Fast forward to today, and the cost of sending an ordinary paper letter in my country is now 3€. Lots of people would be reluctant to pay that time and time again, and forget about juggling a large number of pen-pals as people commonly did back in the day.
But if letters are just a few cents to send, more people are willing to try it because it's the cost of pocket change that won't even get them a drink from a vending machine.
While a domestic pen pal probably isn't uncommon, the programs I recall tended to match you with someone international.
Letters take time to be delivered
The farther away your pen pal lives, the longer it will take to reach them. Why rush through replies? Make your letter be worth the wait!
Interesting concept, and I’m glad the magic was there for the two of you.
Words and ideas are meaningful. Finding a physical artifact from a far off place in the mailbox; seeing the stamps, markings, smudges, and other evidence of its journey; opening the envelope; and reading the other’s handwritten words add another dimension. Similarly, holding a paper book is a different experience, so I suspect that more than nostalgia is at work.
how sort of perversely lovely (i say it in an admiring manner), to meet in a gloriously old-fashioned manner on such a modern platform!
love it.
