Pen pals revisited
09 Aug 2018
Dear LPG
I read your article which was posted as news on 7th May. I really agree with it, and I think that the writer of that piece is particularly right about one thing, and that is how difficult I have found it to discover a website which genuinely offers a pen pal and is not looking to set people up with partners.
It would be nice if, every now and then, a long running couple of pen pals can meet and get together, but I am looking for a platonic friendship which gives me insight into my perspective pen pal’s lifestyle, interests, and problems while I can also share mine. I believe that listening to someone else’s situation can often help to be a reason to reassess your own.
I think that the LPG comments which made up the final paragraph of that post should be repeated for anyone who is interested in getting involved with doing this; especially the importance of making sure that at least one other person is aware of the contact details of anyone you get in contact with. I do live alone and, during the days, I am always out and about but when I get home at night it is really good to have this sort of contact. Learning about the ways that other people cope with similar life–dilemmas and the differences that their situations and countries dictate that they deal with the day-to-day issues that they come across gives the opportunity to consider other problems, customs, and offer the occasional alternative solution.
There is one more point that was not mentioned in your other article on the subject and that is that being a pen pal is a pastime that can be pursued even if writing is getting difficult on a practical level. Getting a family member who can and has a little time to do the writing or typing for you is helpful, because having someone else share your communications adds the assurance of a little security.
OS New Cross
LPG has found a few other pen pal agency websites and stands by the information they printed the last time a contributor steered us toward posting information on this subject: -
So we again stress the importance of remembering that having an online pen pal can be really rewarding but it is important to be safety conscious. LPG recommends that you choose a pal who is not too local to you and make a point of not, meeting up, swapping telephone numbers or postal addresses until you are both sure of what you are doing and, if possible, make sure that at least one friend or family member is aware of your pals details.
