Mum found me in the kitchen and waved a brochure in my face. “Do you want to write to kids overseas?” she asked.
She’d heard about the pen pal agency International Pen Friends and believed it would broaden my horizons, having had pen pals herself growing up.
Aged 13, living in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, I was curious about life beyond my quiet suburban bubble. “Sure,” I shrugged. Before long, letters started arriving from all over the world – Guyana, Kenya, Germany, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, America, even Tanzania.
But one name stood out – Rajesh, an Indian boy living in Kenya, two years older than me.
Rajesh’s letter was neatly written, curious and warm.
He asked about my school, hobbies, and family, and told me about his: his older sister Jayshree, brother…
