your friend is coming to visit you

IELTS General Training

A hub for IELTS GT test takers to help them reach their goal.

Letter Sample #136 – A friend is coming to visit your city

Gt writing task 1 (letter writing) sample # 136.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

A friend is coming to visit your city. You have informed him/her that you would meet him/her at the airport. But something has come up and you cannot make it to the airport on time.

Write a letter to this friend. In your letter,

say what emergency has come up
explain the situation
and offer to make an alternative arrangement

Write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear …………………,

Model Answer:

I hope you’re doing excellent, and your preparation to visit Tokyo has been finalised as you’ve just a few days to catch your flight. Today, I’m writing to inform you about a change in plan, which I hope wouldn’t cause you much trouble.

My office has scheduled a day-long executive meeting on 23rd August, which unfortunately is the date you’ll be flying to Tokyo. I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave the office before 6:00 pm while you’re expected to reach the Airport at around 4:00 pm.

According to our last conversation, I planned to leave early that day and meet you at the airport. However, due to the significance of this meeting, I’ve been forced to change my plan. As a solution to these changing circumstances, I’d recommend you to hail a taxi from the airport and go to my apartment. I’d send you my address and keep the keys in the reception area. Just give them the apartment number and say your name, they will hand over you the keys. I’ll get back home as soon as I can.

I can’t wait to meet you and do things and visit places that we’ve already planned.

Warm wishes,

Privacy Overview

Band 7+: Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challenging

I’m so happy you are coming to visit me next month and wanted to give you some important details about your stay here in Ho Chi Minh City.

Before you come, make sure that you have the correct visa or you’ll have problems at the airport. You’ll also want to bring some high quality mosquito repellent. If you aren’t protected, the mosquitos will eat you alive out here. These are the only things you’ll really need, aside from the things you would normally bring.

There are so many things for us to do when you arrive. We’ll be spending the first few days in the city, but after that we can explore other parts of the country. Vietnam is a beautiful place, with so much to see and experience. I know you’ll enjoy your time here.

With that said, there is something that I want to warn you about. The way people drive in this country is absolutely insane. It’s every man for himself on the road and nobody follows the rules. Luckily, we’ll be travelling by train most of the time, so we won’t be in the mix too much.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Check Your Answer On This Topic?

Generate a band-9 sample answer, overall band score, task response, coherence & cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range & accuracy, answers on the same topic:, your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month. write a letter to your friend. in your letter, tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challenging.

Hey Sarah, I’m so happy you are coming to visit me next month and wanted to give you some important details about your stay here in Ho Chi Minh City. Before you come, make sure that you have the correct visa or you’ll have problems at the airport. You’ll also want to bring some high […]

Dear John, I’m extremely happy that you’re coming to see me next month. Before you arrive, I’d like to give you some information regarding your trip. Firstly, I want you to make sure your passport has been stamped and check the dates of issue as well as expiry. Also, check the relevant flight details such […]

You have rented a house by a lake for the summer. Write a letter to a friend. In your letter • describe the house • describe how you are spending your time there • invite your friend to come and visit

Dear Marry. The motive behind writing this letter is that I’d recently shifted to the rented house which is situated near the lake for spending the Summer with my family As i told you that we have plan to our summer spend on beach side, i am very happy and excited to live this house! […]

Your friend has been offered a place on a course at the university where you studied. He/ She would like your advice about finding a place to live. Write an email to your friend. In your email, describe where you lived when you were a student at the university. Recommend the best way for him/her to look for accommodation. Warn him/her of mistakes students make when choosing accommodation.

Dear Kim, First of all, let me congratulate you on your success in gaining admission to a great university where I also studied. I’d also like to thank you at the same time for having confidence in my advice in finding accommodation for you. Of course, the best way to find accommodation at your university […]

Your friend recently invited you to a marriage anniversary party that they are holding next Saturday. However, you can not attend this party. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: mention you cannot attend the party explain the reason why you can not attend the party suggest when you can meet them Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows: Dear …………………,

Dear James, I hope this message finds you well my friends, James. I am writing this email to inform you that I am not able to come for your marriage anniversary party next Saturday. Firstly, I really appreciate that you were invited for your amazing event, and congratulations for your wedding anniversary as well. Your […]

WRITING TASK 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. On a recent holiday you lost a valuable item. Fortunately you have travel insurance to cover the cost of anything lost. Write a letter to the manager of your insurance company. In your letter • describe the item you lost explain how you lost it • tell the insurance company what you would like them to do Write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any addresses. Begin your letter as follows: Dear Sir or Madam,

Dear Sir or Madam, I hope this letter finds you well. I am writting this letter to inform you that on a recent holiday to Denmark, I lost my watch First of all, the watch is a Samsung Smart watch. It is off black leather and the circle of the watch is in blue colour. […]

You would like to buy some electrical goods at a shop in a nearby town. Write a letter to the shop and ask if they have the things you want or whether they will be able to order them. Ask what the prices are and how long they will be able to hold the goods for you.

Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing this letter to ask you about some electrical goods which I certainly want for my new house. I want to know: Do you have a vacuum cleaner, steam iron, dishwasher, and microwave oven available at your store? If not, would you be able to arrange them for me? Furthermore, I […]

Plans & Pricing

IELTS Mentor "IELTS Preparation & Sample Answer"

Skip to content
Jump to main navigation and login

Nav view search

IELTS Sample

Letter Writing # 176 - Write a letter to a friend to visit you

Ielts letter writing / gt writing task 1:, you have a friend who lives in another country. write a letter to this friend to visit you..

invite him/her to a public event in your country
describe the public event
explain other plans you have for your friend when he/she will visit
IELTS Letter Writing
GT Writing Task 1
letter to a friend

IELTS Materials

IELTS Bar Graph
IELTS Line Graph
IELTS Table Chart
IELTS Flow Chart
IELTS Pie Chart
IELTS Essay
Academic Reading

Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Copyright Notice
HTML Sitemap

IELTS Writing Correction Service
IELTS Express Writing Evaluation Service
IELTS Essay Correction Service

IELTS Speaking Evaluation

Speaking Appointment
Submit Writing Tasks
Recent Success Stories

Doubt Session

IELTS Writing Task 1(Sample Answer)

Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month., write a letter to your friend. in your letter,, tell them what they need to bring, tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting, warn them about some things that might be challenging, i am extremely excited that you have finally decided to visit mumbai next month., keep all the information that you have gathered from websites and books about india and especially mumbai, aside. it is a city that you need to experience firsthand. since you are arriving in the thick of monsoon, do remember to get a good raincoat and clothes that dry quickly. it rains all the time during these months and it is better to be prepared., i have prepared an extensive itinerary for your visit that can put the best tour planners to shame. since you like experimenting with food, i have made a list of the exotic restaurants which we can try out. apart from this, there are also trips to scenic destinations around mumbai on the weekends. if you like, we can also visit a bollywood film set, the one thing that i want you to be prepared for is the traffic. unlike germany, the traffic in india is not precisely coordinated and sometimes the traffic jams can set us back by hours., i am looking forward to seeing you soon., best regards,, estimated band score-6.5.

Get Your Writing Tasks Evaluated by an IELTS Expert

Follow us on
All about IELTS (Tips & Strategies) (16)
IELTS Speaking Jan-April 2024 (4)
IELTS Speaking May to August 2023 (3)
Recent Success Stories (24)
Uncategorized (4)
Writing Task 1 Model Answers (1)
GT Band 6 samples (1)
GT Band 7 letters (10)
Band 6 Samples (1)
Band 6.5 Samples (4)
Band 7 samples (10)
Our Success Stories

Success story of Rohan Kanade

8I IELTS Success Stories R Cleared GT Exam 8777 requirements...

Another IELTS Success Story

22I IELTS Success Stories Khyati, our student scored 7.5 Bands...

5 Must-Have Features of an Effective IELTS Writing Checker

5 Must-Have Features of an Effective IELTS Writing Checker The...

Mastering IELTS Writing: How an IELTS Writing Checker Can Boost Your Band Score

Mastering IELTS Writing: How an IELTS Writing Checker Can Boost...

Our Services

IELTS Writing Evaluation Express Service

IELTS Essay Correction service

Writing Correction Service

Privacy Policy
Cookies Policy
Refund and Cancellation Policy
Terms and Conditions

An Australian Friend Is Coming to Visit You

An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

Say how you feel about the visit
Suggest what you could do on his/her birthday
ask what your friend thinks of your idea

I got your letter yesterday, and I learned that you will visit Ahmedabad next month. I am writing this letter to suggest some things that we can do together during your visit to Ahmedabad.

I am so excited to meet you after three years, and also, my excitement level is just boosted by the fact that your birthday is coming, and we can celebrate it together. I seriously can’t wait to see you.

I was wondering how about we go to your favorite temple first, and then we will have a delicious full Gujarati meal at ‘w.’ I know how much you love typical Gujarati food. Moreover, I will make your favorite dessert for you and along with that I have a little surprise for you, my friend.

Just let me know what you think of this plan and also let me know if you have any suggestions or if you want to do something else on your birthday , but please tell me at least a week before so that I can make arrangements according to that.

Hoping to hear from you soon. Give my regards to your parents.

Yours lovingly,

Letter about Your Visit to a Foreign Country with a Friend - GT Letter Samples

Recently you visited a foreign country with a friend. write a letter to someone..

You should tell

why you enjoyed the trip

what you are doing now

invite her to visit you

Letter about Your Visit to a Foreign Country with a Friend - GT Letter Samples

Get your personalised IELTS Essay Feedback from a former examiner

Download IELTS eBooks , get everything you need to achieve a high band score

Model Answer 1

I hope this letter finds you in great spirits! I'm brimming with excitement to share my recent adventure in Japan, a journey that was both enchanting and unforgettable, accompanied by my dear friend Sarah.

The trip was a mesmerizing blend of cultural immersion and natural beauty. We explored ancient temples in Kyoto, marveled at the neon-lit streets of Tokyo, and were captivated by the serene beauty of Mount Fuji. The highlight was participating in a traditional tea ceremony, where the harmonious blend of ritual and hospitality left an indelible impression. These experiences, rich in tradition and history, made the journey truly enjoyable and enlightening.

Since returning, life has resumed its usual pace, but with a renewed sense of energy and inspiration. I've been channeling this newfound creativity into my photography, capturing the essence of our local landscapes, and am eagerly planning an exhibition to showcase these works.

With these memories fresh in my mind, I extend an invitation for you to visit me. It would be a wonderful opportunity to share stories, photographs, and perhaps plan our next adventure together. Autumn here is spectacular, and I can think of no better time for your visit.

Looking forward to the possibility of reuniting and reminiscing about our travels.

Warm regards,

Download IELTS eBooks , get everything you need to achieve a high band score

Model Answer 2

Dear Rebecca,

I trust this letter finds you in the best of health and happiness! I am eagerly writing to you today, still basking in the afterglow of an extraordinary trip to Italy, which I embarked upon with my friend, Michael.

Our journey through Italy was nothing short of magical. We were captivated by the vibrant streets of Rome, the artistic allure of Florence, and the serene canals of Venice. The rich history etched in every corner and the exquisite Italian cuisine made every moment a delight. The warmth and hospitality of the locals added a special charm to our experience, making it not just a trip but a treasure trove of cherished memories.

Currently, I am back to my routine, teaching at the local university. The inspiration drawn from Italy's historic art and architecture has infused a fresh perspective in my lectures on European history. This experience has been enlightening, influencing both my personal and professional life.

In light of these wonderful experiences, I would love to extend an invitation for you to visit me. It would be my absolute pleasure to host you, share stories, and perhaps even plan a joint venture to explore new destinations. The coming spring season here is delightful, and it would be the perfect backdrop for our reunion.

Eagerly awaiting your response and the prospect of your visit.

Best wishes,

Model Answer 3

Dear Caroline,

I hope this letter finds you basking in the joys of life! Recently, I returned from an exhilarating trip to France with my friend Alex, an experience that was a delightful blend of discovery and camaraderie.

The essence of our French escapade was in its unexpected pleasures – from wandering through the lavender fields of Provence to the moonlit strolls along the Seine in Paris. The rich tapestry of French culture, the exquisite cuisine, and the historical splendor were captivating. Each day brought a new discovery, from the art-laden halls of the Louvre to the quaint cobblestone streets of Montmartre, making every moment of the trip a celebration of joy and exploration.

Back in the swing of things at home, I'm currently channeling the inspiration from my travels into my writing. I've started penning a series of travelogues, hoping to encapsulate the essence of the places we visited and the stories we created.

With this newfound zest and a heart full of memories, I warmly invite you to visit me. Let's relive the adventures over cups of coffee and plan our next journey. The autumn season here would provide the perfect backdrop for such heartfelt exchanges and planning.

Anticipating our reunion and the sharing of stories.

Write a letter to your English speaking friend who is visiting you soon | IELTS Letters |

Free ielts correction service.

Write a letter to your English speaking friend who is visiting you soon and asking you what presents your family would like. Write :

– Who your family consists of

– What kind of presents each member would like.

– How you feel about your friend coming to visit

I hope you find this letter in radiant health and the best of spirits. Recently, I received your letter in which you mentioned that you are coming to India on vacations.

My parents, wife and child are really excited to meet you. I shared many stories with them when we lived together in England during college times.

You have asked me regarding the choice of my family members because you want to purchase a souvenir for us. I would say that please there is no need for such formalities to bring present for everyone. Your visit is the greatest pleasure for us.

I am over the moon to receive you at the airport, and I planned to visit some beautiful places in my province, such as the Golden Temple, Chandigarh city where several museums are worth visiting. As you are doing a course in foreign traditions, It would be an excellent opportunity for you to explore local tradition information for your thesis.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Your’s friend,

Some think that it is more important for children to engage in outdoor activities
Some people say that art subjects such as music, drama and creative writing are an essential part of education, and every school should include them in its syllabus. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Give your opinion and examples from your own experience. | Labotrees |
In schools and universities, girls tend to choose arts while boys like science. | IELTS Essay |
Nowadays online shopping is rapidly replacing physical shopping in-store.
Some people say that online study is the most effective and convenient way to learn. Others believe that online study will never be as effective as learning at school, in person. Discuss both views and give your own opinion. | Labotrees |
You have recently missed a project deadline which resulted in your company losing an important | IELTS Letters |

Some universities offer online courses as an alternative to classes delivered on campus. | IELTS Essay |

International travel has many advantages to both the travellers and the country visited. | ielts essay |.

We work hard to make sure our content is delivered as quickly as possible and at a speed of lightening to your fingertips.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More

Unlock Your Potential

Ielts correction service.

An Australian Friend Is Coming to Visit You, and It Will Be His/her Birthday During the Visit

An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:

say how you feel about the visit?
suggest what you could do on his/her birthday?
ask what your friend thinks of your idea?

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I was flabbergasted when you told me about your vacation to India. I remember meeting you in person three years back before migrating to Australia, and it was an emotional moment. I am overwhelmed with happiness to meet you and have eternal conversations with you, which we missed all these days.

Furthermore, during your visit, we can celebrate your birthday in an affluent manner, and it is my responsibility to make your day filled with eternal memories. Let’s invite our school friends at midnight, and we can throw a party for all our peers, which includes dinner and music . The next day morning, we can go for a road trip to Meadow Caves. It is one of the best hangout spots to visit within city limits, and it is feasible to return to our home as early as possible. I browsed on the internet that there is a resort near caves and we can have our lunch there. I speculate they serve delicious cuisines with a mix of international flavours. After a scrumptious meal, we can return to my home.

These are the plans which I thought of celebrating your birthday. I anticipate that you will be fine with my plan; if not, then help me with some suggestions, and we will alter it.

Can’t wait to celebrate your birthday and hope to see you soon.

Best Regards,

Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
Click to print (Opens in new window)

About The Author

IELTS FEVER

A close friend is coming to visit you. S/he has asked you for advice for things to do in your hometown and the surrounding area. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: * Ask for more details about your friend's plans* Suggest some places to vis v.2

Ielts letter a close friend is coming to visit you. s/he has asked you for advice for things to do in your hometown and the surrounding area. write a letter to your friend. in your letter: * ask for more details about your friend's plans* suggest some places to vis v. 2.

Structure your answers in logical paragraphs
? One main idea per paragraph
? Include an introduction and conclusion
? Support main points with an explanation and then an example
Use cohesive linking words accurately and appropriately
? Vary your linking phrases using synonyms
Try to vary your vocabulary using accurate synonyms
Use less common question specific words that accurately convey meaning
Check your work for spelling and word formation mistakes
Use a variety of complex and simple sentences
Check your writing for errors
Answer all parts of the question
? Present relevant ideas
Fully explain these ideas
? Support ideas with relevant, specific examples
? Currently is not available
Meet the criteria
Doesn't meet the criteria
5.5 band Your friend would like to visit your hometown Write a letter to him and say What is the best time of the year to visit your hometown Suggest some places to visit in your hometown Invite your friend to meet your family v. 2 Dear John I hope this letter will id you in radiant and best of spirit. Yesterday I received you letter and come to know about your desire of visiting my hometown. It is such a good opportunity to meet again and spend time with each other. As you asked about the period in which you can enjoy your ...
6 band A close friend is coming to visit you he she has asked you for advice for things to do in your hometown and the surrounding area Write a letter to your friend In your letter ask more details about your friend s plans Suggest some places to visit and thing v. 2 Dear Shima I hope you and your families are very well. I have very excited when I have heard you are visiting my hometown. Therefore, I have decided to write to inform you about some information that may be necessary for your journey. Please, let me know about your arrival details and length of st ...
The conquest of learning is achieved through the knowledge of languages. Roger Bacon
5.5 band You received a letter from your friend informing you about his elderly parents are coming to visit in your area and he is asking for your advise on- which places they should visit- where should they live- Invite them to do something with you v. 2 Dear Gaurav, I am happy to receive your letter last week and excited to know that your parents are visiting Delhi. It will be a real pleasure for me to assist them in making this stay quite memorable. As you know, their are multiple places to visit in this city especially the chandni chowk market ...
5.5 band A close friend is coming to visit you He has asked you for advice for things to do in your hometown and surrounding area Write a letter to your friend in your letter Ask for more details about your friend s plan suggest some places to visit and things to v. 2 Dear John, It' s great to know that you are coming for a visit to my hometown. I am eager to show you around. There are a lot of attractions and fabulous things happening at my place. Prior to that, I would like to know the date of your visit and staying days here so it could help to plan well ...
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. Nelson Mandela
6 band You saw an advertisement for a skiing course in Canada but you have one or two problems and can’t stay for the whole course. Write a letter to the course director. In your letter• explain your interest in the course• describe your problems• find ou v. 2
5.5 band Your friend would like to visit your hometown Write a letter to him and say What is the best time of the year to visit your hometown Suggest some places to visit in your hometown Invite your friend to meet your family v. 2
The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. Ludwig Wittgenstein
6 band You have recently moved to a different house. Write a letter to an English-speaking friend. In your letter explain why you have moved describe the new house invite your friend to come and visit v. 6
6 band In many places, new homes are needed, but the only space available for building them is in the countryside. Some people believe it is more important to protect the countryside and not build new homes there. What is your opinion about this? v. 54
We should learn languages because language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly. Kató Lomb

100 Best “Thank You for Visiting” Messages and Quotes

Here is a list of the 100 best “Thank You for Visiting” messages and quotes to let them know how nice it was to see them.

#1 It meant so much that you took the time to travel such a long way to see me. My days are always better when I get to be with you. Thank you so much for paying me a visit. I had such a wonderful time and will remember it for the rest of my years. I hope we can visit each other again soon.

#2 When a friend like you comes to see me, it makes an undeniable imprint in my life. Thank you for that gift, my friend. Not only did you change my day, but you gave me lasting happiness that I can carry with me as I remember the time we shared.

#3 Thank you sincerely for your kind visit. It meant a lot to me that you took the time to come by. I know how busy you are, and I truly value the time we spent together. Please know that I am very grateful for your kindness.

#4 Your visit was just what we needed. Great friends, great conversation, and great food. You made it very memorable and we thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with you. Thank you so much for coming.

#5 I’m already excited about the next time you visit! Thank you so much for coming into town and making it seem so much brighter and better. Your energy and worldview never cease to inspire me, and I’m so happy we found the time to see each other. Thank you for coming!

#6 I know how much effort it took to get here! I hope you know just how loved you are and how much you can make my year better just by coming by. Thank you, my friend, for coming to visit.

#7 What an excellent visit we had with you, hearing about all your exciting new plans! We are thrilled you made time to come and share them with us. Even though we don’t get to see each other face-to-face very often, you’re always in our hearts. It was fantastic to see you in the flesh!

#8 As the years go by, we have come to realize how much our loved ones mean to us. You are a loved and dear friend, and it was especially kind of you to stop by and visit recently. I hope you enjoyed your time as much as I did. I treasure our friendship immensely. Thank you for paying me a visit.

#9 Thank you so much for putting in the time to come see me. I cherish our visits no matter how long or short. Let’s please do this again. I miss you already.

#10 The worst part about you visiting is when you have to say goodbye! I had such a meaningful time with you and will think fondly of the new memories we created and the old ones we shared. Thank you so much for visiting!

#11 Thank you for coming to see me! I can’t stop thinking about all the laughs we had. I will tell stories of our time together for years to come. Let’s do it again soon!

#12 When our loved ones are near, it warms our hearts and reminds us of how blessed we truly are. Thank you for coming to visit me. It was so very good to see you.

#13 Near or far, I know that a friend like you will always be a blessing in my life. Thank you so much for coming to visit me. You were such a good, gracious guest and I only hope I did right by you as a host. Please feel free to come again anytime.

#14 What a joy it is whenever you are around! Thank you for stopping by and visiting. Let’s do it again soon. I miss you so much when you aren’t around.

#15 Friendship is more precious than gold. No matter where we are in life, it means the world that we have the connection that we do. Thank you for visiting. Let’s never be strangers.

#16 The love of family can cross any distance, and it’s so wonderful to be reminded of that. It was lovely to see you and catch up with you again. You are more than welcome to visit again whenever you can. Thank you so much for coming.

#17 Wishing you a safe journey back. It was just delightful to see you on your recent visit. We loved renewing our friendship and appreciated the effort you made to come. Thank you so much for visiting. It always means so much to see you.

#18 It was truly a treat to see you, and I sure hope we can do it again soon. Thank you so much for coming to stay for a while.

#19 Thank you for your visit. Each moment was a pure delight, and I’m looking forward to the next time we see each other. Thank you so much!

#20 Although time and distance all too often gets in the way, whenever we reconnect, we pick up where we left off. That’s friendship. Thank you so much for going out of your way to see me. I am so touched. Thank you for visiting.

#21 Thank you, thank you, thank you for visiting! Seeing your face brightened up my day. I hope to see you again soon. I miss you so much when you aren’t around!

#22 Your visit was like a balm to my soul. Thank you for coming by and bringing so much comfort, joy, and laughter. I will treasure those moments together.

#23 Although we may not see each other as often as we’d like, distance is no match for the bond that we share. Thank you for coming to visit. It was fantastic to catch up.

#24 Thanks so much for visiting! It always cheers us up to see you. We wish you safe travels on your journey back home. Please call or text us to let us know you arrived safely!

#25 We always have so much fun when you’re here. Thank you for visiting and brightening up our home with your beautiful spirit. Let’s do it again soon!

#26 Although life has taken us in different directions, whenever we’re together, I’m reminded of how much we have in common, and how much we both care. Thank you for visiting. We have a beautiful time with you.

#27 Your visit meant the world, and this is just a little note to say thank you for coming to stay awhile. Seeing you always makes my day better!

#28 I was looking forward to your visit for so long, and it did not disappoint! Thank you for taking the time to come see me. Your presence really brightened up my week!

#29 Wishing you very safe travels back home. It was so nice catching up. You’re such an entertaining guest and I miss you so much already. You made my week so much brighter. Thank you for stopping by!

#30 This is a little note to say thank you for coming to visit. Getting to see you was such a surprise and a very special treat! I hope we can do it again soon.

#31 God has truly blessed me with a friend like you. Thank you for coming such a long way and staying to visit. We will treasure the time we had together.

#32 Your recent visit meant so much. We are grateful for the time you spent here in our home and the encouragement it was to us. Wishing you all the best, now and always.

#33 Each visit you make means the whole world to me. I’m so happy I got to see you. I love you and I hope you’re doing well.

#34 When times are tough, it brings great comfort to be in the presence of the ones I care about. Thank you so much for visiting. You are such a comfort.

#35 This is just a little note to say thank you for your visit! It was an honor to be able to host you on your recent visit. We hope that you enjoyed your time with us and felt very welcome. Thank you so much for your visit.

#36 Your visits are always such a gift. I couldn’t ask for a more wonderful friend. Thank you so much for coming to stay.

#37 Your visit made me jump for joy! I loved that we were able to spend quality time together and enjoy the many memories we share. Come back soon!

#38 How fantastic it was to see you recently! We cannot thank you enough for coming to visit us. Your friendship means such a lot to us. We had a great time!

#39 What fun we had together on your recent visit. I wish we could get together more often! Please know that you are welcome any time you are able to come.

#40 Thank you for your visit! I haven’t laughed so hard since the last time I saw you. You mean so much to me and it was so good to catch up. Thank you for coming!

#41 Your visit was a real highlight for us and we had such a fun time with you. We really hope you can make it back here again in the not too distant future. Thank you so much for visiting!

#42 What a fun time we had together on your visit. Thank you so much for spending that precious time with us. We appreciated it greatly.

#43 I know you have a packed schedule and I truly appreciate you could find time to visit us. Thank you!

#44 Thank you for visiting…it was so much fun! Getting to talk like that meant so much to me. I would love to see you again soon. Stay well, my friend.

#45 My [broken leg] hurts less and the hospital doesn’t seem so dull and dreary after your visit. Thank you!

#46 My wife and I would like to express our gratitude to you for visiting us [last week]. We enjoyed spending [the evening] with you. Let’s do it again soon!

#47 Time flew by with our fantastic conversation about [politics and life]. Thanks for visiting! It was just the break we needed.

#48 My door is always open for you. Thank you so much for visiting me. It means so much to me to know you took time out of your busy life to come to see me.

#49 Your visits always make my life better. Thank you so much for coming to see me. I hope you had as good of a time as I did!

#50 I am writing this note while enjoying the [delicious cookies] you brought me. Thanks for the lovely visit. Please come back soon!

#51 Thank you for finding the time and making a visit. We’ve missed you so much! We all had a great time with you. Thank you, my friend, for coming to visit.

#52 What can be better than celebrating [your birthday] with your best friend? Thank you for coming and thanks for the thoughtful gift!

#53 It was a real joy to see you recently. Your visit meant so much more than you can imagine. Thank you for going out of your way to spend time with us.

#54 I want to thank you for being so gracious and coming to visit us at our new place. I hope you’ll come again soon. Seeing you always makes the day better!

#55 Thank you for coming to visit us with your beautiful family. I am so happy our kids finally got to meet each other. My daughter is already missing her new friend!

#56 It’s been a while since we had a delightful evening with such good conversation. Thanks for the company. It was truly wonderful.

#57 Having to spend summer days at a hospital is no fun. Thank you for being such a caring friend and coming to see me so often. Your visits are a great comfort to me and I will never forget your kindness.

#58 I am thrilled to let you know that my health is improving, and I will be discharged from the hospital in a few days. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to see me. Thank you for being there for me when I needed it most.

#59 Thank you again for coming to visit me. It was so good to catch up and remember our good old times. Let’s do it again!

#60 Thank you for coming to stay! We really loved having our truly special friend share our home with us. We already miss you!

#61 Thank you for making the trip to be with us at our [son’s first birthday]. Your visit made our celebration even more special!

#62 Seeing you is always a gift. I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to stop by and share your time with us. It meant so much to us.

#63 There are no words to express our gratitude to you for the kindness and support you showed us in these difficult times. Thank you for visiting and sharing our grief. God bless you.

#64 It’s only been [two] days since you left but we already miss you. Thank you for coming and spending your holidays with us!

The Most Famous Quotes to Include with Your Thank You Message for the Visit

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” Anais Nin

“There’s only one thing more precious than our time and that’s who we spend it on.” Leo Christopher

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” Theophrastus

“The way we spend our time defines who we are.” Jonathan Estrin

“Time well spent adds to life well lived.” Martin Ugwu

“Friends are the family you choose.” Jess C. Scott

“You can always tell a real friend: when you’ve made a fool of yourself he doesn’t feel you’ve done a permanent job.” Laurence J. Peter

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” Amelia Earhart

“Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” Henry Van Dyke

“Words may show a man’s wit, but actions his meaning.” Benjamin Franklin

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.” Brandi Snyder

“I value the friend who for me finds time on his calendar, but I cherish the friend who for me does not consult his calendar.” Robert Brault

“Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes.” Joseph B. Wirthlin

“Time is more value than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” Jim Rohn

“Rare as is true love, true friendship is rarer.” Jean de la Fontaine

“A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.” John Ruskin

“The friend that always finds time to spend with you without consulting his or her calendar is a true friend.” Ellen J. Barrier

“Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer.” Ed Cunningham

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.” C.S. Lewis

“Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change.” Bob Kerrey

“True friends are always together in spirit.” L.M. Montgomery

“Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” Woodrow T. Wilson

“Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief.” Cicero

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” Walter Winchell

“Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world.” John Evelyn

“A good friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.” Irish Proverb

“One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.” Euripides

“Words are from the lips, actions are from the heart.” Rashida Costa

“A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.” Douglas Pagels

“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” Linda Grayson

“Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle.” Charles Glassman

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” Helen Keller

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” Harvey Mackay

Please take a moment to pin this post to Pinterest.

Letter: Your friend is coming over to stay with you

IELTS General Training Writing Task 1

IELTS General Writing Task 1 with sample answer.

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Your friend is coming over to stay with you. However, you will be away on vacation for a month. Write him/her a letter and say:

how to get the keys to your flat
how to operate the equipment in the flat, and
suggest a few places of interest to visit

You should write at least 150 words.

You do NOT need to write any address.

Begin your letter as follows:

Sample Answer:

My dearest Amanda,

I hope this letter will find you in good health. Hope you would spend an amazing time here in Birmingham, England. Anyway, I will be away on vacation starting from November 3 to December 2, 2015. But it won’t make any difficulty for you. I’ve already talked to my bosom friend Jane that she’ll pick you up from the airport and give you the key of my flat.

However, you can use all the things in my flat. You just need to know few things about the appliances. First of all, the microwave oven takes few seconds to start. So, wait until the green light indicator is on. Secondly, the water geezer turns off automatically. You, therefore, need to switch on before using it. Finally, the induction cooker is out of order. You can use another oil range cooker which is kept under kitchen shelf.

Anyway, you can enjoy your spare time visiting attractive places in Birmingham such as, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Midlands Arts Centre, Cadbury World, and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. I hope you will enjoy these spots, but if you need any help or information, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or call me at my cell phone. Stay tuned.

With love, Hilary.

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

View all Consumer Alerts

Get Consumer Alerts

Credit, Loans, and Debt

Learn about getting and using credit, borrowing money, and managing debt.

View Credit, Loans, and Debt

Jobs and Making Money

What to know when you're looking for a job or more education, or considering a money-making opportunity or investment.

View Jobs and Making Money

Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts

What to do about unwanted calls, emails, and text messages that can be annoying, might be illegal, and are probably scams.

View Unwanted Calls, Emails, and Texts

Identity Theft and Online Security

How to protect your personal information and privacy, stay safe online, and help your kids do the same.

View Identity Theft and Online Security

Search Show/hide Search menu items Items per page 20 50 100 Filters Fulltext search

Does a friend you met online need money for an emergency? That’s a scam

If your new online friend or romantic interest says they have an emergency and need money, it might not mean they have bad luck. It’s more likely they’re a scammer trying to grab your money. So, how can you tell if an online “friend” is a fraud?

It’s hard to know who people really are when you meet them online. Scammers create fake profiles on social media, as well as game and dating sites. They might send you a friend request, start a conversation and friendship, chatting or texting daily. Surprisingly soon, they might say they’re in love with you. Then, suddenly, they’ll have an expensive emergency — a lost job, failed business, or sister who needs an operation — and appeal to you for gift cards , money transfers , even cryptocurrency .

Here are some sure signs you’re dealing with a romance scammer:

They can’t meet you in person. It’s an early warning sign if they can’t meet because they’re outside the country on an oil rig, in the military, or with an international organization. Those are lies.
They ask you for money. That’s always a scam. No matter the so-called emergency, they’re only trying to steal your money.
They tell you how to send the money. Which is exactly what scammers do, focusing on ways to get your money quickly. Where it’s also hard for you to get it back. (Crypto, gift cards, wire transfer, payment apps…)

If you think someone is a scammer, cut off contact. Tell the social media platform, game site, and dating site, and then tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov . Share this post in your socials to alert your followers of this scam.

Say no if your online friend wants money for an emergency. It's a scam.

Add new comment

Read our privacy act statement.

It is your choice whether to submit a comment. If you do, you must create a user name, or we will not post your comment. The Federal Trade Commission Act authorizes this information collection for purposes of managing online comments. Comments and user names are part of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) public records system, and user names also are part of the FTC’s computer user records system. We may routinely use these records as described in the FTC’s Privacy Act system notices . For more information on how the FTC handles information that we collect, please read our privacy policy .

Read Our Comment Policy

The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

I have occasionally seen such scams, and you are right to warn people. But for a mostly home-bound, mobility and vision impaired 70 year old woman without family, whose friends have mostly died or gone into nursing homes, Facebook is almost the only way to make friends - so who else would I tell when something goes wrong? Of course, I am not pretending to be romantically interested in anyone and I never actually ASK any individual for ANYTHING but prayers, but I HAVE posted my Amazon wish list and that sort of thing. It makes me sad that your article would lump me in with the same category of people you call scammers because according to you, it is always a scam, and you are wrong about that. There are a LOT of us "senior orphans" in the world these days who are lucky enough to live into their 70's and 80s and beyond, outliving all our friends and relatives, but it is sad that anyone would make our situation even MORE difficult by casting a suspicious light over us. I think your article is poorly researched and not well thought-out, otherwise you might have included people like us and methods to verify that people are who they say they are. For instance, the Facebook checkmark by someone's name indicates that their identity has been proven. (I have one of those.) Facebook friends CAN BE AND ARE OFTEN REAL FRIENDS.

In reply to I have occasionally seen… by SILVER S PARNELL

To Silver Parnell. Sorry for your circumstances but I have a friend right now who is getting scammed big time and it’s pathetic. What will be the worst is when it’s over and she sees how much money and effort she has put into this crook. You don’t need to research, in reference to your comment about this article not being researched…this is happening all over. This scam of my friend is so sophisticated using AI to appear like a famous Asian actor for FaceTime calls…unbelievable! She just got asked for $24K! Watch your senior acquaintances, friends and family members! So many fall prey and are too embarrassed to admit it was a horrible mistake even after they see their bank statements. It is NEVER easy to admit you’ve been scammed. That’s what keeps this underground scam business going.

Best of Miss Manners: I drove for 3 days to visit your ailing mom and you had no place for me to sleep?

Published: Jul. 17, 2024, 10:00 a.m.

"Miss Manners" Judith Martin Courtesy Andrews McMeel Universal

Judith Martin

DEAR MISS MANNERS: An old college friend contacted me because her mother was in a nursing home, in poor health. I had been close to her mother -- to the whole family, in fact -- at one time, although I had not heard from her in about 20 years. (There was no rift, just busy lives in different parts of the country.)

I accepted the invitation to come visit her ailing mother and to stay in my friend’s home. They live in a city about 1,200 miles away. I drove out there (my preference), which took three days and two overnight stops.

On the evening I arrived, my friend told me that her adult son had come for a surprise visit. He was occupying the guest room; I would have to stay elsewhere.

There was a bit of bother -- finding a place to stay at the last minute in an unfamiliar area -- and a bit of expense, but it all proved manageable. But I have sometimes wondered: What would be the correct thing for a hostess to do in such circumstances?

GENTLE READER: Put the son on the sofa.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com ; to her email, [email protected] ; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

Latest Advice Columns

Dear Annie: He leads me on when he’s single and unfriends me when he finds a girlfriend. I’m confused.
Asking Eric: My adult children privately demean one another in my presence and it really upsets me
Dear Abby: Woman in her 50s is tired of coming home after long work days to a demanding retired husband
Dear Annie: My girlfriend has kept me a secret from her family ... for six years
Best of Dear Abby: I work 12-hour nightshifts at a hospital and my husband hosts sketchy parties

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month Write a letter to your friend In your letter tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challe

Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter,

• tell them what they need to bring

• tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting

• warn them about some things that might be challenging

I hope you're well. I'm so happy that you decided spend your vacation with me in Italy.

Before you came, you should remember to buy travel insurance which will be able to cover eventually treatment cost. Healthcare in Italy is quite expensive, so even I have my policy.

I already planed everything. On the beginning we are going to stay two days in my city. You will have chance to rest after traveling and I would like to show you my favourite restaurants and pubs. After that we will go outside city, on the south, and we will be going for a walk through the mountains.

This part our trip probably will be little bit challenging for us. We are going to hiking through the hills to reach the heights mountain in Italy. Another thing which is difficult to predict will be weather, and I'm worry most about that.

Let me know if you have any questions about our plans.

Keep in touch

Log in or register to post comments
You would like to participate in a work-related seminar in another country. Write a letter to the person in charge of the seminar and ask for detailed information regarding the dates, program, accommodation and cost. 61
You had a good meal in a local restaurant with your family. Write a letter to the newspaper to tell them about it, describe the meal you had, and why you think the restaurant is worth visiting. 78
You ordered a new cheque book from your bank two weeks ago but you have received nothing. Write a letter to the manager complaining about the bad service. Say when you ordered the cheque book. Ask how much longer you will have to wait and ask the manager 73
Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month Write a letter to your friend In your letter tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challe 41
Same expert believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages? 56

Essay evaluations by e-grader

Grammar and spelling errors: Line 5, column 8, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING Message: Possible spelling mistake found Suggestion: you're Dear Tom, I hope youre well. Im so happy that you decided spen... ^^^^^ Line 5, column 20, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING Message: Possible spelling mistake found Suggestion: I'm Dear Tom, I hope youre well. Im so happy that you decided spend your va... ^^ Line 17, column 37, Rule ID: LITTLE_BIT[1] Message: Reduce redundancy by using 'little' or 'bit'. Suggestion: little; bit ... This part our trip probably will be little bit challenging for us. We are going to hi... ^^^^^^^^^^ Line 17, column 59, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace Suggestion: ... probably will be little bit challenging for us. We are going to hiking through ... ^^ Line 17, column 76, Rule ID: NEED_TO_VBG[1] Message: Did you mean 'going to hike'? Suggestion: going to hike ... little bit challenging for us. We are going to hiking through the hills to reach the heights... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Line 17, column 91, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace Suggestion: ...llenging for us. We are going to hiking through the hills to reach the heights m... ^^ Line 17, column 216, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING Message: Possible spelling mistake found Suggestion: I'm ...fficult to predict will be weather, and Im worry most about that. Let me know... ^^

Transition Words or Phrases used: if, so, well, another thing

Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments

Performance on Part of Speech: To be verbs : 8.0 7.48453608247 107% => OK Auxiliary verbs: 8.0 4.92783505155 162% => OK Conjunction : 4.0 5.05154639175 79% => OK Relative clauses : 5.0 3.03092783505 165% => OK Pronoun: 27.0 32.9175257732 82% => OK Preposition: 25.0 26.3917525773 95% => OK Nominalization: 3.0 3.85567010309 78% => OK

Performance on vocabulary words: No of characters: 765.0 937.175257732 82% => OK No of words: 166.0 206.0 81% => More content wanted. Chars per words: 4.60843373494 4.54256449028 101% => OK Fourth root words length: 3.58944267634 3.78020617076 95% => OK Word Length SD: 2.31917540068 2.54303337028 91% => OK Unique words: 109.0 127.690721649 85% => More unique words wanted. Unique words percentage: 0.656626506024 0.622605031667 105% => OK syllable_count: 224.1 290.88556701 77% => OK avg_syllables_per_word: 1.3 1.41237113402 92% => OK

A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by: Pronoun: 6.0 9.13402061856 66% => OK Article: 0.0 0.824742268041 0% => OK Subordination: 2.0 1.83505154639 109% => OK Conjunction: 2.0 0.463917525773 431% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning. Preposition: 4.0 1.44329896907 277% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.

Performance on sentences: How many sentences: 13.0 12.6804123711 103% => OK Sentence length: 12.0 16.3608247423 73% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short. Sentence length SD: 29.4732854669 44.8134815571 66% => OK Chars per sentence: 58.8461538462 76.5299724578 77% => OK Words per sentence: 12.7692307692 16.8248392259 76% => OK Discourse Markers: 2.07692307692 4.34317383033 48% => More transition words/phrases wanted. Paragraphs: 5.0 4.29896907216 116% => OK Language errors: 7.0 2.54639175258 275% => Less language errors wanted. Sentences with positive sentiment : 5.0 7.41237113402 67% => OK Sentences with negative sentiment : 1.0 1.49484536082 67% => OK Sentences with neutral sentiment: 7.0 3.94845360825 177% => OK What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?

Coherence and Cohesion: Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.112000329065 0.216113520407 52% => OK Sentence topic coherence: 0.0373145227959 0.0766984524023 49% => OK Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0330860616052 0.0603063233224 55% => OK Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0660593175416 0.12726935374 52% => OK Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0296845646456 0.0580467560999 51% => OK

Essay readability: automated_readability_index: 6.7 8.37731958763 80% => Automated_readability_index is low. flesch_reading_ease: 84.68 70.7449484536 120% => OK smog_index: 3.1 3.82989690722 81% => OK flesch_kincaid_grade: 4.4 7.45979381443 59% => Flesch kincaid grade is low. coleman_liau_index: 8.57 8.71597938144 98% => OK dale_chall_readability_score: 6.99 7.59969072165 92% => OK difficult_words: 29.0 41.2886597938 70% => More difficult words wanted. linsear_write_formula: 5.5 8.62886597938 64% => OK gunning_fog: 6.8 8.54432989691 80% => OK text_standard: 7.0 8.15463917526 86% => OK What are above readability scores?

--------------------- Rates: 73.0337078652 out of 100 Scores by essay e-grader: 6.5 Out of 9 --------------------- Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.

Suspect came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why

Medium Text

NEVER KNOWN TO BE POLITICAL

Investigation begins after gunfire during a campaign rally by Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania

Reporting by Nathan Layne and Gabriella Borter in Bethel Park, Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by Aaron Josefczyk in Bethel Park, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago, Tyler Clifford in New York, and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Lisa Shumaker and Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Thomson Reuters

Gabriella Borter is a reporter on the U.S. National Affairs team, covering cultural and political issues as well as breaking news. She has won two Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York - in 2020 for her beat reporting on healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2019 for her spot story on the firing of the police officer who killed Eric Garner. The latter was also a Deadline Club Awards finalist. She holds a B.A. in English from Yale University and joined Reuters in 2017.

115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas

Peru extends pre-trial detention for former president Castillo

Peru's judiciary said on Thursday it was extending the pre-trial detention of former President Pedro Castillo by 18 months while an investigation against him on charges of rebellion continues.

Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad attends a meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia

Writing Correction
Online Prep Platform
Online Course
Speaking Assessment
Ace The IELTS
Target Band 7
Practice Tests Downloads
IELTS Success Formula
Essays Band 9 IELTS Writing Task 2 samples – IELTS Band 9 essays
Essays Band 8 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS essays of Band 8
Essays Band 7 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS essays of Band 7
Essays Band 6 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS essays of Band 6
Essays Band 5 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS essays of Band 5
Reports Band 9 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS reports of Band 9 (Academic Writing Task 1)
Reports Band 8 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS reports of Band 8
Reports Band 7 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS reports of Band 7
Letters Band 9 IELTS Writing Task 1 – samples of IELTS letters of Band 9
Letters Band 8 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS letters of Band 8
Letters Band 7 IELTS Writing – samples of IELTS letters of Band 7
Speaking Samples
Tests Samples
2023, 2024 IELTS questions
2022 IELTS questions
2021 IELTS questions
2020 IELTS questions
High Scorer’s Advice IELTS high achievers share their secrets
IELTS Results Competition
IELTS-Blog App

IELTS Letter, topic: Your friend is coming over to stay with you

IELTS Letters - Band 8

Your friend is coming over to stay with you. However, you will be away on vacation for a month. Write him/her a letter and say:

– How to get the keys to your flat – How to operate the equipment in the flat, and – Suggest a few places of interest to visit

Dear Susan,

Hope finds you well. As I wrote to you in my previous letter, I am unable to cancel the finalised trip my parents. But, soon after you arrive in Melbourne, contact Jessie, a good friend of mine on 0425680256. She offered her help to pick you up from the airport and you can collect the key from her.

I must say that sometimes, the hot water geezer turns off automatically so, you might have to make sure it is switched on before having a shower. Also, the gas heater fixed in the lounge does not work, but you can use the oil heater in my instead.

If you have time you might enjoy visiting the Aquarium, the Queen Victoria Market and the Botanical Gardens as these places are not that far from where I live. I hope you are happy with this arrangement, but if you need more help or information please let me know.

Looking forward to from you.

All the requirements of the task were covered fairly well. The bullet points were mentioned, emphasized and illustrated in a suitable and logical way. The tone of this letter needs to be less formal. The ideas are presented in a logical order and all aspects of cohesion are taken care of well. The paragraphing is handled suitably and appropriately. Some sophisticated words/expressions are used in a clever way, with only occasional errors in word choice/expression choice. Most sentences are free of errors. Overall, seems worthy of Band 8.

Click here to see more IELTS letters of band 8

IELTS Letter, topic: writing to a friend about an article that captured your attention The topic of this letter appeared in a recent IELTS...
IELTS Letter, topic: writing to recommend a friend for a job at a summer school camp The topic of this letter appeared in a recent IELTS...
IELTS Letter, topic: Asking a friend if he would like to buy your car This is a model response to a Writing Task 1...
IELTS Letter, topic: Asking your friend to accompany you on a holiday This is a model response to a Writing Task 1...

1 thought on “IELTS Letter, topic: Your friend is coming over to stay with you”

Pingback: IELTS Sample Letters of Band 8 | IELTS-Blog

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Supported by

27 Facts About J.D. Vance, Trump’s Pick for V.P.

Mr. Vance spilled scores of details about his life in his coming-of-age memoir. We’ve collected the highlights.

Share full article

J.D. Vance holds hands with his wife, Usha Vance, on the floor of the convention hall. He is taking a selfie with a supporter as others look on.

By Shawn McCreesh

Follow the latest news from the Republican National Convention .

J.D. Vance, Donald J. Trump’s choice for vice president, has not lived an unexamined life. Here are 27 things to know about him, drawn from his best-selling 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” and the many other things he has said or written since.

1. His name was not always James David Vance. At birth, it was James Donald Bowman. It changed to James David Hamel after his mother remarried, and then it changed one more time.

2. He longed for a role model. His father left when he was 6. “It was the saddest I had ever felt,” he wrote in his memoir. “Of all the things I hated about my childhood,” he wrote, “nothing compared to the revolving door of father figures.”

3. He had a fraught relationship with his mother, who was married five times. One of the most harrowing scenes in the book occurs when he’s a young child, in a car with his mother, who often lapsed into cycles of abuse. She sped up to “what seemed like a hundred miles per hour and told me that she was going to crash the car and kill us both,” he writes. After she slowed down, so she could reach in the back of the car to beat him, he leaped out of the car and escaped to the house of a neighbor, who called the police.

4. He was raised by blue-dog Democrats. He spent much of his childhood with his grandfather and grandmother — papaw and mamaw, in his hillbilly patois. He described his mamaw’s “affinity for Bill Clinton” and wrote about how his papaw swayed from the Democrats only once, to vote for Ronald Reagan. “The people who raised me,” he said in one interview, “were classic blue-dog Democrats, union Democrats, right? They loved their country, they were socially conservative.”

5. As a teenager, he loved Black Sabbath, Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. But then his biological father, who was deeply religious, re-entered his life. “When we first reconnected, he made it clear that he didn’t care for my taste in classic rock, especially Led Zeppelin,” he wrote. “He just advised that I listened to Christian rock instead.”

6. He was taught to accept gay people. Mr. Vance wrote that he would “never forget the time I convinced myself I was gay.” Not yet old enough to feel attracted to the opposite sex, he worried something was wrong. “You’re not gay,” his mamaw told him, and even if he were, she reassured him, “that would be OK. God would still love you.” As he wrote, “Now that I’m older, I recognize the profundity of her sentiment: Gay people, though unfamiliar, threatened nothing about mamaw’s being. There were more important things for a Christian to worry about.”

7. As a candidate, he said he would vote against federal protections for gay and interracial marriage. He called the matter a “bizarre distraction” from more pressing issues. Though he also said that “gay marriage is the law of the land in this country. And I’m not trying to do anything to change that.

8. He’s a late-in-life Catholic . In 2019, when he was 35, Mr. Vance was baptized into the Catholic Church. He chose St. Augustine as his patron saint. “Augustine gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way,” he explained in an interview that year. “I also went through an angry atheist phase. As someone who spent a lot of his life buying into the lie that you had to be stupid to be a Christian, Augustine really demonstrated in a moving way that that’s not true.”

9. He was a young Marine. Mr. Vance joined the Marines after high school and eventually served in Iraq, where, he wrote, “I was lucky to escape any real fighting,” but it was a time that “affected me deeply nonetheless.” He worked in public affairs and, for a time, as “the media relations officer” for a large military base, Cherry Point, in North Carolina.

10. “Proud to Be an American” gets him every time. “I choke up when I hear Lee Greenwood’s cheesy anthem ‘Proud to Be an American,’” he wrote. “When I was 16, I vowed that every time I met a veteran, I would go out of my way to shake his or her hand, even if I had to awkwardly interject to do so.”

11. He was never a “birther.” Mr. Vance has said he was offended by the racist birther conspiracy against Barack Obama — peddled most famously by Mr. Trump — and alarmed at how people in his hometown seemed so susceptible to such things.

12. He later soured on Mr. Obama (and warmed to Trump). The former president was “unable of saying anything outside of the elite consensus,” Mr. Vance said in 2022, calling Mr. Obama “a walking, talking Atlantic magazine subscription.”

13. He felt impostor syndrome at Yale Law School. As he wrote: “I lived among the newly christened members of what folks back home pejoratively call the ‘elites,’ and by every outward appearance, I was one of them: I am a stale, white, straight male. I have never felt out of place in my entire life. But I did at Yale.”

14. Mr. Vance met his wife, Usha , at Yale. They married in Kentucky in 2013, and were blessed by a Hindu pundit. “Usha definitely brings me back to earth,” Mr. Vance said in a 2021 interview with Megyn Kelly .

15. He found famous mentors. One was Amy Chua, a law professor known for her memoir, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” who encouraged Mr. Vance to write his own book. Another was David Frum, a speechwriter in the George W. Bush administration and cheerleader for the Iraq war who helped Mr. Vance make early career connections. Mr. Frum has since become disillusioned with his former charge, describing him as a hyper-ambitious shape-shifter who would do anything or be anyone to get ahead.

16. Former Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana, a centrist, was his “political hero.” In 2022, Mr. Daniels observed that Mr. Vance had “veered in a different direction” that he described as being “a little regrettable.”

17. He did not vote for Mr. Trump in 2016. He voted instead for the independent candidate Evan McMullin.

18. But he claimed to understand Mr. Trump’s appeal. He predicted that Mr. Trump could be the G.O.P. nominee in 2016, though he did not think Mr. Trump would win the general election. As he said in an interview the following year, “It’s amazing, and I can’t repeat enough: As much as I saw Trump winning the nomination, I was super wrong about his prospects in the general.”

19. He deleted his old social media posts that were critical of Mr. Trump. Among other things, Mr. Vance has called Mr. Trump “cultural heroin” and wondered if he would be “America’s Hitler.”

20. His wife clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, and, before he was on the Supreme Court, for Brett Kavanaugh. The controversy around Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the court seemed to be a pivotal moment in both Mr. Vance and his wife’s political journey. “My wife worked for Kavanaugh, loved the guy,” he told Ross Douthat , a Times columnist. “You start looking around and say, ‘If they can do this to him, can they just do this to any of us?’”

21. He has espoused traditional views of marriage and the role of women in the workplace. He has called Democratic leaders “childless cat ladies.” And he said that “if your worldview tells you that it’s bad for women to become mothers but liberating for them to work 90 hours a week in a cubicle at The New York Times or Goldman Sachs, you’ve been had.”

22. His champion is the Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel. After Yale, he worked for Mr. Thiel’s firm Mithril Capital, and Mr. Thiel donated $15 million to Mr. Vance’s race in Ohio.

23. His venture capital firm is named after “Lord of the Rings” lore. The firm, Narya Capital, was named after a mythical object from J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy: Narya was one of three Elven rings of power, worn in the third age by the wizard Gandalf. Mr. Vance has invested in various services including a Catholic prayer and meditation app and the right-wing, video-sharing platform Rumble.

24. He made amends with Mr. Trump, with Mr. Thiel’s help. The mogul brokered a meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Vance had been trailing in the polls during his primary race in Ohio. Mr. Trump backed him, with just two weeks left in the race, and Mr. Vance went on to win his crowded primary by nearly 10 points.

25. He was an executive producer on the film version of his memoir. The 2020 movie starred Glenn Close as mamaw and Amy Adams as Mr. Vance’s mother. The director Ron Howard largely steered the movie away from political debates. Still, the film prompted a backlash and was largely panned. A Times critic described it as a “strange stew of melodrama, didacticism and inadvertent camp.”

26. He is tight with Donald Trump Jr. They text or talk nearly daily and try to meet up if they are in the same city, according to people who know them both. They are a social-media tag team, often reposting each other’s messages.

27. His beard is Trump-approved. The former president has said that Mr. Vance looks like a young Abraham Lincoln .

Michael Gold and Sharon LaFraniere contributed reporting.

Keep Up With the 2024 Election

The presidential election is 118 days away . Here’s our guide to the run-up to Election Day.

Tracking the Polls. The state of the race, according to polling data.

Campaign Tracker. How the candidates are spending their time on the campaign trail.

Can Democrats Replace Biden? While it is possible, it could lead to political upheaval.

Trump’s 2025 Plans. Trump is preparing to radically reshape the government.

"Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challenging"

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Writing9 with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Use cohesive linking words accurately and appropriately

Linking words are very important in your essay.

To score effectively on your IELTS exam, you should make an effort to implement short concise sentences coupled with linking words.

Almost every sentence in your essay should have a linking word of some sort.

In fact, the only sentences that can omit linking words are your background sentence and thesis.

Linking word examples:

in additional
for example
for instance
even though

Discover more tips in The Ultimate Guide to Get a Target Band Score of 7+ » — a book that's free for 🚀 Premium users.

Check your IELTS essay »
Find essays with the same topic
View collections of IELTS General Writing Task 1 Samples
Show IELTS General Writing Task 1 Topics

Developing the economy will always damage the environment. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Some people believe that professionals, such as doctors and engineers, should be required to work in the country where they did their training. others believe they should be free to work in another country if they wish. discuss both these views and give your own opinion. give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience., in order to change their appearance people often turn to plastic surgery. what are the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach , some people think that the main purpose of schools is to turn children into good citizens and workers, rather to benefit them as individuals. to what extent do you agree or disagree, there is a general increase in anti-social behaviours and lack of respect for others. what are the causes and solutions uncontrolable content..

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Social Security Matters

Changes are coming to how you access social security’s online services.

July 12, 2024 • By Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Last Updated: July 12, 2024

We’re making changes to the way you access Social Security’s online services, including your personal my Social Security account . The changes will simplify your sign-in experience and align with federal authentication standards. At the same time, we’re continuing to provide safe and secure access to our online services.

If you created your my Social Security account before September 18, 2021, you will still be able to use your username and password to sign in. However, you will not be able to do so for much longer.

In the near future, all users will need to have an account with one of our two Credential Service Providers (CSP) – Login.gov or ID.me – to access your personal my Social Security account and other online services.

To learn more, read our press release . If you have an existing Login.gov or ID.me account, you do NOT need to create a new one. And, if you can access your personal my Social Security accoun t through Login.gov or ID.me, you don’t need to take any action.

If you don’t have a Login.gov account

To avoid any disruptions in accessing Social Security’s online services you may want to transition your account now by signing in with your Social Security username. Our online instructions will guide you through the process of creating a new account with Login.gov. Once you successfully link your personal my Social Security account with your new Login.gov account, you’ll get a confirmation screen and have immediate access to our online services. In the future, you’ll sign in to your account with Login.gov and not your Social Security username.

We encourage you to make the transition to Login.gov or ID.me now before the username option goes away later this year.

You’ll find more helpful information here .

Please share these important upcoming changes with your family members, friends, and colleagues.

Did you find this Information helpful?

Tags: General Information , my Social Security , online services

About the Author

Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Learn about social security online in 2024, three online social security musts, social security online: your first and best place to start, my social security: what to know about signing up or signing in, josephine y..

July 18, 2024 4:57PM

I have done what was asked and is stuck where is the backup codes.

July 18, 2024 4:44PM

First, what is the point of saying that the change will come “in the near future”? What is the exact date?

Second, I have both a SS login/password and a login.gov account. When I try to link the login.gov account as you tell me, it just starts asking me questions that only make sense if I do NOT already have a login.gov account (asking for a copy of my DL, etc). We need accurate instructions for the surely common case where the login.gov account already exists.

July 18, 2024 4:15PM

Absolutely the worst website I finally just gave up

July 18, 2024 4:00PM

What a bunch of BULLSHIT!!!!!!

This change is NOT well thought out. The great majority of SSA/SSI users are either retired or disabled. You want to change to a more secure process, with a user base that either doesn’t have computers or struggles with there use. Also, I retired from the IT field and your application is bug filled. I’m trying to convert to the new login process from the old username and password and it will not create it after filling out all the required info. :-{

July 18, 2024 3:41PM

When will I receive my Medicare number so I can apply for Medicare part A & B? I filled out the form online. Thank you!

July 18, 2024 3:23PM

I have tried multiple times to change to login.gov but you never send a security code to me.

July 18, 2024 3:13PM

I’m not sure what I have, but it asks to send me at my email address a code to log in with. I enter the code and I’m logged in. It appears to work.

Please review our Comment Policy before leaving a comment. For your safety, please do not post Personally Identifiable Information (such as your Social Security Number, address, phone number, email address, bank account number, or birthdate) on our blog.

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Enter Your Name *

Enter Your Email Address to Comment *

These families escaped the Gaza war but they're struggling with survivor's guilt

Composite photo of two men and one woman.

At the Islamic College of Brisbane in the city's south, three families sit around the kind of large circular tables you get at every school function.

They're refugees from the war in Gaza, and the college has welcomed them with a huge spread of traditional Palestinian food.

After many months of chaos, it's a small moment of familiarity.

But the presence of a television camera moving about the room is anything but familiar, and is making some feel self-conscious.

One man, Amer Elhabbash, would later confide that being filmed eating, while his friends and family back home endured terrible suffering, made him feel guilty.

"Many people will see and believe that I am now comfortable after I arrive in Australia," the father of three told 7.30.

"Yes, I feel safe, but I don't feel comfortable at all because my friends and relatives are in Gaza.

"These feelings I have at night … what have I done? It was just I and my family who escaped Gaza and the death and the war."

Running from death

A father sits on the grass with his daughter and son eating food.

Before the war, Amer and his family lived a very prosperous life by Gazan standards.

He was an institutional development consultant while his wife Nevin worked for the local water authority.

Man sitting at a desk with his three children, and a laptop in front of him.

"Our life was very good, very nice. We are educated also, me and my wife holding master's degrees," he said.

But that changed very quickly after October 7.

One of the first rounds of Israeli air strikes on Gaza City, following the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, destroyed the family car parked out the front of their building.

"My daughter came and woke me up and was very scared. She stayed in my arms for maybe four hours," Amer told 7.30.

Soon afterwards, their section of the city was declared a 'military zone', and Amer and Nevin decided to flee south to Khan Younis with their children Faisal, 14, Aws, 13, and Saba, 8, as well as Amer's 72-year-old mother Sadeya.

"On our way to Khan Younis I had a call and they told me my wife's uncle and all his family, his wife and his sons, were killed by the Israeli [air strikes]," he said.

Amer was also sent photos and videos showing that their home in Gaza City had been destroyed.

In Khan Younis they lived with a large group of extended family members, but after the city also came under attack, they split up: one group living with one uncle, the rest with another.

"[The other] home with my uncle, aunt, uncle's wife was bomb-striked by the Israelis," Amer said.

"My aunt and uncle's wife were dead. Also, my cousins, they were all dead."

The last option was a move to the extreme west of the strip, to a refugee camp overlooking the sea near Al Mawasi.

Dozens of tents pictured in a refugee camp. The sea is in the distance.

They would spend many weeks living in tents, waiting for a visa application to Australia to be processed.

"We were civilians; now they returned us to the stone age," Amer said.

A man sitting in the sand with a tent behind him and small cooking setup in front of him.

"Each day we have to wake up to cut off the roots of trees and start to search for water.

"Many times, I, my wife and my kids were eating bread with some sand."

Desperate to get out, Amer said he eventually bribed Egyptian border officials the equivalent of more than $26,000 to get his family's application put through.

"In the middle of February … many people called me to say, 'your name is on the list!'

"The following morning, we went to the border crossing at Rafah, and thank God we succeeded to get out of Gaza."

A man stands in a crowded street wearing a green hoodie.

'I was very afraid'

Tamer Abunada, his heavily pregnant wife Afnan, and their three children Ismail, 13, Raseel, 12, and Adam, 7, also fled Gaza City when the war broke out.

Tamer and Afnan had recently opened a kindergarten, after struggling to find work in accountancy and pharmacy respectively, which Tamer blamed on "politics".

Two young kids holding up a sign reading 'My 1st Day'.

"I rented a place; I made a prestigious kindergarten and I have a Facebook page and everything," Tamer said.

One hundred children were registered to come to the kindergarten, which opened in September last year.

"We did this for one month only, and then we lost everything."

The school was destroyed by an Israeli bombing, just a few days after October 7.

Tamer's brother had migrated to Brisbane a couple of years earlier and offered to submit visas on their behalf.

Tamer initially resisted.

"I told him, 'no, no, inshallah, in 10 days it will be finished,'" he said.

"After that, when I saw the bombing everywhere, destruction everywhere, I told him, 'Yeah, go for it.'"

Bombs dropping every night

The family travelled to Rafah and lived on blankets and wooden chairs while they waited for their turn to cross into Egypt.

"Everything is hard. You cannot find clean water to drink, to cook. You cannot find some kinds of food, because there is no electricity from day one.

"There is no safety. You cannot feel safe anywhere."

Hearing bombing all around them every night, the family would huddle together.

"Every night before sleeping I go to my kids one-by-one, I kiss them, I hug them, [I tell them] 'Daddy inshallah tomorrow, I'll see you in the morning'.

"I told them, 'Don't worry baba, if we pass away, we are shahid, we will all go to the heavens inshallah.'"

A heavily pregnant woman sleeps across a car seat.

For months, Afnan was unable to see a specialist or doctor of any kind regarding her pregnancy, as the hospitals were "only for the injured".

Finally, in late March, a cousin came to Tamer with good news.

"He said 'your name has appeared on the Egyptian authority border (list).'

"I said 'you are a liar; I need to see with my own eyes'!"

The Abunada family would first head to Cairo and then onto Brisbane, where Afnan gave birth to a baby girl, Celine, just a few days later at Redland hospital.

"I'm very lucky to have joined this country, but still my feeling is very bad [for] my people," Tamer said.

People waiting in a room with suitcases.

"Now I have 90 days in Australia and every day I hear [of] bombing and killing more than before.

"My family and my wife's family — her father, mother, brother, sisters — are all in Gaza, and it was very impactful on her while she was pregnant … and I was very afraid."

Nidal's lucky escape

Fifty-year-old Shahrazad Haseera and her 14-year-old son Nidal are also trying to adjust to life in Brisbane.

Woman in a brown hijab and floral dress.

The pair lived in the Nuseirat Camp in central Gaza before the war, a city created by refugees from the 1948 conflict.

Shahrazad and Nidal had been on a UN refugee waiting list since 2016 and were approved for repatriation to Australia in 2022.

However, when war broke out in late 2023 they were still waiting, and Shahrazad told 7.30 they saw many friends and neighbours killed and injured when the bombing came to their city.

"There was a bombing on a field where Nidal and another one of his friends were playing, standing right next to each other," she said.

"Nidal's friend was hit in the head by shrapnel from the explosions. The ambulance came and took him. He was not dead, but he was completely paralysed.

"I was so frightened and worried for my son Nidal, because he wasn't showing any emotions.

"He wasn't crying. He seemed emotionless, and very hardened."

After several weeks of moving between camps and schools, all the while begging UN staff to fast-track their visas, they were finally approved to leave.

With just Nidal's school bag and a change of clothes packed onto a donkey, they made a tear-filled journey out of Nuseirat Camp towards the border crossing at Rafah.

"We passed through the streets and all the houses were destroyed," she said.

"People were trying to get the trapped or dead people out from under the rubble, others were burying the bodies of the dead people. [We could see] body parts, limbs of the dead.

"We were so exhausted, and emotionally distressed … especially that I had to leave my parents and family behind."

Families still processing their grief

Now in Brisbane, Nidal has been enrolled in the Islamic College of Brisbane and, according to his teachers, has made remarkable progress.

Three young children standing on a footpath in their green school uniforms.

The other refugee children are also enthusiastic learners, which the head of the college attributed to a return to feeling safe and stable at school.

But the school community is very aware that both parents and students carry with them deep emotional wounds.

They know these families need support to establish themselves in a new city, to live with the grief they have for their friends and family left behind, and to cast off any guilt they have for getting out.

"I know that most of Australia's population are refugees," Shahrazad said.

"That's why they must empathise with us more than the people of any other western country because they lived through oppression, injustice, colonisation, wars, famine, and disease.

"Everything I just said, we have in Gaza."

Watch 7.30 , Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV

X (formerly Twitter)

Sheltering with her family in Gaza, Jumana is desperate to make it to Australia before the invasion

A compilation of images including a picture a young Palestinian woman and a map of southern Gaza

Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 50, Palestinian health officials say

A man stands among the rubble of a house, looking down

Community and Society
Occupied Palestinian Territories
Unrest, Conflict and War
World Politics

Newsletters
Account Activating this button will toggle the display of additional content Account Sign out

We Went on a Great Trip With Our New Couple Friends. What Happened After Has Thrown Me.

I have no idea what went wrong.

Care and Feeding is Slate’s parenting advice column. Have a question for Care and Feeding? Submit it here .

Dear Care and Feeding,

My husband and I moved to an East Coast suburb about six years ago from a large city. About two years ago, my husband and I became close to another family—let’s call them Amy and Gary. They are outgoing and popular in the community, and our children loved playing with their kids, who are similar ages. We celebrated our birthdays and other big events and even went on a family vacation together. They would introduce us to other friends in their circle as their “best friends.”

After the vacation, I started to notice that it was always us initiating our get-togethers with Amy and Gary. My husband would reach out to Gary and get one-word responses, or none at all. Over time, they stopped inviting us to join events and declined our invitations as well …

Whenever we see them around town, they are super friendly and talkative as if we’re still close. In fact, people assume we are still great friends because in public they act as if nothing has changed.

My husband has said that things just fizzled out, and he’s fine not knowing what happened. I’ve been suffering a lot of anxiety, worrying that there’s something we did to make them pull away. I keep thinking about that joint family vacation—it really seemed as if we all had a good time, and there were no arguments or conflicts that I saw. I also miss being close with Amy, plus the community that came from being part of their circle.

I see Amy at school drop-off almost every day, and I feel that this will continue to weigh on me. Our children still call each other “best friends” and will be going to school together through high school, which means we’re going to continue to see them around all the time. Should I follow my husband’s lead and just assume that this wasn’t meant to be? Or should I try to have a conversation with Amy to see what happened? I don’t want to come across as desperate, asking why she’s not my friend anymore. It feels juvenile, but I’m just trying to get clarity.

—Unexpectedly Unfriended

Dear Unfriended,

Oh, man, I feel you. Making friends as an adult in a new community is such a torment. You think you’re a grown-ass person, then all of a sudden you’re subject to all the anxiety and heartache of a middle schooler. When we moved from our big city to our East Coast suburb, it took us years to find our actual friends—and those years included getting ghosted a lot by people we thought were hot prospects, including, yes, one family who accompanied us for what we thought was a delightful, fun joint vacation but which turned out to be the last thing we ever did together. I’m getting hives just remembering it!

No good can come of asking Amy what happened to your friendship. You’re not going to change her mind about being your friend by asking what you did wrong. You’ll absolutely feel like you’re acting desperate. The only result of this conversation that would make you feel better—Amy apologizing for how she’s made you feel, then renewing your friendship—is not going to happen. And you’ll come out of the conversation as frustrated and hurt as you are now—if not more so.

So swallow your annoyance and accept that, at least right now, you two are not going to be best friends with Amy and Gary and you are not going to know why it’s turning out that way. Continue being friendly at drop-off. When you communicate about playdates or birthdays, play it cool. Maybe in a year or three or five, you’ll find that you’ve been drawn back together, and that will be fine.

In the meantime, try to connect with some people who are not part of the greater Amy-Gary friendplex. Broaden your circle. Your friends do not have to be the parents of your children’s friends! Indeed, often it’s easier if they’re not. Sign up for a social sports league, or seek out parents on your block, or invite the new family in town over for a drink. Cast a wide net. Are you condemning yourself, by doing so, to many false starts and disappointments and hurt feelings and people whom you had a great time with never, ever reciprocating your invitation? Yes. It sucks. But that’s what you have to do.

IMAGES

Friends coming with visit stock image. Image of door
Friends coming with visit stock photo. Image of flat
Friends coming with visit stock photo. Image of opened
Friends coming with visit stock image. Image of apartment
Friends coming with visit stock image. Image of relaxed
Premium Photo

VIDEO

When You Go To Your Friend’s House
Tag Your Friend Who Does The Same! #comedy #tmkoc #funny #comedyvideo #shorts #couple #couplegoals
Choose a phone for your friend
The Smile
When You Visit Your Friend at the Wrong Time
Visiting friends and family overseas

COMMENTS

Letter Sample #136
A friend is coming to visit your city. You have informed him/her that you would meet him/her at the airport. But something has come up and you cannot make it to the airport on time. Write a letter to this friend. In your letter, - say what emergency has come up - explain the situation - and offer to make an alternative arrangement Write at least 150 words.
a close friend is coming to visit you
Band 7. a close friend is coming to visit you. S/he has asked you for advice for things to do in your hometown and the surrounding area. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: • Ask for more details about your friend's plans. • Suggest some places to visit and things to do in your hometown. • Tell your friend about food or drink s ...
Letter Writing # 195
Looking forward to having you in my city soon. Warm wishes, Marco. Model Answer 2: Dear Camellia, I hope you're doing excellent. I was thrilled to receive your letter yesterday informing me about your upcoming visit to Canada. It's always a joy to welcome friends and spend some quality time together.
Band 7: Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month
You want to sell your television. You think a friend of yours might like to buy it from you. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: Explain why you are selling the television Describe the television Suggest a date when your friend can come and see it Write at least 150 words You do NOT need to write any addresses Begin your letter as ...
"Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month
Band 7. "Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challenging". # friend # visit # month # time. Dear Ash, I remembered that you will ...
Letter Writing # 176
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. You have a friend who lives in another country. Write a letter to this friend to visit you. In your letter: invite him/her to a public event in your country; describe the public event; explain other plans you have for your friend when he/she will visit; You should write at least 150 words.
An Australian Friend Is Coming to Visit You: GT Writing Task
An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter:-Say how you feel about the visit; Suggest what you could do on his/her birthday. Ask what your friend thinks of your idea. Sample 1 An Australian Friend Is Coming to Visit You. Dear John,
Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month ...
IELTS Writing Task 1 (Sample Answer) Get your tasks Evaluated now ! Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, tell them what they need to bring. tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting. warn them about some things that might be challenging.
An Australian Friend Is Coming to Visit You
An Australian Friend Is Coming to Visit You. An Australian friend is coming to visit you, and it will be his/her birthday during the visit. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: Dear Jay, I got your letter yesterday, and I learned that you will visit Ahmedabad next month. I am writing this letter to suggest some things that we can do ...
Letter about Your Visit to a Foreign Country with a Friend
Discover how to craft impressive GT letters about your visit to a foreign country with a friend. Each letter vividly recounts why the you enjoyed a recent trip to a foreign country with a friend, delves into your current activities post-travel, and extends a heartfelt invitation to the reader to visit. Perfect for anyone seeking inspiration for writing high band GT letters, these samples are a ...
Write a letter to your English speaking friend who is visiting you soon
Write : - Who your family consists of. - What kind of presents each member would like. - How you feel about your friend coming to visit. Dear John, I hope you find this letter in radiant health and the best of spirits. Recently, I received your letter in which you mentioned that you are coming to India on vacations.
An Australian Friend Is Coming to Visit You, and It Will Be His/her
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I was flabbergasted when you told me about your vacation to India. I remember meeting you in person three years back before migrating to Australia, and it was an emotional moment. I am overwhelmed with happiness to meet you and have eternal conversations with you, which we missed all these days.
Your friend from oversea is coming to visit you next month
Your friend from oversea is coming to visit you next month. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, Tell them what they need to bring Tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting Warn them about somethings that might be challenging
A close friend is coming to visit you. S/he has asked you for advice
A close friend is coming to visit you. S/he has asked you for advice for things to do in your hometown and the surrounding area. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter: * Ask for more details about your friend's plans* Suggest some places to vis v.2
phrases
Came to visit is said from the perspective of being at home and your friend coming to where you were. If you had visited him, you might say "I went to visit X yesterday." If you had visited him, you might say "I went to visit X yesterday."
100 Best "Thank You for Visiting" Messages and Quotes
I am so touched. Thank you for visiting. #21 Thank you, thank you, thank you for visiting! Seeing your face brightened up my day. I hope to see you again soon. I miss you so much when you aren't around! #22 Your visit was like a balm to my soul. Thank you for coming by and bringing so much comfort, joy, and laughter.
A close friend is coming to visit you he she has asked you ...
A close friend is coming to visit you he/she has asked you for advice for things to do in your hometown and the surrounding area. - Write a letter to your friend . In your letter ask more details about your friend's plans. - Suggest some places to visit and things to do in your hometown.
Letter: Your friend is coming over to stay with you
IELTS General Writing Task 1 with sample answer. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Your friend is coming over to stay with you. However, you will be away on vacation for a month. Write him/her a letter and say: You should write at least 150 words. You do NOT need to write any address.
Does a friend you met online need money for an emergency? That's a scam
If your new online friend or romantic interest says they have an emergency and need money, it might not mean they have bad luck. ... So many fall prey and are too embarrassed to admit it was a horrible mistake even after they see their bank statements. It is NEVER easy to admit you've been scammed. That's what keeps this underground scam ...
Best of Miss Manners: I drove for 3 days to visit your ailing mom and
I accepted the invitation to come visit her ailing mother and to stay in my friend's home. They live in a city about 1,200 miles away. I drove out there (my preference), which took three days ...
Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month Write a
Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month Write a letter to your friend In your letter tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challe. Essay topics:
Suspect came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to
The portrait pieced together so far of the 20-year-old nursing home aide who allegedly tried to assassinate Donald Trump at an election rally reveals frustratingly little about why he would make ...
IELTS Letter, topic: Your friend is coming over to stay with you
IELTS Letters - Band 8. Your friend is coming over to stay with you. However, you will be away on vacation for a month. Write him/her a letter and say: Dear Susan, Hope finds you well. As I wrote to you in my previous letter, I am unable to cancel the finalised trip my parents. But, soon after you arrive in Melbourne, contact Jessie, a good ...
Biden decision on future expected in coming days, and Harris is
Well-connected Democratic Party insiders say they expect President Biden to make a major announcement about his future soon after the Republican National Convention concludes in Milwaukee and that ...
27 Facts About J.D. Vance, Trump's Pick for V.P
Mr. Vance spilled scores of details about his life in his coming-of-age memoir. We've collected the highlights. By Shawn McCreesh Follow the latest news from the Republican National Convention ...
"Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month
Band 8.5. "Your friend from overseas is coming to visit you next month. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter, tell them what they need to bring tell them what they will be doing during the time they are visiting warn them about some things that might be challenging". # friend # visit # month # time. Dear Ramesh, I am feeling out of.
Changes Are Coming to How You Access Social Security's Online Services
And, if you can access your personal my Social Security account through Login.gov or ID.me, you don't need to take any action. If you don't have a Login.gov account. To avoid any disruptions in accessing Social Security's online services you may want to transition your account now by signing in with your Social Security username.
Six Tips to Help You Become a Fledged Witch in Magical Delicacy
Hi there, Xbox Wire readers — I hope you're hungry! Today, we at Whitethorn Games are serving up some tasty tips to help you on your own journey of becoming a full-fledged witch one magical dish at a time in Magical Delicacy — a Metroidvania-lite-meets-cooking-game available now on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass.. In Magical Delicacy, you'll step into the shoes of Flora, a young witch who ...
These families escaped the Gaza war but they're struggling with
"Many people will see and believe that I am now comfortable after I arrive in Australia," the father of three told 7.30. "Yes, I feel safe, but I don't feel comfortable at all because my friends ...
Parenting advice: How to handle making couple friends in a new town
I don't want to come across as desperate, asking why she's not my friend anymore. It feels juvenile, but I'm just trying to get clarity. —Unexpectedly Unfriended