My dearest classmates Tilly, Marilena, Tomoyo, Susanne,Marina and Jasuku,
Hope this letter finds you well.
I have just arrived at my flat in Liverpool, andcannot wait to write to you and send you lovely photos.
It is not a long trip from Liverpool to London,but it is a long journey from China to Europe. Before I made the final decisionto register the pronunciation course, I hesitated for weeks, because nobodycould anticipate its outcomes before it took place - whether it would be satisfactoryor disappointing; whether it would waste of time and money or may help a littlebit. When I was waken up by the annoying alarm at 3 AM on 18thofJune, I was too rushed and slipped on the toilet floor, feeling dizzy and difficultto breathe. It was at that moment that I wanted to give up, but it was also atthat moment I had dogged determination.
…
Seven hours later, I met you guys and Geoff in antraditional wooden classroom at Chandler House. By then all of question marks inmy head had gone away.
For me, the four-day-course proved that I made awise decision. Improving English pronunciation was our priority, but meetingnew people like you is far more important for me. Never have I met a group ofpeople from different countries have the same passion, motivation anddetermination. Perhaps it was the fate that we met in this beautiful summer in London,a city which is not our hometowns but must be a common memory for all of us.
Marilena, my neighbor,I noticed that you were taking pills for curing sore throat which influenced yourvoice and speaking. Even though you spoke with relatively low voice, you spokewith power and confidence. I have been also impressed by your questions to ourteacher, which I believe exemplified your critical thinking of a scientist.Your final speech was not a passage of practicing pronunciation, it was a greatpoem! I really like it!
Tilly, it is a delightto have you as my classmate. It must be a blessing and a pride to be yourstudent, as what you’ve demonstrated made me believe that being a wonderful teachermust be like you. It is not easy to be a teacher of English, and it is far morechallenging to teach English in an English-speaking country, however you madeit. Your efforts into thriving for dream is a great inspiration for me.
Tomoyo, thankyou very much for lending me your Oyster card, which brought me great conveniencein taking buses in London. Your generosity and warm-heartedness were like breezecalming down my nervous heart in this busy city. What you discussed in yourpresentation not only suggested your insightful observation of western andeastern culture but also told me that one should care about and look into whatis happening around him/her.
Susanne, I wasdeeply impressed by your great determination that you traveled far from Germanyto take the course. Comparing to you, I should have felt guilty for my hesitation.As a mother two kids, you are still fighting for bettering English. You are agreat mother and a great English language lover. I also noticed that for manytimes you were listening to others. It is really a great quality I admire.
Marina, thank foryou for sharing with your experiences of studying and life. I was deeplyimpressed by your attitude of life that when you return to Italy you feel at homeand you also have the same feeling when you stay in London. As a matter offact, we have the exactly same philosophy of life in China. It is wisdom and artof living that enable us to have inner peace to face up to the hustle andbustle of the modern society.
Jasuku, it seemedthat you were a little bit shy, but sometimes smiles speak louder than words. Yoursweet smile is like sun in freezing winter melting the icy snow. As a Chinesesaying, those who like smiling have good luck, your smile is a reflection ofyour warm and brave heart. Meanwhile, your reading this afternoon was passionate,which I believe showed exactly your tenderness. Thank you for inspiring me to imitatesuch wonderful speeches.
It is the end of a course, but is the beginningof our friendship. I hope that all of us can achieve our goals as soon as wecan. I will share with my effort and progress in English pronunciation to youand hope you can do as well so as to that we can make encrourage and improvetogether.
A new day has come.
All the best,
Victor
