You've Got (Snail) Mail!
Gabriella Zilberman - English teacher
Penfriends or penpals – people barely use these words anymore. What do they mean? Let's take a short trip in the world of letter writing to find out.
It wasn't so long ago that you had to put pen to paper
when you wanted to contact somebody. Whether you
liked it or not, there was simply no other way to reach
them. Letter writing was also a hobby – people wrote to other people in different countries, discussed their everyday lives, pastime, culture and exchanged small and big tokens. It was an excellent way to add to your collection, whether it was stamps, postcards, pens or anything else.
Although the Internet and the email led to the near extinction of this type of communication, there are many people who insist on keeping it alive. Believe it or not, there are people who still enjoy writing letters, sending them off and then waiting for a reply. Yes, it can take weeks (hence the term "snail mail") but the excitement of finding an envelope from a different country in your mailbox is worth it. And if the envelope contains surprises, that's even better!
Actually instead of killing the art of letter writing, the Internet has made it easier to find penfriends. There are many websites and blogs dedicated to this hobby where people can post their ads with information about themselves, their interests and requests. After contacting each other through email, the penfriends can decide whether to write letters only or to send emails as well.