Pen Pals!

Mrs. Jonell's 4th grade class at Clark's Creek in Plainfield, IN have been our American Pen Pals. My kids here really didn't know what that was but there was a children's book that explored both cultures through the eyes of two boys. That book was fun for us to read. One boy was American and one boy was African and they walked through the differences in culture. But, the end is my favorite. The last page has both of these boys saying how they have a friend who lives far away and how they would like to visit each other one day. It was a great book to help my kids dream. Not just about going to America one day but having a friend of a different culture. I explained to the kids here that we were going to write kids in America who would be our friends.

The 4th Grade Class in America have been e-mailing for several months. These e-mails have been a joy to have enter my inbox! I have loved reading them and answering their questions of Africa. It is a joy as well as difficult to be in the middle of painting one side of the world to the other. For example, one 4th grader loves McDonald's my kids here don't know what that is and are thrilled to have a meal. Another said their favorite animal was a polar bear but my kids here have no idea what that is but just hope that elephants do not trample through their field. In Africa we colored pictures of our housing here and favorite African animal. We sent them by mail and were excited to receive an envelop back! We loved looking at the pictures, reading the letters, and hanging them on our wall! My kids are a bit younger but they have loved learning of their friends in America! Who know maybe one day they will get to visit each other's culture. I know that I wanted to visit Africa when I was in fourth grade and now I live here!!