Fall Term Pen Pal Reflections

1) How much time have you spent on writing correspondences with your Chinese partners?

I have spent a good and considerable amount time writing correspondences with my pen pal (around thirty minutes for each email), since I try hard to have proper grammar and look over each email multiple times before sending it. 

2) Have you responded right away? Have they?

My first pen pal responded right away, while my second pen pal did not. In her email, my second pen pal explained that studying was taking up a considerable amount of her time, most likely do to upcoming midterms. While I responded quickly to my first pen pal, I did not respond as fast to my second pen pal, since I did not want her to feel stressed and obligated to write back to me immediately. 

3) What are some of the things that you learned about your partner? 

For my first partner, I learned that his name is 刘宝祥, however his English name is Bolt. He is currently eleven years old and in seventh grade. He loves sports, including soccer, basketball, badminton, table tennis, and cross country. He also enjoys playing instruments, such as the piano and the Erhu, and listening to pop music. 

For my second partner, I learned that her Chinese name is 曾子渊 and that her English name is Six. She is currently sixteen and in eleventh grade. Her hobbies include golfing, fencing, reading, and (like me) knitting/crocheting. 

4) Have you learned any new words? List them here.

New words I learned included 咱们 and 交流.