Motivation letter for exchange semester

Hello

I need to write a motivation letter for my application for an exchange in Buenos Aires. It's for one semester.

Please comment and tell me what you'd write differently/add/delete.

Thanks a lot for your help!! (:

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Dear Sir or Madam

I am applying for an exchange semester at the university of XXX in the spring semester of the academic year 2012/2013. Currently, I am in my second year of undergraduate studies in Biology at the university of XX in Switzerland.

There are many different reasons why I’d like to do this exchange semester.

First of all, it has always been clear to me that I wanted to do a part of my studies abroad. Not only do I love travelling and find it exciting to be in another place. During this semester, I will learn a lot about Argentina, meet many new people and broaden my horizon. I’m eager to getting to know another culture and seeing things in a different point of view. When coming home, I wish to have a reverse cultural shock.

Also, this is a great opportunity to make many new experiences and learn more about myself.

With this background, I didn’t hesitate or ponder for a long time where I wanted to go. The first day of my studies, I saw that Buenos Aires was on the list of university agreements and it was clearly my first choice.

Surely, my fascination for the warm-hearted character and the welcoming atmosphere of Latin America played an important role in my choice.

I could get an impression of South America whilst travelling though Ecuador after I finished high school. It was a trip with a group of young people, we travelled for three months from the mountains to the tropical forest and the Galapagos Islands. This experience was amazing and surely one of the best I had ever made. During the trip, I could also get in touch with the local people (we were hosted in host families for a month) and get some idea of the daily life and the culture of the Ecuadorians.

Another reason why I want to go to Buenos Aires is that I wish to improve my Spanish skills. At high school, I took four years of Spanish lessons and I’m sure to progress fast.

As a German native speaker, I chose to begin my studies at the university of XX in French. Even though it was hard to understand everything in the beginning, it was surely worth the effort, as well for the social as for the linguistic aspect.

The university of XXX is known for its exchange programs with universities from all over the world. This international environment seems very tempting to me.

Also, I’m very interested in getting to know another educational system that has a more personal contact between students and professors.

After the exchange, I will finish my Bachelor at the university of XX and make a Masters degree in medical biology. Afterwards I would like to work in research in a biomedical context. I could imagine working on the development and clinical testing of medicaments or doing basic research.

I am convinced that an exchange semester at the university of Belgrano will highly enrich my academic and personal skills.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for considering my request. I look forward to your positive response.

Sincerely yours,