Der "Dear Hostfamily Letter"

Da sehr viele zukünftige Au Pairs vor dem Schreiben des "Dear Hostfamily Letters" Angst haben wollte ich meinen mal zur Verfügung zu stellen, damit ihr vielleicht Ideen einholen könnt, was Aufbau/Struktur und/oder Formulierungen angeht. Alle persönlichen Daten ersetze ich durch *****. Ich hoffe er gefällt euch. Ihr könnt mir gerne eure Kommentare unten hinschreiben. 

Viel Spaß!

"Dear Host Family,

My name is Lisa Dunsing and I am 19 years old. In August I will turn 20.

My family consists of my Mum **** (48), my Dad ***** (52), my sisters ******* (31) and ******** (18) and my brother ****** (17); and also our sweet cats “Tony” and “Baby” and my hamster “Balu”.

Except ******* who has her own life with her husband and her daughter we all live in a small village called ***** in Germany. It is located between ******* and **** which is in the west of Germany.

The relationship between me and my whole family, including my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and my niece ***** (5) is very good. They all support me in my dream to become an Au Pair in the United States. Because most of them live close to us, we see each other quite often for example on birthdays, on holidays or on skat-evenings.

In summer 2010 I became a member of the youth group at a local church. We planned summer vacations for groups of children in the age between six and twelve years. On one vacation we traveled through different time zones and had a different time zone each day. During the vacation we did different arts and crafts, night walks, went swimming and  cooked together. The youth group met every Tuesday and there we planned additional things like sleepovers, workshops, street festivals or make contribution for the confirmation class.

After I got my qualification as a lifeguard I became a swimming teacher on Fridays in summer 2009. Between the time of 4 pm and 8 pm I taught three different swimming classes.

Furthermore I prepared children for qualification as a lifeguard on the lake we call “****** ******” for two years. At this time I also have been a lifeguard myself and performed the work which had to be done.

I also had a seat on the board of youth where we planned and realized sleepovers, movie nights, further education and so on.

At school I am a paramedic and the leader/coach of the younger paramedics. There I taught basics in first aid with the result they can assume the work when I leave school. In my breaks I went to the paramedics-room and cared for sick or injured students.

In addition to my volunteer work I accomplished three internships in two different kindergardens. One is a kindergarden for children in the age between three and six years and the other cares for children in the age between four months and three years . I did all kids activities like playing, preparing meals, singing, drawing, going out to the forest or to the playground, reading, changing nappies, bring the children to bed and so on.

Currently I am a babysitter who cares for about 9 children.

I started babysitting at the age of 13. Within the last 6 years I  got a lot of experience with children in the age between three months and 14 years. I cared for triplets, siblings, only children and even sick children haven’t been a problem to me. All in all I cared for about 15 to 20 children in the last years. In the attached list of my childcare experience I listed the children where I have been very often. I also had no problems jaunting with the children. Parents haven’t got bad feelings when I was with their kids. We went swimming or visited the ************, went to the playground, made a bicycle tour or just went to the forest to discover new things.

With most of my babysitter-families I have still contact via E-Mail or WhatsApp. So I get to know how the children grow up, go to school and so on. To become a better coach, a better babysitter and a better worker I did lots of courses in swimming, caring and first aid. They helped me to be better qualified for my jobs. Parents always appreciated that I complete these courses successfully.

I would describe myself as a very responsible and caring person who is open-minded to other people and isn’t afraid of being crazy with kids sometimes. When I am around children I feel very comfortable and positive. If there are any problems, I always talk about with the kids and try to find a good solution for both parties; a compromise.

Probably one of the most important things for you is that I honestly love to work with children. This is the major reason I want to become an Au Pair. I did lots of experiences in the past and I still love my work. I love caring for them, see them growing up and learning new things, see them smiling and laughing. This is a great excuse for some exhausting moments.

I got my driver’s license in April 2012. According to my friends and family I’m a god and safe driver. In these two years I haven’t had an accident, just one little scratch (If you would know our entry, you’ll understand ;-) ). I got a lot of driving experience when I drive to the different babysitting locations, to school or to my big sister. On my 18^th birthday I got a motor scooter which I use daily. That’s why I am very adept in being a part of traffic.

I actually think that the Au Pair year is a perfect solution for a gap year. It combines so many things I love to do: Work with children, meet new people from all over the world, get to know the American way of life, go to college, travel, improve my English skills and many more .

Because of all these experiences I think I am well prepared for an Au Pair Year in the United States. I would love to become a part of your family, spend time with your child/children and just be a part of your life.

Hopefully this letter helped you to get to know me a little more. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at any time.

At the end I would really like to thank you for taking the time and read my letter. I wish you all the best and hope to hear from you, soon!

Yours sincerely,

Lisa Dunsing"