Essay 1-01b: Letter to Host family

Hello, everyone. How are you all? My name is Hiroyo. I think you have already known about me but I want to communicate with you before I go to your country. So I am writing this letter.

I will introduce myself. I am eighteen years old. I go to “KGU” and study English and foreign society. I live in Kumamoto, Japan. I have six members in my family. My father likes cars, so he watches F1 racing on TV. My mother is a childminder. She is always busy, but she often goes shopping. She is a powerful mother. My elder sister graduated from University this year. She works in the post office. My elder brother is a university student. He likes space. My grandmother raises many vegetables and fruit. My family gets along well. I went to camp every year but we are too busy to go camping.

I have many hobbies. For example, I love watching movies and DVDs. I like foreign movies better than Japanese movies. My favorite movies are the Harry Potter series. If you have recommended movies, I would like you to tell me about them. Also, I like playing TV games. If you have TV games, I would like to play them with you.

I like anime too. My favorite anime is ONE PIECE. Do you know ONE PIECE? This anime is very popular in Japan. I think it is famous all over the world. If you are interested in it, I would like to talk about it with you. I like shopping too. If you like going shopping, I would to go shopping with you. Please tell me the popular things in your country.


Japanese culture and your country’s culture are very different. I will tell you about Japanese culture. If I enter my house, I would take off my shoes. I always stay in bare feet in my house. Also Japanese food culture is very different. I always eat rice and miso soup. Have you ever eaten miso? I think it has a good taste. I like eating meat too, but I don’t like lamb chops. When I eat food, I always use chopsticks. I hardly use knives, forks and spoons, because I don’t know the correct way to use them. Please tell me how to use them. I always drink green and oolong tea. Have you ever drunk green tea? It is very healthy for our bodies and good smell. It is drunk Japanese people for a long time ago. It is traditional drink in our country.


I also like cooking but I 'm not good at cooking. I sometimes okonomiyaki, takoyaki, tamagoyaki, rice ball, syougayaki and nimono. I love Japanese food. Do you like Japanese food? I am very interested in World Heritage. I went to Kiyomizu temple, Kinkaku temple and Ginkaku temple. I hardly see World Heritage. If you went to see them, I want to know about them. Please tell me about them.


I go to America in my first trip because I worry about language and food. Please teach me about many things. I am looking forward to going to your country.

[524 words]