Dear Diary,

I got my letter today. No, not my Hogwarts letter, I wish, but that's about five years overdue. No, today, I got my first pen pal letter.

I know what you must be thinking: Pen pal? Really? What is this, second grade? No one has pen pals any more, heck there is practically no such thing as mail anymore. People just text eachother.

It was an English project. We had to write a letter to someone and correspond with them using any means of technology until the end of the school year. We weren't allowed to know the person, but we were allowed to choose from a list of people in an English class at a school in California.

I chose paper and signed up for a pen pal program.

His name is Jonah, and he lives in Germany. Since his father is a diplomat to China, he speaks German, Chinese, and English, even though he goes to a regular public school. His favorite subjects are English, Biology, and German History. I have a feeling I'm going to need Google a lot this year…

Regardless, this could be the beginning of a disastrous relationship and a failed English project, or it could be the beginning of something (dare I say it?) really cool. I'm sure most of my classmates would shudder at the thought of an English project from mrs. Whelks being remotely cool, but I'll tell you a secret, I've always wanted a pen pal.

Song of the Day: Last Kiss by Taylor Swift

Cheers!

Jennifer


Letter from Jonah to Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

I do hope that is how you start a letter in the United States. My name is Jonah Weiβ and I live in Berlin, Germany. I have two older brothers and a younger sister. My dad is a diplomat to China, so I've been raised by my mother mostly. I lived in China for a while when I was young, so I can speak Chinese, but I have a hard time reading and writing it. I don't have any pets, but I like playing soccer and American Football.

Alright, I'm running out of facts. I guess my life isn't that interesting. I suppose I could ask you some questions, but I feel as though I'm pestering you if I do that. I don't even know you. I don't know where you live, if you have any siblings, or what your life is like. I can speak with a perfect Chinese accent, run two miles in eleven minutes, and spell the name of my friend's goldfish, which is in Yiddish for God's sake – but I don't know anything about you, a person I have to write to for a whole year!

That didn't mean to come out sounding like writing to you was a chore by the way, I'm sure you're an interesting person to talk to, but it's hard to write a letter when I don't even know what you look like. All I have is your address and your name: Jennifer Lefevre. Smith, in French. Are you French? I don't hate the French, contrary to popular belief. I see it as more of a rivalry, a competition at this point, to see who can be the better country. Sure, we've disagreed in the past, especially in the last 100 years, but I think that the past is the past. We're at peace now, so we should make an effort to get along.

Anyways, I hope to hear from you soon!

Jonah