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I'm writing this at 12:00 am Monday morning. I just got home from work. I'm so glad to be off tomorrow! It's been a difficult week at work. How is your day going? It's 8:30am your time, while I'm writing this, so your probably still in bed. I think that you told me that you were off work for a couple of weeks. It's nice to have some time off to relax and take it easy. I'm hoping that you receive my gift today in the mail. You must let me know how you like it. When I saw it, I immediately thought of you, and of our prior conversation. Tomorrow I'm going to do some reading in the morning when I get up, and later go out to lunch with friends. I usually do my devotional readings in the morning while it's quiet and before the day starts. I like to listen to soft classical music when reading. It relaxes me. I say my prayers in the morning. It's funny how my taste in music has changed over the years. I used to like dance music and all the latest pop songs, but now I'm finding myself listening to classical music, piano music, harp music, etc. Does that mean that I'm getting to be an old man? (ha, ha). I just like peaceful. soothing tunes. What kinds of music do you listen to? Do you listen to classical music? I should send you some of my favorite music for you to listen to and enjoy. I know you would like them. I think we're similar that way. I haven't made any plans yet for my birthday. I know I want to get away on that day. It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to travel. I miss it actually. Too bad you weren't here, you could help me celebrate my birthday . We would have a good time. When is your birthday? Most of my brother's and sister's birthdays are all in the summer months. There are eight of us siblings. Five sister's and two other brother's. I'm the youngest in the family. My brother's are quite different from me. I was never too close to them growing up. There's a difference in age as well. I love my brother's but we're not as close as I wish we were. When I was young I use to envy brother's that were close, and father's and sons. My dad died when I was young, and my brothers weren't close to me. So I kind of learned how to be a man on my own. That's something that a mother and sister's can't show you. I turned out okay though. I've learned a lot along the way. I'm happy with my life, and who I am. I have no idea why I'm sharing this with you, but I wanted to. I don't know if you feel this way , but I feel as if I knew you for a long time. I truly feel a connection to you. I feel like you're a true friend. That's not usual for me. I usually don't feel that way about someone I just met, and hardly know. You're an exception to the rule. I like you , you're a good man. Well, I better get into bed and go to sleep. I'm very tired. Take care my friend. I hope you have a good day today.
Your friend,
David |
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Hello. How are you? Today is Saturday, and I just got home from work. It was a very long evening. I worked from 2:30pm until 11:00pm. Tomorrow is my last evening, then I'm off for a few days. Now, I will answer some of your questions regarding the educational system here, and about the student's holiday schedule.
In America, as you know, we're a multicultural society. Therefore, there are a number of government recognized holidays. These holidays fall into two categories, one being major holidays, and the second being minor holidays. Holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving would be considered major holidays. Students would be officially off from school, anywhere from a few days to an entire week. Some of the minor holidays such as Independence Day, Memorial Day, Presidents' Day, etc., would be considered minor holidays. Students would get just a day or two off from school. During the summer months, students are off from June 22nd until September 9th. Many families take this time off and go on vacation with their children. Regarding the class schedule, students are in class for about eight hours daily. Monday through Friday. If a student fails to pass his grade at the end of the school year, he must take summer classes to pass onto the next level with the rest of his class. Some of the courses offered to children in school are foreign language classes, music classes, art classes, auto shop, wood shop, etc. The most popular foreign language course is Spanish. Since we have a large Spanish speaking population, it's more used than others. American schools are coed. This means that both boys and girls are taught together in the same classroom. There are however, private and religious schools, that are all girls, or all boys. The public school system is coed. In public schools there is no uniform policy. Students can wear what they like, within reason. In private schools a uniform is the rule. Classes tend to be large in public schools. Thirty to forty pupils is not uncommon. Private schools have a better student to teacher ratio than their counterpart. Students attend school for twelve years before earning their diploma. Then they go onto college etc. With today's technological industries, education is extremely important. A student's education will determine his future earning potential. The government provides free schooling for students who are financially disadvantaged and cannot afford to attend college. Unfortunately, there are still many who fall in the cracks and can't afford to attend, and receive no assistance from the government. A college education can be very costly. Some simply don't even try to attend due to that fact. Teacher's here are unionized. This means for the most part, they are well paid and represented by a union that fights for their rights and best interests. Teachers are off all summer long and are paid for it. Am I talking your ears off already? I thought you might find some of this interesting to know. Do you know that California has the largest Iranian population in America? They have their own stores, newspapers, etc. They keep their Iranian culture, and language alive. You can find all nationalities living together in America. People from all over the world live here. What else do you want to know? I don't know what else to tell you about life here, that might interest you. How was your day away? Did you enjoy yourself? You said that you had a four hour drive there. It's about an hour and a half drive to Canada from here. Toronto is about four hours by
car. It's a nice beautiful city. Many Americans visit our neighbor to the North. You asked about what we eat on the holidays.... Well, it can vary from one family to another, but on Thanksgiving it's customary to roast a turkey in the oven. Thanksgiving is a holiday that commemorates the first pilgrims to this country having survived their first winter here. They thanked God for their survival and blessings. It's celebrated in November. On Christmas, people usually cook a ham. On Easter, a lamb is often cooked. This can vary from family to family, and from nationality to nationality. Did I bore you to tears? I hope not. I better say good-bye for now my friend. Take care, and best wishes.
Your friend,
David |
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I'm glad that you found the information I sent useful and interesting. I agree with you about disliking shopping. I hate grocery shopping too. In America we don't use the metric system, so please forgive me if I don't know how much a kilo is. However, I think I can still answer the question. Considering that we grow oranges in the South, they are somewhat costly here. One pound of oranges cost about 2.00 dollars. It might be a bit more, depending on where you shop. We have large supermarkets here, but also have open markets outside as well. These outdoor markets tend to be cheaper. Farmers come into the city from the country and sell their produce. There is a large outdoor market called "the farmer's market" in the city. On the weekends many people go to buy their produce and meat there. Everything's very fresh. It's also very crowded! We don't have a custom of getting a hair cut for the new year. What we do have are "resolutions" which we make on New Year's Day. These resolutions, are things we plan on changing about ourselves. Seldom anyone keeps these new year resolutions! After about a week after the new year, they forget what they wanted to improve or change, and return back to their old ways. Such is life, right? Tomorrow you should be getting the package I sent you. Let me know if you receive it, and what you think of it. I was out shopping, and thought of my friend, so I bought it. Today is Sunday, my last day of work. I'm so happy! It's been a difficult week at work. Well, my friend, take care of yourself. Remember me when you're enjoying yourself at home, and I'm at work with no time off. Did I make you feel sorry for me? (ha, ha). Best wishes to you and your family. May God bless.
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