

I feel very lucky to experience a life changing experience such as studying abroad. I would like to thank you for giving me the chance to immerse myself in a whole new culture and way of life. In my spare time I like to read, watch films, paint, bike, take pictures, and learn to play the ukulele which is a recently new hobby of mine.

When I was in 4th grade a couple of schools held a writing competition, my school was one that took part. The competition was to write about what you would do if your school $750 to spend. I wrote about how I would spend the money which was to buy new play equipment, new books, and fly top pens which were really popular to help do math and other subjects. I won the contest, and the $750. I went on a shopping spree with my class teacher to buy the play equipment, books, and fly top pens.

At school I take 6 classes this semester with a study hall period and 7 classes next semester with no study hall period. I take the 4 required core classes, Chemistry, French 2, Geometry, and Language and Literature along with Gym, Art Foundations, and Painting 1 next semester. I don’t really dislike any of my classes, but I do have favorites. I really enjoy my French 2 class, Language and Literature, and Art. History is also one of my favorite classes but I didn’t have enough space in my schedule to take it this year. Last year I participated in LEAF club but this year I’m going to be part of Fine Arts Club. Our school day starts at 8:30 am and ends at 3:30 pm except on wednesdays when it ends at 3:00 pm. Even though I live in Peoria which is a small city about 3 hours outside of Chicago I go to school in the small town of Dunlap which is about a 10 minute drive away from my house.

I wake up every day at 6:50 am so I have enough time to shower and get my things together then I walk out in front of my house to wait for the bus which comes around 7:35. On the way to school all you see is houses and corn fields, Peoria has a lot of corn and soy bean fields. Each class is 50 minutes long with a 3 minute passing period to get to classes. Lunch periods are split into 3 sections, A,  B, and C. I have A lunch which is earliest and right after my third hour class.

I’ve always had my own room, probably because I’m the youngest and the only girl. My room is painted gray, its right above the garage so it gets really hot in summer and really cold in winter. I have a desk which always has my painting supplies on it a long with school things. I have two brothers, one is 26 and currently a student and the other is 31 and a personal trainer and also a body builder. My 26 year old brother lives with me and my oldest brother lives in a city about 45 minutes away but visits whenever he can. I live in a subdivision that is one of many around where I live. Most of the students in my neighborhood go to the same school which is nice since a lot of my friends just live down the street from me.

I have a good amount of hobbies but reading and film watching are probably the biggest ones. I’ve always enjoyed reading but I didn’t become a “film buff” so to speak until I was about 14 and watched Sofia Coppollas Lost in Translation. Sofia Coppolla is one of my favorite directors and seeing how beautifully written and directed it was sparked a new love for me. I make two lists for every month, one for films I want to watch that month and books I want to read that month. I rarely ever don’t complete the list. I read a lot of philosophy books, Friedrich Nietzsche being my favorite and a lot of psychology, especially Sigmund Freud. I didn’t start reading philosophy until I read the Republic by Plato last year and I didn’t start reading psychology until I read The man who mistook his wife for a hat by Oliver Sacks.

Both of my parents are Nigerian, Yoruba to be exact. I’ve been to Nigeria twice, once when I was 5 and again when I was 14. My parents speak Yoruba to me 75% of the time at home even though I can’t speak it and can only pick it up. I like that they don’t always speak English to me though, hearing words in different languages just seems more interesting than hearing the same words everyday.

I have been outside of US a lot since most of my family lives in England and Nigeria. The most memorable of my travels was when I went to England by myself when I was 13 to stay with my cousins for 2 weeks in the spring. I’ve been to Paris once, and my mom and I didn’t know the shop was closing so they closed it with us inside and we had to have them open the gate so we could leave, I still think its funny to this day although it wasn’t at the time. I love to travel and I love airports although most people do not. I like to people watch and see the planes land and take off. When I’m older I want to travel everywhere, experience every culture, and learn as much as I can while doing so.

I don’t dislike many things at all. Some things may not be my favorite but that doesn’t mean I dislike them. I’m terrified of spiders, but I don’t hate them I’m just not fond of them. The only thing I really dislike is close mindedness and although it can be upsetting it never makes me angry. I never actually get angry, if I’m not happy then I’m content. I can be shy at first, but once I warm up to a person I like to think I’m a very good friend. I do however have the tendancy to over analyze things, and can be indecisive at times. People have told me that I’m good at keeping calm in tense situations.

Since I’m very art minded, I would like to attend an Art College when I’m older and major in Graphic Design or maybe Furniture Design. If possible I would also like to minor in history since it’s always been one of my favorite things to study and read about. I hope that my future career allows me to travel the world as much as possible. I hope to become a Rotarian exchange student will allow me to learn a new culture, learn a new language, and gain new experiences that I will benefit from for the rest of my life. Many people say becoming a Rotarian exchange student gives you the best experience of your life, a positive transformation, and the ability to learn so much more. I want to thank you again for giving me this most amazing opportunity and I hope to have the most brilliant adventure of my life.

-Sincerely,

Aaliyah Giwa