How to Get a Pen Pal (and Why You Should)

Ah, the lost art of the pen pal

The flow of letters and parcel posts overseas has increased tenfold since the pre-war years of a decade ago

If you don't know what a pen pal is, it's basically when two people write each other

and it's traditionally through handwritten letters, but in more modern times it can be through email

or even websites that are specifically designed for pen pals. So there seems to be a little bit of confusion of when the first official pen pal relationship started

but most states that I discovered were back in the 1930s. One organization in particular, the Student Letter Exchange, has been assisting matching pen pals since 1936

This actually began when a teacher decided that he wanted his students to connect with other students in different countries

and he hoped that this would pique his students curiosity and expand his students knowledge of other cultures

and programs like this began spreading all over the world. Having a pen pal really was one of the

most accessible ways to travel and communicate with people around the world. This was because

travel times were longer, there wasn't the internet, and the cost to call other countries

was a lot of money. One of my favorite stories of pen pals are these two women who became pen pals

after Alice was listed as an American looking for a pen pal in a popular annual and Nona sent her a

letter from her home in England and she received a response two weeks later and they've been sending

bi-weekly letters to each other for the last 72 years. Not every pen pal relationship ends up with

72 years of friendship but it really is a great example of how much you can connect with somebody

from a completely different place And while pen pals aren as common as they were in the mid to late 20th century they kind of making a comeback So I going to go over a few ways to go about getting your own pen pal and some services that facilitate pen pal relationships

So this is how you can start your journey into the lost art of pen pals

But first, please make sure to get your parent or guardian's permission if you're under 18 and see if they can help you with this process

Okay, first you're going to want to decide which format you want to use

to communicate with your pen pal. You have three different options. So your first option is snail

mail and this is where you write a handwritten letter and you can put it in the mailbox and send

it. So if you like receiving and giving handwritten letters, this would be a really great format for

you. There's also email and if you just want something free, quick and easy, this is a really

great way to start a pen pal relationship. And lastly, there is digital. So these are pen pals

that can connect with you with instant messaging apps like HelloTalk. And here you can have a daily

or ongoing conversation with your pen pal. So if you like things a little bit more fast-paced

this is a really great option for you. Okay, so once you've decided what format you want to use

you then have to figure out a platform to get connected to your pen pal. So I'm just going to

go over a few that I came across in my pen pal journey. There are so many different ones. So do

your research and see which one you like. I'm just going to list a few here for your convenience

So there's Compatipal, and this platform is a newer entry into the penpal world

It focuses on shorter and more immediate communication, so it doesn't involve any

handwritten notes, and it offers instant messaging through its site. Next is Conversation Exchange, and this is really great if you are into language learning

and we actually have a course on language learning, and I really recommend you check

it out if you are interested in more options of refining your language learning skills

I'm going to link that below. And your pen pal would help you with learning a new language So they can help you with new vocabulary practice talking about specific themes improve your grammar Next there is PenPal World and this is an OG It been operating since 1998 and PenPal World connects millions of global users through its portal

and to maintain security, members make their first interactions directly through the site

and then they can transition to email or handwritten letters. The next option is post crossing and post crossing connects people through the art of physical postcard writing

It works on a simple idea where you just send a postcard to the address you're given and then receive one from another random post crosser

Next we have worldwide snail mail pen pals and this is actually an active Facebook group

It's super simple and members post calls for pen pals and those interested respond in the comments

Next is global pen friends. This is a really simple to use website

This is the one that I chose to use. Also, I just want to say pen pal services are very strict about not using their services for dating

So if you're interested in finding a romantic relationship, I suggest like Tinder or something like that

Probably not pen pal websites. So don't do that. Okay, I just want to give a few safety tips because I know there can be a few concerns when it comes to addresses and stuff

So many of the platforms actually make you do a little bit of an application process

So they make sure that you're a real person, that you seem like a nice person, that you have positive intentions, everything like that

And you have to be approved to even be put into the little portals

So when I signed up for Global Pen Friends, a real person looked at my application to make sure that I looked up the safety standards and I was

So that's good. But if you're still concerned about your address being out there, a lot of people just opt with doing a P.O. box

And this just allows you to use an address at your local post office rather than your personal address And if you first connecting with your pen pal I recommend doing some online chatting getting to know them first that they seem like a cool pen pal relationship type of person

And then you could start exchanging letters eventually, but you don't have to right away

begin with the handwritten letters or anything. You can, you know, warm up, test the waters a little bit

So you're either going to receive a letter first or send a letter first

Either way, I have a few tips with writing your first letter to your pen pal

So a typical first letter goes like this. You're going to start with an introduction

Say a little bit about yourself. Introduce yourself. Where you're from. Why you wanted to start pen pal-ing

Then talk about maybe some shared interests. Maybe interests that you have

Or interests that you saw that they had that made you want to write to them. Maybe just find something that you can bond over

And then ask some questions about their life. What information do you want to learn about them

About where they live or anything like that. And then mention what you're going to be doing in between now and then your next letter

So whether you decide to do bi-weekly letters, weekly letters, monthly letters, just mention what you're going to be doing in the time between

So you have something to update them about next time. And then you just sign off. Easy as that. Super simple

Just, you know, say you're glad that you could write to them and yeah

I love writing my pen pal letters. It's really fun. It's a new way to communicate with people

I like handwritten letters because I think they're very cute. Having a pen pal is a really great way to learn about people around the world without having to physically travel

And you can still intimately learn about people living in a specific place, getting these personal stories, getting to know a person in this place

And it's just a really beautiful, fun experience. So I highly recommend it

And if you're interested in learning more about the whole travel space, I recommend checking out our courses on brighttrip.com slash courses

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this video and I will see you guys in the next one

Bye