The famous English poet, John Donne, wrote, "letters mingle souls." For me letters provide new perspectives on different places and people. The letters from our pen pals help us learn about people that we would not otherwise know. This personal point of view is so different from what I have read about in newspapers, or seen on television! Malawi is a long way from where I live, but letters bring us closer together.

When I receive a letter from my pen pal in Malawi, I like to share it with my friends at school. Here is one that I really like.

Notice how much I learned about my pen pal in this letter! I know how old he is, what grade his is in, what subjects he studies, what he enjoys doing, where he lives, how he likes it there, how many are in his family, and why he wants to have a pen pal in America.

It is also interesting to read the questions that he asks me. He wants to know about my physical appearance ("are you tall or short"), but he does not ask the color of my skin. Maybe he assumes that I am white, or maybe it is not that important to him. Also he asks how many languages I speak. Does that mean that he probably speaks more than one language? I am a little embarrassed that I can only speak one.

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