Pen Pal

Tonight Agustinus Wibowo tweeted about finding his pen-pal from 20 years ago. It reminds me of my own pen-pal from back in the days, when we had no internet. Well, I had internet but he didnt.

I still remember how it all started.

A bunch of us registered to this pen pal program abroad. I was still collecting stamps, so I picked Brasil as one of the countries where I wanted a pen-pal from. About a month later, I got a name and address. I tried writing a letter but didnt manage to send it. I'm bad at posting my letters even back then when my school was next to the central post office.

One day, my dad gave me a letter from Brasil. I looked at the sender: Flavio Duarte Machado. The exact the same name as the one I supposed to send my letter to. I thought someone pulled a leg and send my unfinished letter to him. As it turned out he also got my name. I still find it cute.

So we wrote letters and waiting for months for the reply. Each time his letter arrived, the girls in my class read it. After all, it was a girls school, and that letter is from a boy studying to become a pilot. Or so he said in his letter full of actions that cadets did, I think. Once he sent a letter in Portuguese after I told him one of my flat-mates was Brasilian.

We still wrote each other my first year in lowland. Then I moved house. Cant remember if I told him my new address or not, but that was the end of it. I think I tried sending a Christmas card once to his last address.

Tonight, since I cant sleep, I googled him. Apparently some years ago he was a captain of a Super Puma Squadron. Isnt it great?

Actually, I had two more pen pals, Rene from NY and this girl that I dont remember her name from Cyprus. It didnt last more than two letters with them.

Anyhow, I wish the three of them well with their lives.