Hello, ХХХ!
Thank you for your letter. I know how busy you are at university and I
appreciate your writing to me such a long letter.
I can understand
the problems you are having with your sister. I got the impression that she is
not an ideal person to share a flat with, but none of us is.
I live with
my family. I have a father, a mother, and a younger brother. There are four of
us living in a two-bedroom flat. I often wish I lived alone and didn’t have to
live with them. My brother and I sleep in one room, our parents sleep in the
other. My brother is quite a noisy sleeper – he snores loudly and it can’t be
helped. My parents are unhappily married and they often have awful rows. They
throw things on the floor and shout at each other.
There can
be many reasons for our conflicts. My brother and I go to school; our parents
work from morning till evening. We all get tired by the evening. We have to spend
our days dealing with people, and not all of those people are nice. Naturally,
we become irritated and even frustrated. Most family conflicts come from
misunderstanding: it is not always clear who is supposed to do what at home. My
mother keeps reminding us that she is not a housemaid, my father is always
tired, and my brother is quite useless for anything other than playing computer
games.
I can give
you a piece of advice: be patient. Our problems are temporary ones. They may
seem serious, but they aren’t really. Try talking to the people you live with,
they may be brought round to your point of view. Try listening to what they
have to say, there may be something in it. Try finding some common ground, it
may be a basis for a possible compromise.
Avoid
quarrels, never be rude to your people and don’t answer back. Your relatives
don’t really mean to insult you; they are just tired and frustrated. Everyone
will be sorry in the morning.
<span> I look forward to hearing from you soon,
yours XXXXX</span>
