I have a pal in Florida, an old American, who helps me a lot with my English. We met each other quite a while ago, when I was practicing my English on Italki. David didn't learn anything, he simply spent his time helping learners from all over the world study English. At that time, I was preparing to travel to the States to teach at two universities as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar. We had numerous talks on Skype during which my friend told me about his family, American politics, movies et cetera. David was quite talkative, as any retired person, and I often listened to him, thinking deep down "Oh, man, don't you want to pause for a second to give me a chance to say a word or two?" Later on, I realized that I should have simply stopped him to have that chance, and things got better. 

When I was in the States - the trip, which lasted for 8 months - David often helped me with his suggestions, and a couple of times his tips were really useful, they worked out. By the end of my residence, he invited me to his house in Florida, but, unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit him.  He was upset. However, when I came back to Russia, we kept talking on Skype and messaging each other. Messaging became my favorite practice, since I was allowed to message him 24 hours per day. I learned a lot from his messages, and things that I learned were real American language - with slang, idioms and expressions you'd never learn from textbooks. 

At the moment David doesn't respond me, as a month ago he took a decision of having a lengthy meditation retreat - the longest he's ever had. It demotivated me and I still feel bored. Our chats turned out to be something really valuable. I hope I'll see his messages sooner or later, and I'd like to thank everyone who corrects my notes. Thank you for your time and patience!