How to Find a Pen Pal Overseas

Finding a new pen pal online is easy and can lead to a lifelong friendship.

An overseas pen pal friendship allows you to learn things about someone from another country. Pen pals used to communicate by postal mail and would keep their letters in a "memory book." Often, pen pals would send "tuck-ins," such as stickers, stamps, or stationary. Pen pals today communicate mainly through email, which is much cheaper and faster than paying and waiting for overseas correspondence

Instructions

1. Research websites that match up potential overseas pen pals. Some websites will have a monthly fee while others are free. Some examples are penpal.net, Student letter exchange, and Penpal World. The average fee is $6 a month.

2. Decide on a penpal service. A free website may have less features or may experience more technical difficulites than one that charges a monthly fee. Some extra features on pay sites are real time profile updates and free online games.

3. Create a pen pal account, which includes setting up a user ID and a password, a forwarding email and payment method.

4. Search for an overseas pen pal. The site will have different types of searches available so you can choose a pen pal based on country, language, gender and age. The Student Letter exchange website has an age limit of 20, while others have no age limit.

5. Begin communicating and enjoy learning about someone new.

Tips & Warnings

• Never give out your personal information to your pen pal contact such as Social Security number or credit card information. If your penpal asks for this information, break off your communication.

• Be sure to check user comments to make sure the website is legitimate to avoid scams.

References

• Penpal.net: Home
• Student Letter Exchange: Home
• Penpal World: Home