Ciao, ragazzi!



A sampling of hoarded letters from the Italians

My grandma used to tell me about her decades-long "pen friendship" with a woman from a land far, far away. It fascinated me that she considered this woman a friend even though they had never met.



In college, I saw a flyer for a penpal service and decided to give it a whirl. Soon my mailbox was bursting with a jumble of letters from around the world. What a wonderful time I had peeking into daily life in England, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Egypt, & the West Indies. Most of these penpals fell to the wayside after a year or so. But not those Italians! I had a real connection with both of my Italian penpals.

Through only ink & paper for years, we revealed much about our lives to each other. I found that writing to someone half a world away allowed me to open up more than I might have in person. Almost 20 years later, I call them "sister" and "brother". I've been in one friend's wedding, visited Italy twice, & hosted visits by "the Italians" (as my family affectionately calls them). I'm delighted that our children get along like best buddies - language barrier be damned! This summer, we'll share a new experience together - vacationing in Hawaii.

Investing a book of stamps & a little of my time has allowed me to reap the rewards of these two very special friendships. To my grandma who inspired me to reach out to strangers across the sea... grazie mille!