Letter to host family! Bitte korrigieren!

[RockingTheStates]

Fliege am Freitag nach Santa Monica. Gastfamilie wurde mir bereits zugewiesen, habe aber erst vor 2 Tagen die Adresse bekommen, daher war ich gezwungen kurzfristig einen Brief zu verfassen, in dem ich mich vorstelle.

Es geht also nicht um eine "Bewerbung" wie bei Au Pair Leuten. Mache eine Sprachreise für 12 Wochen.

Wäre super lieb, wenn sich jemand die Zeit nimmt und gegebenfalls Grammatik- und Rechtschreibfehler korrigiert und vielleicht noch Verbesserungsvorschläge hat, was z.B. Satzbau und Formulierung angeht. Weiß auch ehrlich gesagt nicht ob ich Slang benutze.

Habe möglichst versucht offen und dankbar und interessiert rüberzukommen. Sagt mir, wenn das gelungen ist. Bin mir auch teilweise unsicher, ob ich das "Lustige" rausnehmen soll, aber mir wurde gesagt, die verstehen Humor...

Es ist sehr lang geworden, also hier:

First of all, I would like to take the possibility to thank you for giving me shelter / for giving me a home/ for accomodating me during my 10 week stay in Santa Monica. I apologize for not contacting you earlier but I received your name, address, e-mail address and telephone number a couple of days ago and I was busy organizing everything necessary for the journey. I am extremely sorry for any incovenience caused.

I thought it would be a good idea to send you an email in which you can gain a first impression of who I am. I will try to introduce myself in the best possible way and properly. So here we go: My name is ____ (pretty long name, isn't it? As you might assume by looking at my last name I am not only of German descent but I am also half-Brazilian blooded. My mother comes from ___, Brazil). I am 21 years old and I was born and raised in Germany (still living here) - to be more precisely in ____, a small city located in the west of Germany close to the border of the Netherlands (it has about 45.000 inhabitants). I've got an older brother whose name is ___ and I call a little kitten mine called "Nala" (she's a diva. I think I spoil her too much sometimes).

After finishing school last year in july with the so-called "Abitur" (=a school-leaving diploma which enables me to attend university; it takes you 13 years ) I decided to take a year off because I did not really know what to study and what to achieve in life. Furthermore I wanted to explore and discover what the world has to offer. I always was and always will be interested in different cultures, languages and all kinds of people, so it became clear very early that one day I would pack my bags, jump on a plane, travel the world and go see distant places to experience life in a whole other dimension. AND NOW THE TIME HAS COME. In less than a week I will make a dream of mine come true. It is the very first time for me to arrive in the US and with every day passing by I get more and more excited and nervous.

The reasons why my choice fell on the US are manifold: a few friends of mine already went to California and they highly recommended Santa Monica. America is always present in the media/press and English is spoken all around the world. I think as a foreigner you have to spend some time in the US at least once in life - especially Los Angeles & New York.

I am very interested in learning languages: I had French for 8 years, English for 7 years and Spanish for 3 years in school. German is my native tongue and my mother uses to talk to me in Brazilian-Portuguese, that is why I can understand everything spoken and read everything written in Portguese but I am not able to speak it (my grammar and my pronunciation are horrible ). I am going to attend the "____" where I am enrolled in a language program in which they prepare me for the TOEFL test (the universities here in Germany require a certification from their students to prove that they can speak English fluently). I really hope to improve my English skills and to pass the test.

But these are not the only goals I have: Getting to know your culture better, taking part of the every day life in an American household, making new friends, doing lots of touristic things such as sight-seeing and taking pictures of the beautiful landscapes are also important to me.

I think it is always difficult to describe oneself without sounding a bit arrogant, but I will try it either way . Friends would describe me as honest, open-minded, tolerant, out-going, optimistic, always smiling and spontanious plus sometimes I talk a bit too much. . I laugh a lot and I can easily connect to people.

In my free time I like meeting my friends and going out (e.g. going to the cinema or a restaurant). Every once in a while I go clubbing, because I love listening to music and to dance (there is a lot of rhythm running through my veins ). When I find the time I read books. I'm not much into sports, but I like riding my bike and swimming. Furthermore I love to travel and to visit different cities (Berlin is on of my favourites here in Germany). I always try to live life to the fullest and like it's golden. I appreciate the little things in life and I enjoy good conversations and I cherish the company of friendly people.

I don't get homesick very easily. I think my parents will miss me a lot because it is the first time that I will be away (far far away). I've never been longer away than 5 weeks. They let me go with an teary eye but they are very supportive. I am fortunate enough to be able to go on such a big adventure and I am very thankful for this oppturtunity. It is overwhelming and sort of surreal. It means a lot to me and I am sure that my stay in the US will shape my personality. It is one of those life-altering experiences I will tell my kids and grandkids from one day. It is a one of a kind oppurtunity and I won't miss out.

Unfortunately I have no further information on how my host-family will be like but I am very adaptive, so whether you have children (young or grown-up), pets (I love all animals except snakes), are married or living alone, I am convinced that I will have a great time overseas.

I am aware of the fact that I - as a guest in your house - have to integrate myself and to adjust to new situations and demands. The last thing I want is to cause any inconvience. I am pretty confident that we will get along very well with each other. As Aretha Franklin once sang "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" (along with communication) is the key for a good and long-lasting relationship.

I am an independent person so it is a matter of course that I do my own laundry and that I keep everything tidy and organized. Neither do I have high standards nor am I a spoiled brat. The only thing I need to start a good day with is a coffee in the morning. That's about it!

I am so looking forward to meeting you on friday. I might arrive as a complete stranger but I hope to leave as a friend or maybe as a tenth of a family member.

If you have any questions or if you would like to receive further information, please feel free to contact me via email or telephone (_____)

And again, thank you very much for hosting me.

Kind Regards

___

Und jetzt gebt euren Senf dazu bitte!

[Toapert]

im ersten Satz statt possibility "opportunity" - for giving me a home

i just now received your contact information (da wuerde ich nu nicht alles einzeln listen) (und womit du busy warst anstatt zu schreiben wuerde ich weglassen!)

I am very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

weiter komm ich jetzt nicht.

[whitesnake64]

Du schreibst viel zu viel Ist das so üblich ? Ich würde alles in Klammern generell weglassen. Telephone darf auch Phone sein.

[TomUT]

Ich würde alles in Klammern generell weglassen.

Das ist schwierig als Muttersprachler Ich bin auch ein "Klammerer" und das ist hier natuerlich total unueblich Aber ich gebe dir Recht...

[cmcm]

Ich finde ehrlich gesagt auch, dass du zuviel schreibst.
Klar merkt man, dass du dich sehr freust und aufgeregt bist etc. aber zuviel kanna uch schnell ermuedent sein..

[Toapert]

Du schreibst viel zu viel Ist das so üblich ? Ich würde alles in Klammern generell weglassen. Telephone darf auch Phone sein.

Deutsch oder Englisch LK - das lernt man so


I thought it would be a good idea to send an email to give you an idea of who I am. I will try to introduce myself as best I can.

So here we go (here goes): My name is ____ (pretty long name, isn't it? As you might conclude by looking at my last name I am not only of German descent but I am also half-Brazilian. My mother is from ___, Brazil). I am 21 years old and I was born and raised in Germany (still living here) - more precisely in ____, a small city located in the west of Germany close to the Dutch border. (it has about 45.000 inhabitants). I've got an older brother whose name is ___ and I call a little kitten mine called "Nala" (she's a diva. I think I spoil her too much sometimes).

[TomUT]

So here we go (here goes): My name is ____ (pretty long name, isn't it? As you might conclude by looking at my last name I am not only of German descent but I am also half-Brazilian. My mother is from ___, Brazil). I am 21 years old and I was born and raised in Germany (still living here) - more precisely in ____, a small city located in the west of Germany close to the Dutch border. (it has about 45.000 inhabitants). I've got an older brother whose name is ___ and I call a little kitten mine called "Nala" (she's a diva. I think I spoil her too much sometimes).

Noch ein Klammerer Koennte glatt ich geschrieben haben...

[RockingTheStates]

Ihr habt ja sooooo recht

Ich schreibe viiieeel zu viel, aber das war schon immer so! Und Klammern sind mein Side-Kick (ein sehr ermüdender und verwirrender wohlgemerkt!). Hatte Psychologie und Englisch LK da wurde uns eingebläut so viel zu schreiben wie nur geht. Deutsch hatte ich zusätzlich im Abi...

Scheiße... was lasse ich denn jetzt alles raus? Ich hab mir so viel Mühe gegeben!

Also die Klammern werde ich wohl wirklich aufgeben... sonst noch Verbesserungen oder Vorschläge, was ich getrost rauskicken kann? Jetzt bitte sagt nicht SO GUT WIE ALLES, außer paar Basisdaten.

Ich dachte mir nur, ich solle doch vielleicht mehr und ganz ganz nett schreiben, weil ich ja schon Freitag ankomme und ich mir denken könnte, dass die sich schon wundern warum noch rein gar nichts von mir kam

DÖDÖÖÖÖ