Although I have many friends in the country, I have always wished to cultivate a friend in a foreign country. The other day I was going through a magazine and came across the addresses of many children from the world over who were desirous to make pen friends.
I looked for the name and the country that I liked. I wanted a pen friend in the United States of America as I found the culture of that country very different from ours. At last, I found the address of Mary who lives in San Francisco. She is fifteen-year-old and is the daughter of a doctor.
Her parents love her dearly as she is the only child in the family. She wrote to me as soon as she received my first letter and I was very much touched by her warmth and friendliness. Mary loves America a lot. She had never heard much about India and she always expressed her surprise when she realizes how advanced India had become.
Otherwise, people have a very poor impression of our country. They take it to be a backward and primitive country. I try to give her an objective and unbiased view of my country and her people and she does the same.
The result of this honest sharing has been the growth of a greater understanding between the two of us. I realize that she is a sensitive and loving person. She is extremely lovely too. As she is the only child she writes to me about all her problems and I do the same.
We give each other a lot of support although we live so far from each other Pen friends, apart from being our confidants, help to educate us and broaden our horizons.
