Dear Ralph,

I just received your wedding invitation in yesterday’s mail and would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to both you and your fiancée! I would have thought that you’d be the last one out of all the old college gang to tie the knot. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, and I’ve never even had the opportunity to meet your future bride, Becky.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it to your wedding in Toronto since my wife, Jenny, and I are moving to China next month. We’ve been accepted for positions as English instructors at a well-known private language school in downtown Beijing. Although I have a degree in English, I’ve never taught before; Jenny has, however, and she assures me that I would make a good teacher. I’m nervous about standing up in front of all those students and worried that my English grammar isn’t absolutely perfect! Reminds me of the stage fright I used to have with you during our High School presentations. It’ll definitely be challenging, but we think it will be an enriching experience for both of us.

Fortunately for us, a long-standing acquaintance of mine, John Blackwell, lives in Beijing at the moment. He’s working as a photographer for an English-language newspaper there and has found us an apartment to rent in his building, which isn’t that far from the school where we will be teaching. Apparently, it’s quite spacious, but nothing compared to the comfort and living of suburban Canadian life. Luckily though, Jenny and I aren’t really concerned about the state of our housing or wages. We’re more looking into this for the opportunity to go beyond our North American bubble and see the world from a different perspective.

Anyway, I’m extremely disappointed that I won’t be there to see you get married and to get acquainted with Becky. However, I am definitely planning to visit my younger sister in Toronto after I get back from Beijing next summer, so I’ll plan to connect with you both then. We thought about sending you a wedding gift with this letter but then decided you might prefer a unique present from China. Jenny can pick out something nice, as I’m a terrible shopper; remember how badly my dorm room was decorated?

Once again, congratulations to you and Becky.
Jack