Recently, Her Campus at Ashoka University took a step out of the Sonepat bubble and jumped right into Clemson University’s chapter set in South Carolina. The members of HC Ashoka were each paired with a member from Clemson University’s team for an interactive Pen-Pal experience. Without any moderation, we were encouraged to freely talk, learn about each other and ultimately, make a friend across the globe. There were no set targets or requirements for the entire experience except for the curiosity to know our PenPal!
Most of us at Ashoka felt that this was an enriching experience where we engaged in informal conversations, talked about random topics and got to know our pen pal closely. One of the Ashokan students, Anupriya Kukreja, had already visited Clemson University a while back and so she definitely could relate more with her pal. She said, “It was good. I’d already visited my pal’s college Clemson before, so that helped. We talked about hobbies, stress busters, the drinking age in our regions, academics etc.”
Most of the pairs talked about topics like social issues, adjusting to college life, TV shows and the common problems they face in day-to-day life. Jessica Bush, a Clemson freshman said “I enjoyed learning about someone from across the world. We had a lot in common from our initial shy personalities to how we were coping with the first year at school. I didn’t get to communicate with my pen pal as often as I would have liked to because of differing schedules and time zones. The communication was definitely a little awkward for me. When I meet new people I am already an awkward person, so talking to someone I have never met who is also kind of shy made it a little difficult to start the conversation sometimes. However, overall, I really enjoyed the experience and would love to do it again.”
A student at Ashoka, Manika Mandhaani, had the following to say, “I loved the experience! My pen pal is extremely sweet and I think I really connected with her. It was nice to share things with a person who’s living in a very different environment and observe the differences and similarities. We talked about everything from tv shows to stereotypes! We are going to continue being in touch even after the official initiative ends.” One of the pals, Anshul Rai Sharma, said that his interaction actually added a positive aspect to his routine! “I summarize my day to my pen pal, as a result, I plan my day better now. Ha!”
But of course, most of us felt that the time difference was a barrier to our free communication. But, Sabah Merchant thinks otherwise, “Yes, it definitely helped out with patience and understanding. If I sent an email, my pen-pal wouldn’t necessarily reply back instantly due to the timezone, and so waiting for the reply was half the fun.” So well, maybe the difference wasn’t bad for everyone! Nevertheless, it was a delightful experience for each one of us, to interact with someone residing in the other part of the globe, whom we could relate to.