A gem arrived to my mailbox last month, in the form of 18 letters from my seventh grade pen-pal class outside of Boston, MA. Below are snippets from a few of them, because they are just too great to keep to myself:
“Did you like Boston or did you like Boston. Did you like Burger King. Did you like people in Boston because some people don’t like each other in Boston.” – Devon
“I am Mr. Simon’s favorite student.” – Darah
“Will you ever come to our school? Is it hard to live down there? My last question is how many people live in Senegal? Bye.” – Jay
“What do you do when you get up? What kind of breakfast do you eat? Do you have your own classroom? Is it busy in the morning? What do the kids learn at school? How long is there school day? What do you eat for dinner? Do kids come and help you? How long have you lived in that small hut? When you come back are you going to visit Epiphany and come visit Mr. Raymond? Do you think you are going to miss the kids? Will the kids miss you?” – Torin
“I wonder how do you survive and do you have friends you age? Do you get scared at night? In Boston it’s very cold, is it hot in Senegal? How is it living in a little hut?” – Anicia
“My parents are from the Cape Verdean island and when they first came to the United States, they were very confused at all the changes. How did you feel going to a place so different from the states? Do you ever get to come back and visit your family and friends? Do you know why Senegal still teaches in French even if it affects the way the students learn? How long did it take you to get accustom to their way of living!” – Rashelle
“Epiphany [their school] is like a mini white house. We have good opportunities towards good high schools. I really want to learn more about Senegal’s economy and their weaknesses. Well if you get this I hope you reply.” – Davon
“I have been thinking doing all of those good things for the less fortunate must be hard for how much you get paid. Has it been hard to make peace with the people in Senegal I heard that they are fierce? I think that what you do should inspire a lot of more people to take care of people. Do you have a fun time on doing what you do with these people? If you don’t why do you continue to do it if you do why would you do it? If you were to ask me if I was to help people I would not do nice stuff for them.” – Dashon
“When kids drop out of school what are their options? And about soccer, I’m from Cape Verde which is not too far away from Senegal and the people there love to play soccer too. I hope to see you one day.” – Britney
“I noticed in your letter that the number zero had a slash in it like this [0 with a slash]. I was wondering if that is how they write in Senegal? Do they have different handwriting? If so, do they have numbers? If they have different numbers, then how do they do mathe-matics? Please be sure to write back and answer my questions soon. Your friend in Boston.” – Shantez
“I kinda wanna do the same thing your when I get to college or end of highschool. But I wanna do it for a couple of months, cause I know I will miss my family. Any tip I need to be prepared for? Do you miss your family? Are the people over there like your new family?” – Joan
“I would like to thank you for this oppurtunity and learn more about Senegal during this experience. Is it hot in Senegal and does it ever snow? Since the French colonized Senegal do they still help them out to his day?” – Janikah
“I figure you do this to help the needy in Africa. I like what you represent because this shows you care for others I appreciate that shows characteristics.” – Derrick
