“Ever since we started sending letters to our pen pal, I couldn’t have been more excited to finally meet mine, Pakize. We had exchanged numbers early in September, and from then on we would play games together and talk for hours, getting to know each other properly. By the time we met in person, it already felt like we’d been friends for ages. Meeting her was such a special experience as we exchanged the cutest gifts, and everything felt so natural, easy and fun. Understanding them in French was so challenging but I did manage to make it through the afternoon because every pen pal was so kind and helpful. I also got to meet all the friends she had mentioned in her letters, which made it even more memorable. That whole afternoon was so memorable and it’s something I will definitely never forget.”
“Since September, us year nines and year eights have had penpals in France from Cluses. This was such a fun experience as we exchanged letters and even gifts from our penpals. On the 22nd of April, our French pen pals visited our school and it was truly wonderful to see them in real life. I was expecting it to be very awkward thanks to the language barrier but it was quite literally the opposite: my pen pal, Clarrise, and I exchanged gifts and we had conversations about a day in a life in the Uk/France. We also did an icebreaker which really helped us learn more about the students and form a closer bond. Additionally, we all greatly enjoyed the refreshments provided and spoke about our favourite songs. It was a very exciting and informative day, and many of us are still in contact with our French pen pals.”
