Old Letters From Abroad

2006-05-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

From Paul Grewal in London, England

Dear Hwang Gyu Min, Mi-Ji Kim, Bea Tea Hyun, Soon-Ched Kwon, Kim Hyun Dong, Jung Eun Sun, and Kim Hee-Kyung;

My name is Mr Grewal and I am a teacher in England. Thank you for all your wonderful letters! All of them made me smile. I have learned so much about Korea just by reading all the different things that you wrote. Now I’m very excited to try kimchi, since I have never eaten it before.

My class in London, England is too small to write letters. They are just five years old and still learning how to write. I can tell you that all of them like football and cricket. I think cricket is a strange sport, since I like baseball much better. In England, we eat lots of cheese and eggs and sausages. The national dish is called “fish and chips” which is deep-fried fish and potatoes and peas on a plate.

If you ever come to visit England, there are many famous things for you to see. In London, you could see Big Ben, which is a bell in a big building with a clock on top. You could also visit the London Dungeons, which has a bloody history. Near the Dungeons is the Tower of London, which holds the Queen’s Crown Jewels. The men who guard the Tower are called Beefeaters. All of these things are in London, along the River Thames. Outside London, you could visit Stonehenge, which is a mysterious monument of very large rocks. If you like ships, the best place to see all different kinds is Portsmouth.

Those are just some of the things you could see if you visit England. There are many more, I assure you! Korea sounds like it would be a very cool place to visit from your letters. Thank you again for sending them all to me!

Your friend,

Mr Grewal

From Jen in Ottawa, Canada

This letter is for my new pen pals, Kim Hee-Kyung, Jung Eun Sun, Kim Hyung Dong, Soon-Ched Kwon, Bea Tea Hyun, Hwan Gyu Min, Mi-Ji Kim, and anyone else who would like a pen pal.

My name is Jennifer Latimer, some poeple call me Monke', i am 24 years old.
I read all your letters and found each one very interesting, I love getting mail. ill tell you a little about Canada, I dont know everything but i can tell you little bits. I live in a small town called Stittsville. which is just outside of Ottawa, there are not to many people here, I think Korea has more. There are lots of forrests and places to camp and swim. we too celebrate holidays, like Canada day, News years, and Easter. Easter is fun cause you get to go on Easter Egg hunts and find all the hidden chocolates. i love chocolate! In my next letter ill tell you a little more.

I wanted to ask you guys something, from each letter. ......

Soon-Chad Kwan, laws of nature are really interesting, how come YOU like them so much?
Bea Tea Hyun, I dont think i like snakes very much, but which one is your favourite?
Mi-Ji Kim, I've been looking for a really pretty flower, what does the Mu-Gong-Hwan flower look like?
Hwan Gyu Min, I like playing games with my neice, what is Unori?
Kim Hee-Kyung, Dancing is really fun, do you do know how to do the Fan Dance?
Jung Eun Sun, kimchi is too spicy for me, but how come you dont like cats?
Kim Hyun Dong, I love crap fish, whats you favourite fish to eat?

well, thats all for now, i hope to hear from you guys soon.
your pen pal
Jennifer

From Robin in Hermosa, Costa Rica

Hello Arnica, Christina, Julie, Eric, Fred, Kevin, and Harry!
It is great to read your letters and learn a little about your lives and country.
My name is Robin and I live in Costa Rica, Central America. This is a very small country, but it is very diverse. There are active volcanoes, gorgeous sandy beaches, and tropical forests. Costa Rica is on two coasts, the Pacific, and the Caribbean Ocean. There are monkeys in the trees, iguanas on land, and large turtles in the ocean. Typical food here includes Gallo Pinto (rice and beans) which is served with almost every meal. Locally farmers grow melons, pineapples, coconuts, bananas and mangos. In the capital city of San Jose there are many business people, but on the coast where I live many people are fishermen, or farmers. Soccer is a very popular sport here and is called 'futbol' in Spanish, which is the local language. Maybe the 'Red Devils' and Costa Rica should compete sometime! Most of the local people enjoy dancing and listening to salsa music. Generally it is very, very hot and sunny here this time of year, then between the months of June to November it will rain. 'Pura Vida' is a term used in almost every situation. It translates to 'Pure Life' and is used to say hello, good-bye, or an answer to the question 'how are you'. Two weeks ago was a national holiday called Semana Santa (holy week). Everyone was off work for ten days and came to the beach to celebrate. There were many parties to attend!
I look forward to hearing from you all again and learning more about Korea. You all seem to do very well with the English language and have wonderful ambitions for the future, congratulations! I am unfamiliar with your country and would love to learn more! I think I would like to try kimchi, I like spicy food!
Pura Vida, Robin

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