Dear Host Family,

My name is Natasha. I am thrilled at the opportunity to become a part of your family. I was born on the 16th of April 2001, and I am currently 22 years old. I am from Harare Zimbabwe. I have 3 sisters and 1 brother. My older sister is 27 years old; my young sister is 19 years old; my youngest sister is 13 years old, and my brother is 7 years old.
I started my first grade in 2008 where I attended an Afrikaans school called Learskool Kensington. Afrikaans has some words borrowed from the German language and because of that my German learning journey was much easier. I have always loved sports so for the 7 years I was in primary school, I played Netball. I worked very hard on my academics so every year in primary school I received certificates for being part of the top achievers. While I was in primary school my mother owned a Day Care Centre for 10 years where my sisters and I would help the teachers with planning and carrying out activities with the children. We would help paint easter eggs, hide eggs for the easter egg hunt. We would also help and play sports like soccer with the children.
In 2015 I started my high school at Queens High School, I also started playing hockey which was a completely foreign sport for me. I started going camping and I gained certificates for my 4 years of camping achievements, and I even became a camp leader. While playing hockey I managed to get my half and full colours during my 5 years of high school.
I then finished high school in 2019 and partook in a volunteering program called Three2six. Here I did some activities with refugee kids from other African countries, we helped them learn to read, speak English and to experience some cool and fun activities every child their age deserves to experience. We took the children to the Zoo, to Museums, we played sports with them and even had baking classes with them. My personal activity was sharing my favourite childhood movies with the kids and watching them enjoy them as much as I did when I was a child.
In 2020, I started a home bakery, I baked character cakes, birthday cakes and wedding anniversary cakes. In December of 2020 I started my TEFL course which allowed me to teach English online to students from the ages of 5 – 65 from all over the world. I taught for 3 years and while I was doing this I fell in love with the German culture from the stories and pictures that my students who live in Germany had shared with me.
In 2021 I started learning Mandarin as I was deeply interested in the language, after achieving a descent Mandarin level, I started learning German in 2022 and I got my A1 certificate in February 2023. I continued learning German and I am currently learning level B1.
I am eagerly looking forward to immersing myself in your culture and embracing new experiences during my stay with you. I hope to share my interests and culture with you and learn about yours as well.
In 2023 I started studying Law at the University and I continued to practise baking, and the languages I loved to learn. I also continued to tutor young kids and help them understand and keep up with their schoolwork.
Living with your family presents a wonderful opportunity for cultural exchange, and I am excited to contribute to your household in any way I can. Whether it's helping with household chores, cooking meals, or simply spending quality time together, I am committed to being a respectful and considerate member of your family.
Becoming a lawyer is also very difficult here. My plan is to come back to Zimbabwe to do my master’s degree and stand out as a lawyer who can also speak fluent German. I also. I also plan to learn some famous German pastries which I can share in my home bakery when I do return in the future.
I am also eager to improve my language skills during my time with you. Although I may make mistakes along the way, I am dedicated to learning and growing throughout this experience.
Thank you for opening your home to me and providing me with the opportunity to create lasting memories with your family. I am confident that this will be an enriching and rewarding experience for us all.

Warm regards,

Natasha.