Pen Pals Made Real
I have had internet friends all my life. Well, ever since I discovered the internet anyway. Some are just looking for dates or whatnot when I am more interested in pen friends kind of thing. So when they discovered that I wasn't into dating, and that I actually require them to have actual brain cells between their ears, a lot of them vanished- never to be heard again. It's the legacy of my youth when as a young girl in Kuala Klawang, a really small dot on the Malaysian map whose claim to fame is as the driest spot in Malaysia- it really is! We went without water supply regularly but that is a different story. Anyway, pen friends were my way to improve my English and to catch a glimpse of other people's culture and life. It's a pity that I have lost touch with them.
Anyway, my internet friends do come and go. The ones who stick around have proven their genuine friendship over the years. In my relationship with them, it has never crossed my mind that we would make contact outside the world wide web and that has changed. When I tell them that I'm here in College Station the two that I keep in close contact with through chatting and emails were very excited and welcoming. And I am glad to say that it helps with the homesickness to hear a familiar voice over the phone and a face to match the emails.
One of them, L has been my friend for 8 years now and it is so strangely wonderful to hear his voice over the phone. I knew him since he was doing his undergraduate degree at a non-traditional age of 27 in 1998. I was in awe at how he managed to hold down a full time job and commuting at least an hour each way to school doing double majors of English and Accountancy. I don't know much about Accountancy but having English (the literature, not the language) as a major is to me a full-time job. The background reading alone is one and a half full time job actually. The internet provides us with some measure of anonimity as if the emails you receive came from the veritable fount of binary codes, not like a real person at all. And having been friends for years and years without intending to meet made the conversation almost surreal.
Another friend is relatively new and he is here in College Station. T is one of the most interesting and smartest people I know. Dropping out of high school at 15, lived a few years as a teenager in Italy, played in rock bands and decided at 25 that he wanted to have a graduate degree- so he did an undergraduate degree with double majors of English and History- another one and a half full time job major in terms of reading and now at 33 finishing up his Masters degree. So anyway, he and I have been emailing back and forth regarding how much he cannot stand the small-townness of College Station and what in the world am I doing coming to College Station. Meeting him was like meeting an old friend. Granted it was a first meeting but the comfort level was like we have known each other forever.
So there you have it. The wonders of the internet. I'm sure there are perverts as well but I hope I will not meet any of them in this lifetime.
Anyway, my internet friends do come and go. The ones who stick around have proven their genuine friendship over the years. In my relationship with them, it has never crossed my mind that we would make contact outside the world wide web and that has changed. When I tell them that I'm here in College Station the two that I keep in close contact with through chatting and emails were very excited and welcoming. And I am glad to say that it helps with the homesickness to hear a familiar voice over the phone and a face to match the emails.
One of them, L has been my friend for 8 years now and it is so strangely wonderful to hear his voice over the phone. I knew him since he was doing his undergraduate degree at a non-traditional age of 27 in 1998. I was in awe at how he managed to hold down a full time job and commuting at least an hour each way to school doing double majors of English and Accountancy. I don't know much about Accountancy but having English (the literature, not the language) as a major is to me a full-time job. The background reading alone is one and a half full time job actually. The internet provides us with some measure of anonimity as if the emails you receive came from the veritable fount of binary codes, not like a real person at all. And having been friends for years and years without intending to meet made the conversation almost surreal.
Another friend is relatively new and he is here in College Station. T is one of the most interesting and smartest people I know. Dropping out of high school at 15, lived a few years as a teenager in Italy, played in rock bands and decided at 25 that he wanted to have a graduate degree- so he did an undergraduate degree with double majors of English and History- another one and a half full time job major in terms of reading and now at 33 finishing up his Masters degree. So anyway, he and I have been emailing back and forth regarding how much he cannot stand the small-townness of College Station and what in the world am I doing coming to College Station. Meeting him was like meeting an old friend. Granted it was a first meeting but the comfort level was like we have known each other forever.
So there you have it. The wonders of the internet. I'm sure there are perverts as well but I hope I will not meet any of them in this lifetime.
posted by Joy at 12:07 AM
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