Dear Principal Wang, Administrators, Teachers and Students:
We are writing you this letter to say goodbye as our year of teaching at Jiangsu Henglin High School has come to an end. We are sad to be leaving China as we have made many new friends, both teachers and students. It has been our pleasure to know each of you and we are very thankful for your kindness to us. You have helped us when we couldn’t speak Chinese, you have told us about your customs and traditions and some of you have even invited us into your home to meet your family and enjoy delicious food together. For all of these things, we are grateful.
To Principal Wang, Dean Shen, and all the administrators we want to say a big thank you for making us feel safe and welcomed in your school. We appreciate your efforts in making sure that we were informed and included in all the events held at the school. You have been most helpful in assisting us with our travel plans throughout China. You have done everything possible to answer our requests concerning our apartment, office, classrooms and teaching schedule.
To the Grade One teachers, especially the English teachers, we are happy to have been part of your department for the 2008-2009 school year. We enjoyed exchanging ideas about today’s educational system, both in China and in Canada, and the various teaching methodologies. We were happy to live beside you in the dormitory, and eat with you in the dining hall. We especially liked attending wedding dinner parties, where we got to know you socially, and also singing and performing with you in the Spring Festival concert.
To the Grade Two and Three teachers, you have been wonderful in inviting us to visit your classes and speak to your students. We felt this was so important for soon the students will be out in the world and they will appreciate the need to know a second language as China continues to open up to the world.
Finally, to all the students, we loved your energy and appreciated your efforts in adapting to our Canadian way of teaching. We will never forget you and wish each of you success in your future. We hope that our ESL students will continue with their dedication and passion to learn English.
Upon our return to Canada, we will look back on our year in China with wonder. We will view the many photos of our travels and experiences taken in China and continue to read about your country and stay in touch by email with many of you. Our stay in China has made us better teachers. All these experiences will help us to remember the most wonderful year of our lives.
Sincerely,
Patricia and Randy Castellarin
尊敬的王校长、各位领导、老师们、同学们：
我们在江苏省横林高级中学为期一年的教学即将进入尾声，为此我们写这封信来与你们道别。在中国，我们结识了很多老师和学生，并与他们成了好朋友，一想到要分别就感到非常难过，认识你们是我们夫妇的荣幸，非常感谢你们的友善。我们不能用中文与其他人交流，是你们总是给我们提供帮助，让我们了解你们中国的风俗与传统，你们甚至邀请我们去家里与你们的家人共同享受中国的美食，这一切的一切，都让我们不胜感激。
我们非常感谢王校长、沈教导及所有的领导对我们的热情及为保障我们的安全所做的工作，你们坚持不懈地告知我们学校的大小事务，对于我们夫妇环游中国的计划给予了强有力的支持，关于我们的住宿、教室、办公室、教学计划等安排都如此妥贴，所有的这一切，我们夫妇也十分感谢。
我们很高兴成为高一年级组，尤其是英语组中的一员，我们非常享受与这些年轻英语教师交流讨论中国与加拿大教育体系的异同，以及各种各样的教学方法。能和你们在宿舍楼毗邻而居，在食堂同桌而食，我们感到非常愉快，我们尤其喜欢能够参加老师的婚礼宴会，并了解你们的社交生活，我们在元旦晚会上同唱一首歌。
我们也很感激高二及高三年级教师们邀请我们去上课，我们认为这对于学生很重要，因为不久后这些学生就将离开学校进入社会，到那时，他们便会意识到，随着中国改革开放的深入，精通一门外语是必要的。
最后，我们要对所有的学生说，我们喜爱你们的活力，也很感激你们为了适应我们加拿大的教学而做出的努力，我们将不会忘记你们，也祝愿每一个人都能成功，我们希望ESL班的学生能够执着而热情地继续学习英语。
一回到加拿大，我们将翻着照片，回忆种种经历，重温在中国的这一年的美好时光，我们也将继续关注中国，通过邮件与你们保持联系，在中国这一年使我们成为了更好的老师，所有的经历都将帮助我们记住我们生命中最美好的一年。
真诚的
Patricia and Randy Castellarin
（帕翠莎 阮道夫）