Greetings!

This is Leszek Luchowski from Gliwice, Poland.
I am writing this letter in the hope that it will reach a friendly Hungarian family.

I am a proud uncle of two little boys, aged 6 and 8, whose education I am trying to support. The younger boy, Krzysztof (=Christopher), my godson, is very sweet and well-behaved. His brother Kacper (=Casparus) is always eager to be the more important one; very active, it is a joy to watch him discovering the world.

I am looking for equally young foreign friends for my nephews. They have been learning English since September 2007. They enjoy the classes, which is the best guarantee of their progress. But the teacher is Polish, so they don't yet quite realize what a language really is for. I believe that it would be great if they could meet people who don't speak their language, so that English will really be the only way to communicate. And of course having friends from another country is always very broadening.

This is where Hungary comes into the picture. It is quite near. Hungarians are widely known to be friendly towards Poles (and vice versa, as I hope you know). And from the language point of view, it is important that Hungarian is so completely different from Polish. Everybody will just have to speak English, rather than rely on common Slav roots as we would with, say, Czechs, Slovaks, or Ukrainians.

My idea is to find a Hungarian family with children of a similar age, who are also learning English, and spend a part of the summer holidays with them. I am sure both Hungarian and Polish children will benefit greatly, and their parents (or aunts and uncles like me) will also enjoy the meeting. I am certainly looking forward to it. We might visit each other's country or meet halfway in Slovak or Czech mountains. With luck, this will develop into a long-term friendship between our families. But let us first arrange one holiday and make sure it is a success. Say a week or two for a start.

The boys have two much older sisters (aged about 19 and 22). Both are very nice girls, but I am not sure if either of them will join us on this holiday. It will be great if they do, but my proposal is mostly meant for the two boys. I often take them and their mother on weekend trips by car all around our region in southern Poland. I know scores of places of interest to children, from a firefighting museum to a theatre where children are invited to perform, to a swan sanctuary, to castles and historic mines (of coal, salt, and silver). I am no stranger to working with children, although I have none of my own: I have been doing volunteer work at a center for children from problem families since September 2004, and often had a wonderful time arranging activities for them; an experience I am now repeating with my nephews and, hopefully, soon with their new Hungarian friends.

I speak and write (as you can see) fluent, idiomatic English, although I tend to be a bit too formal. I have been quite successful as a professional simultaneous interpreter and, years ago, also as language teacher for teenagers. The boys are quick learners as soon as they get the right motivation, and a holiday with foreign friends will do precisely that. Their mother doesn't speak any English, but she is a friendly person full of positive energy, and I will be more than happy to translate for her. She is also an excellent cook. Sadly, you will not meet the boys' father, my cousin, who died in December 2006.

I am quite enthousiastic about this project. If you too find it worthwile, please write and let us arrange everything as best we can. If you have any doubts, please write too, and let us discuss. I love discussing.

See more at my web page:

http://dapta.webpark.pl/

With warmest regards,
Leszek Luchowski.

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