* St. Mark’s Girls Sr. Sec. School New Delhi, India 2009-2010 *Kamakura Prefectory School

1. Hahira Middle School *St. Mark’s Girls Sr. Sec. School New Delhi, India 2009-2010 *Kamakura Prefectory School Kamakura, Japan 2009-2010 *Dong-Un Elementary School South Korea 2010-2011 *IstitutoContuberniod'Albertis Genoa, Italy 2010-2011 Guilia P. Italy Guilia L. - Italy. Antonella – Epal Partner

2. Seoul New Delhi Epals Locations- Mrs. Burk

3. Genoa Epals Locations- Mrs. Brooks Kamakura

4. Tip #1 Be patient! Start looking for a match 3-6 months before you are ready to start.

5. 1st Letters • In the meantime, here is some information about myself. My name is Miki Mochizuki. Please call me Miki. I am a second year student at Kamakura High School. My hobbies are playing badminton and basketball. I practice playing badminton everyday after school. Do you play any sports? One of my favorite foods is sushi. Have you ever eaten that? It's very delicious. Do you know anything about Kamakura that is very famous and important place in Japan. You can see the Buddha statue in Kamakura and more. I visited your city's website, and I thought your city, Valdosta is very interesting city. There is theme park in your city,isn't there? I'm really interested at that. Plese let me know about that and other famous places. Thank you very much. I am looking forward getting in touch with my new e-pal partner. Regards, Miki Mochizuki

6. Tip #2 Make sure your school calendar works with your epal’s schedule. Things to consider: *School holidays *Exams *Summer holidays (Ex. northern/southern hemispheres)

7. Hey, I haven't heard from you in a while. Maybe something happened and my last message didn’t send. I'm thirteen, and I live in Georgia. I am in the seventh grade at Hahira Middle School. I'm waiting to hear from you

8. Hi, I am sorry that I could not write to you for so many days.Actually I have concentrated on my exams which is to begin shortly and end in the mid week of March.What are your schedules. I will contact you after exams. Pallavi Bose

9. Tip #3 Make the first emails light and fun… content can come later! *likes/dislikes *sports *hobbies *holidays 2010 Epals in Kamakura

10. A letter from Hahira to St. Mark’s Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:08:43 +0000 > >From: "Cody H" <viking6@epals.com> > >To: "Rupanshi" <smgsrupanshi@epals.com> > >Subject: Re: Hey!!!!!!! > > >>I was born in Ruston, Louisiana. That’s where I got my name from. We moved to Georgia in 1997. I am 13 years old and loving it. My family is great. Both of my parents work at Wal Mart. We have plenty, but we are not rich. My brother is cool. He is 15 and is turning 16 on November 22, 2009. America is great, we are free to do what we want to do, but there are limits here called laws. I would like to know more about your family, your country, and your culture. Please write back!!!!

12. Response from St. Mark’s Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:10:42 +0000 From: "Rupanshi" <smgsrupanshi@epals.com> To: "Cody H" <viking6@epals.com> Subject: Re: Hey!!!!!!! >how are you cody? > >nice to see you again. we met after so many days, no! > >yes, i would surely like to tell you about me and my family. > > >i was born in Delhi,india.my parents first named me rupanshi only, but later my father changed it to ruchi and again in eighth standard i forced him to change my name back to rupanshi.my father is working and my mother is a housewife.i have my grandmom also and i really love her a lot.i call her dadiji in hindi.we are also not too rich but we enjoy a lot. from my side do wish your brother a very happy birthday.you will surely laugh when you will know me. i am a stupid girl. i am too sensitive. but mind you, i am an all rounder.

13. i love my country and proud to be an Indian. my country is great. you will find variety of cultures here. > >i am a hindu and a typical Brahmin. we are not allowed to eat non - veg, not even onion and garlic but i eat onion, however avoid it as far as possible. > > >i would SURELY like to learn spanish from you. it will be my pleasure. > >and if you wamt, i will feel great to teach you hindi and sanskrit.  

14. Postcards from India

15. Letters from India

17. Tip #4 Be flexible… if your classroom match has another project in mind, work together to adjust it to meet both your needs.

18. Tip #5 Learn taboos about your epal’s culture in advance… Gift- Giving is Customary in Japan

19. My name is NatsumiHirano.Please call me Natsu.I am a second year student at Kamakura High School. My hobby is to swim. I swim five times a week.I do my best every day. My favorite singer is Exile.They are Japanese singer and dancer groups.I went to the live concert of Exile for a summer vacation.It was excited very much. My favorite food is fermented soybeans.Can you eat fermented soybeans? What are your favorite Japanese foods? Kamakura where there is my school is the place that is very important in the Japanese history.I am proud that I can go to the kamakura every day very much.What kind of place is your school? Tank you very much.I am looking forward to getting in touch with my new e-pal partner. Regards, Natsumi Hirano Letters from Japan

20. We learned… • Avoid giving four items mentioning the number four (four is the same word as death in Japanese) • Do not address a a Japanese person by his first name until given permission to do so. • Be punctual! • Japanese cuisine is VERY different! Sushi is served raw… really raw!

21. Have fun and learn as you go! Planning is the key to a successful collaboration, but be open for the unexpected.