Hello! Could you check my letter and essay. I'm going to pass IELTS exam in January 2010. I'd be greatiful for any help with this stuff.

Topic:
An Australian colleague is going to your country for a conference. He/she will spend several days in your home town and has written a letter to you asking for advice about thing to see and do there/
Write a letter to the colleague suggesting what should see and do while he /she is in your home town.

Dear John,
Thanks a lot for your letter. It was nice to hear from you. It’s so great that we will meet on the workshop in Irkutsk. I thought I’d drop you a line to let you know what is the best way to spend free time in my hometown.

To tell the truth, there are really a lot of things you can see in Irkutsk. First of all, I’d like to recommend you a boat tour along banks of the Angara river. In fact, out town is situated on the river and you will have a great possibility to see beautiful skyscrapers, a TV tower, cathedral and business centers. Also I’d like to suggest you to visit a museum about the history of Irkutsk and take part in an exhibition which is devoted to customs and traditions of Irkutsk dwellers. All these stuffs take place in the center of the town and you can book it in one of ticket offices.

Another thing, I’d advise you to do is to visit a souvenir shop on the Linina Street and buy Russian dolls, a winter cap or something you like there. I’m sure, it would be very amazing to show all these things to your family, friends and relatives in Australia.

I hope these suggesting help. If there is anything else I can do before your visit please give me a ring on 8(111)222-333. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,
Alexander

Topic:
People who travel to another country to live, work or study for a period of time often suffer badly from homesickness. Why is this? What are the best ways to reduce this problem?

Today there are a lot of opportunities to get higher education, a new work or even citizenship in a foreign country. However, people often face many difficulties and obstacles abroad and the one of the most serious is loneliness or in other words nostalgia. In this essay I will analyze the main reasons of it and suggest ways how to overcome this issue.

First of all, many young people who go abroad to get higher degree suffer from loneliness because there are not parents, old friends and relatives in new place. People often start thinking about their previous life and always try to communicate with people from their home country. It is well-known fact that new means of communications such as cell-phones and the Internet never could change a face to face conversation with family or friends.

Another very important problem is the fact that people have to deal with cultural shock abroad. There is no doubt that customs and traditions of their own country differ from ones in a foreign country dramatically. Furthermore, people have to know a language of a new country in order to communicate with local dwellers. So if a foreigner doesn’t know a language and traditions of the country well he or she will always feel very lonely.

On the other hand, there are several simple means in order to deal with mentioned above problems. People who are going to live and work abroad should learn a foreign language before travelling there. Also they should know most traditions and customs of a country where ones are going. All this stuff can help to make new friends abroad quickly and negative filling of loneliness will be avoided.

Taking into account all mentioned above I strongly believe that people can have more opportunities abroad for their future life. But at the same time any thinking man has to prepare for living there in advance.