Pen Pals.....did you have one?

[raysnkaysmom]

I met a girl on a plane when I was 12, from Kansas I think (I know..not another country)..we kept in contact til I was about 18...but I haven't been able to find her

I met a guy on Amtrak from South Africa when I was 18, and we correpsonded for a couple yrs....and this thread just made me try to look him up on facebook. Hope the guy I emailed was him...lol

 

[EMom]

I got a male penpal from England when I was 13 and he was 16. That was something like 30 years ago. We started writing and never stopped. I think I got an email from him tonight. Over the years, I visited him a few times and he's been to see me. I'm closer to him than my own brothers. So yes....I'd say it lasted.

Oh, there's more...He sends my DD $20 every birthday and Christmas. She calls him "Uncle ______." He used to have other penpals, but I think I'm the only one that lasted so long.

 

[arlene1111]

Hi,
I am Arlene Rekas who lived in Chicago and went to Catholic school.
How long ago did you have this penpal? I had several but they were years ago. Hope you get this reply

 

[JamieW]

In the late 1980s, there was a children's book series called Pen Pals. It was about a group of girls at a boarding school, who were pen pals with boys at another boarding school in the same town. At the back of the books was a form that you filled out and sent in and got a pen pal.

I think my pen pal was from Kentucky. We wrote for a little while, but it petered out. My mom may still have the letters in my childhood junk. I might still have the letters she sent.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

yep still do her names rebbecca (becks) and is in the army. her son just turned 3 months and hes so cute (i get pictures).

 

[tar heel]

Hi,
I am Arlene Rekas who lived in Chicago and went to Catholic school.
How long ago did you have this penpal? I had several but they were years ago. Hope you get this reply

I was in eighth grade so about 1969 or 1970. I'm not sure why I remember the name except I have one of those crazy brains for details. I think she had a sister and she wore glasses. She was, of course, taught by nuns, which seemed really exotic to a kid who had only seen nuns in Washington, DC. I can't remember anything else about her.

 

[englishteacha]

I had a pen pal in California, which seemed so exotic compared to Maine. We wrote for several years and talked on the phone once in a while at holidays. We had the same first name and even had birthdays only a couple weeks apart. We lost touch in high school, but I found her on Facebook a few months ago!

I also wrote to people I met in my travels. We camped a lot and I met lots of kids from all over. We wrote letters, some for years, but that fell off over time. One girl was from Germany, and I hope to find her on Facebook, but there are many people with the same name! I grew up in the 1980s and 90s, and it was so cool to have a pen pal. Now, I don't know a single child/teen who writes letters of their own choosing.

 

[celeste.]

when i was in elementary school i had a penpal from Hungary and one from Scotland.
i don't write to either of them anymore, but it was a lot of fun.
i also had one from California through school in 5th grade.

 

[LoraJ]

I was in a teen magazine asking for pen pals. I had tons of them. I actually met a lot of them and many are now my Facebook friends. The ones who lived in the NYC area were a wonderful help when I moved from Ohio to NYC when I was 19.

I bet they don't have pen pal ads like that in teen magazines anymore. We had our photos and home addresses printed. Out of all the letters I got, I had one freaky one from a prisoner which I just tossed in the garbage.

 

[DISNEY1975]

We had exchange students stay at our house for a few summers. One from France, another from Spain and one from Germany. My mom still keeps in touch with the girls from France and Spain. We never heard from the girl in Germany again! My mother and sister have even been to visit the 2 girls. they are grown, married with children and we all get Emails all the time!

My best friend in elementary school moved to Columbia when we were in 4th grade. I wrote to her for a while then stopped around high school. Well, about 5 years ago, she showed up at my mothers house (it had been about 30 years since I saw her). She was with her family and was shoing them the house she lived in when she was in the US. It was on the same street as my mother. My mother called me and said "You'll never guess who is here" She was right! I unfortunately was about an hour away and my friend had to leave to catch a flight so I never did get to see her. She gave me her phone number and I called once, but never talked to her again. I will never forget her!

My kids also met a couple of kids from Scotland on a Disney trip. They spent a week with them at the pool. My boys wrote once, but did not get a response back. Blaine and Shannon (and little baby Tori), if your out there, we think of you often!

 

[hogwartsdropout]

I had 12 at one point. I'd signed up with IYS I think it was called.. I had penpals from all over, it was so much fun. I don't keep in touch with any of them now, I have one on facebook but we don't speak really. I would love a penpal again, it was so nice to get letters.

 

[mbfqueen]

I would like one too .. how could we get one going?

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I had 2. There was a girl from London and a boy from Morocco. I wrote to the boy for about 3 years. He used to send me these cool trinkets. Kids today don't kow that excitement of waiting for a letter. Things are so "instant" these days.