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Letter Writing and Pen Palling

sweetsymphony

sweetsymphony

New Member
When I was 16 or 17, I had two really special pen pals. I don't even know why we quit writing each other; that just seems to be something that unfortunately happens quite often in the pen pal world. I've even tried to search for their new addresses, to no avail.

Do any of you have regular pen pal friends? I am wanting to get back into that. I am a strong believer that we should not let the art and gift of letter writing die with our more technology-centered world. There's really nothing like getting a handwritten letter in the mail from a friend or relative.

I'd like to hear your opinions and experiences regarding letter writing.
 
I'm "forced" to have a pen-pal for French class. We exchanged letters with French students in Montpellier. It is sort of a new experience for me because I haven't done it before! I enjoy it though because I get to know how to write letters in French. That's the purpose. Also, I enjoy my pen-pal because she is a very wise teenager who is expecting a 17/20 on her French Baccalaureate! :)
 
I've had pen pals, but lost touch with all but one, who I've written to for longer than I care to admit here. Since she got a computer, we email more than write, but still send cards and the occasional letter. I used to love seeing all the different postage stamps, and wondered why the US air mail stamps were so dull in comparison.
 
No, I used to have pen-pals when I was younger, but eventually we just stopped writing. :rolleyes: Grew out of it, or got bored (or too lazy) I guess. :confused:
 
I used to have a penpal long ago... 20 years ago or so and we used to play chess through the mail. That was fun!
 
I used to hae a pen pal in Barcelona, Spain but the letters became less and died out in the end :)

I do have pen pal but they are of the electronic kind. I really like the idea of pen pals. It docent matter to me if it's electronic or if it's written. But nothing beats the romance and excitement of a real letter from some far away place arriving like Christmas present. Haven't said that though... I like email because it's fast and easy to write one.I like the exchange of thoughts and ideas and also to find out about another life in another culture far away. It's great to learn about other places.

At the moment I have a nice pen friend in Germany that I write long emails back and forth with :)

If anybody is interested then in finding a pen pal then let me know. I have a few really good web sites to find both letter and pan pals ( key pal ) friends in other countries.
 
I was never good at the penpal thing, but I love instant messenger now. Takes all the work out of it, and I have deeper conversations that way, even with some people I regularly see face to face.
 
My husband and I wrote to each other every day for a year, from when we met until we married. We just wrote and wrote. He lived in London and I in NY. Every day I would come back to my apt. and find a new blue airmail letter. It was so exciting and wonderful. Of course, I have them wrapped in silk now and tied with a ribbon. There is no better way to get to know a person, provided you are really writing something true, not just putting words on paper.

Now I have a correspondence with his mother, at about a letter a week. We know each other quite well as a result. My son has a separate correspondence with her and a few other people in England. It's a great way to keep up with friends with little pressure.

That said, I have one friend who writes letters maybe 20 pp. long, and I consider it a real burden sometimes, having to wade through the damn thing. Half of it is just like a journal, "I went here and went there." Not fun. Oh well. I read them anyway.
 
Same with me. I had a few penfriend around the world. We kept in touch and then lost contact. I think we haven't got time to write the letters, we are busy with our life. We know technology takes over now like Internet. :)
 
I've never kept a snail mail penpal. I had a friend who emigrated to Australia, and we wrote for a while. Then he came back. Irk.

I've got few penpals via email when I started many years ago and have lost all but one - a brilliant Mexican doctor who works with gifted children. We talked from the time I was still schooling to my wedding to now. :)

I also correspond via email with a couple of people (they are all in their late 40s or 50s, strangely) who first wrote me feedback on my software, and then gradually became friends.

ds
 
I had loads but couldn't be bothered with them.

I currently have a girl in Germany that I write to in order to practice my German and let her practice her English.
 
I have had the same penpal for many years. She has become one of my best friends even though we have never met. She is from Holland and we have been through births, deaths, marriages and lots of other things in the time we have been friends. I'm glad that I still have her.
 
I've had various pen pals over the years, but only one currently that I write every week, sometimes more. We have become quite close over the years, she's almost like a sister to me.
 
I have a lot of friends and family that I write to back home. It's really easy to rely on this interweb thingy to communicate, but it just isn't as personal. After my last trip back, I decided to getting better at communicating. So I bought a nice new address book and rewrote all the addresses of people I wanted to write to. I pick up odd scraps of paper everywhere I go and add them to the 'letter writing box', together with stickers, postcards (especially those free ones - they are awesome to send! Just stick some coloured paper over the advertising on the back), etc. And I get doubles of all my photos that I get developed so I can send some to my friends.

There's nothing more fun than getting snail mail that you *want* to open. I've loved getting letters since I was a kid and used to write away for stuff from the Free Stuff For Kids book each year. It's amazing how interesting fact sheets and stickers from the Australian Dairy Coorporation can be when you're a kid.
 
All that being said, would anyone here be interested in having a new snail mail pen pal? We already know we have at least one thing in common - the love of books!

If you would like to know more, please email me at cloudsandstars@catt.com. :)
 
I don't think I would be very good in having a pen pal. I am lazy and hate writing. I love the internet, e-mail and fora. How much easier can it get? I do think it's a lovely idea, but I know myself... :p

Would that be a nice surprise, BB?
 
I used to have lots of penpals when I was at high school, aged about 14-16. Did anyone else have FB's? :D

Anyway I eventually couldn't manage them and they dwindled.

I am still in touch with a girl from Atlanta and we have been corresponding since I was about 15 or 16 (I'm now 27). We have met 3 times - once when I went to visit her, once when she came to visit me, and once when I happened to be in the neighbourhood. I am going to her wedding this year. We don't write as often as we used to, but she is still one of the people I'm closest to. We've been there for each other on all sorts of occasions.

I liked having penpals, although I struggle to imagine what I used to write about as I only had school to write about and I was quite introverted back then. I wasn't exactly Miss Popularity at school so I think it helped me to have so many penpals - and this was back in the days when we didn't have a computer, so I handwrote every letter!!

I learnt a lot from having penpals, even if I have lost touch with all but one of them. I practiced my languages, and I learnt about life outside my crappy little town. And I love having my friend in Atlanta, I really do.
 
I had two penpals, one for my French class, and then one from one of those applications that you can fill out in magazines and stuff (at least those that you used to be able to!) We did lose touch, and I do miss getting a letter in the mail. I get excited when I get my internet bill (mom refuses to for DSL, she won't pay 40 bucks for it-totally worth it!) because I'm getting something that is coming to ME.
 
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