Before e-mail, we had pen pals

I like Geraldine Brooks, author of Foreign Correspondence. We're a lot alike: about the same age, and we both think Bob Dylan has absolutely no vocal talent. We both enjoyed science when we were younger, purchasing different science books. And (this is the big one) we thought that the original "Star Trek" was the best TV show when it first aired.

We do differ in a few areas: she grew up in Australia and she had pen pals. I have never lived outside of the US. Because of my shyness, I had enough trouble talking to other students without even thinking of writing to total strangers.

Although she never traveled to other countries during her school days, Geraldine knew much more about other countries than I did. She recalls many of the big events that happened in the US with more clarity than I, like President Kennedy's assassination and President Nixon's downfall.

Ironically, she had pen pals from around the world from 1966 to 1979, but did not associate with the immigrants who were moving into her Sidney neighborhood: Italians, Poles, and Lithuanians. However she did make friends with some from Lebanon, and Egypt.

This book will appeal to more than those who are interested in getting to know people from other countries, whether it is through writing letters or using MySpace. Anyone who wants a first-hand account of events in Australia will also enjoy Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey From Down Under to All Over. It's in the biography section on the second floor under call # 070.4332 BRO.

c Waterloo Public Library 2007