Pen pals make connection to China

“What in the world does that say?”

The first half of the letter the girl held up was written in legible, if childish, letters. But the bottom half was covered in Chinese characters drawn in orange crayon.

The letter was one of several that students in Erin Ethington’s third-grade class received recently from pen pals in China.

The correspondence was set up between Ethington, who is in her first year of teaching at Stillwater Christian School, and her sister, Meghan Adney, who teaches 8-, 9- and 10-year-olds in Changzhou, China.

“Her class was learning how to write letters and how to address letters as part of the curriculum she was using,” Ethington said. “She contacted me right after school started and asked, would I be interested in having her class write to my class?”

Adney told Ethington her students didn’t have to write back, but Ethington thought it would be more fun if her students responded to the letters. Her class seemed to agree.

“They were very excited about it,” she said.

The Stillwater students’ first batch of letters from their Chinese pen pals arrived earlier this month. Aside from the bottom part of one letter written in Chinese, the American students were able to read their notes without problem.

Writing back was more challenging for some. Ethington used the interactive whiteboard at the front of the class to demonstrate how her students should start.

“You need to have the holes on what side of the paper?” she asked as wide-ruled sheets of paper were passed around the classroom.

“The left,” the class chanted together.

Most of them had their papers properly aligned on their desks; one little boy turned his paper over so the holes were on the right.

After Ethington demonstrated where to write the date in the upper right-hand corner of the page, Caleb Fetveit raised his hand. “Over there, it’s October!”

Ethington patiently explained that the letters had been written and mailed in October. It takes about two and a half weeks for letters to travel between Changzhou and Kalispell, she said.

Once her students had written the date on their papers and skipped two lines to write the greeting, they got to work answering the questions their pen pals had posed.

“Dear devin,” Sydney McKerrow wrote. “Hello! My name is Sydney. I am nine also. I can swim to, but I also can not fly!”

Caleb’s pen pal, who chose the English name Tom, had opened his letter by describing foods he enjoyed eating. Caleb did the same in his response.

“I like to eat pizza. I like to eat hot dogs to,” he wrote. “I don’t like to eat esgspuregus.”

Some students had questions about whether things they know and love would be familiar to their pen pals.

“Do they have pizza in China?” one asked.

“Yep, they have all kinds of American food in China,” Ethington replied.

One little girl gasped in amazement. “Even ice cream?”

In addition to finding common ground, Ethington urged her class to share information that might be unfamiliar to Chinese students.

“Tell your pen pal something about Montana,” she said. “I don’t think they have deer and bears there.”

“They have panda bears,” Tessa Harmon pointed out.

“And I think they have Panda Express there,” another girl chimed in.

Caleb obligingly described some important Montana icons for Tom.

“Dear are big animals that have four legs. They have horns with spikes on them,” he wrote. “Huckelberries are little yummy round shaped berries that are violet colored.”

Many of Ethington’s students wrapped up their letters by asking questions for their pen pals to answer in their next letters. Caleb had several questions for Tom.

“In China, do you have a ipad? Do you like to ride on a bike? Do you like E.F. [the school the Chinese students attend]? What is it like at school? Please answer.

“Your friend, Caleb.”

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.