R

Dear R,

I must say you are one of the most intelligent and prepared people I have met! I can not tell you how often people come to me with their exam in two weeks or a month. There is some kind of understanding that it is possible to learn a language in such a short amount of time. Other people think that taking tests over and over again without preparation will improve their score.

It takes a wise person to know and acknowledge that it takes work to turn a 6 to a 7 and an 8 to a 10. It is a wise person who reaches out for help, when needed. It is a wise person who knows how to access and mobilize resources. It is a wise person who plans to take time to prepare, time to practice, time to improve.  For these reasons I already believe that you are a wise person.

It is interesting that I have received an e-mail from another person who arrived in Winnipeg within the last two months. I say interesting knowing how comparable Edmonton, where I live, is to Winnipeg when it comes to the weather in winter. It was in October that my friend, who arrived from the Philippines in April, asked if it was going to get colder. I decided I better take her shopping so that she could know how to prepare her family for the coming cold. Where I know people would be kind and give her some winter clothing, I wanted to share with her what I knew about surviving winter in Canada from the perspective of someone who would be taking public transportation. On my way home I decided to write about it, and wrote a book that will be coming out shortly: Surviving Winter in Canada. Maybe it will help you too.

Kim