Mrs. Sherman's Class Pen Pal
Mr. Michael O'Donnell
10/05
Dear Mrs. Sherman and Her Third Grade Class,
I am thrilled to be your pen pal from the United Kingdom, and am excited to tell you all about Great Britain, and look forward to hear more about you and the United States.
My name is Michael O’Donnell. My home is in a town called Sutton, near London. Similar to you, I come from a suburb or a big city. However I currently do not live in the United Kingdom, as I am presently at college at the University of Massachusetts. I am 19 years old, and my birthday falls on the 30th July. This day is special as it is the same as my grandmothers! I have a mother, father, sister and a dog called Melissa, Michael, Hannah and Hamish respectively. My sister is younger than me, aged 17, and is in her final year of high school. My dog is a West Highland White Terrier, which is a dog native to my country.
I’m in the United States because I’m on a university exchange year. My home university is Lancaster University in the north of England. I wanted to come to the United States to study American History, because I have studied European History for a long time and wanted to try something new, and travel to a new place. So far I have had a great time, and met some lovely people.
Many people in the class asked me questions, so I’m going to do my best to answer them. If you don’t understand hopefully when I meet you guys I can explain in more detail. My favorite food is curry. That may sound a bit weird, but in England it is a very popular dish and most people eat it often. My favorite color is red. My favorite sport is soccer, but in England we call it football. I support Arsenal who are one of the best teams in the world, and their stadium is really close to my house in London. I also like rowing. This is a sport where you are in a boat and use oars to move it. I row for my university in England, and the University of Massachusetts. In my free time I like to hang out with my friends and go to the movies and the mall, probably similar to you. Many people like to ask about the royal family of England. The Queen is the head of England, similar to the President, and her name is Elizabeth. She is quite old, and her son Charles will be King when she dies. Some of you may have heard stories that her guards don’t even move when you go near them, which is true. However you don’t want to make them mad as they do have guns! I have been to New York several times, and outside of London it is my favorite city in the world. I hope that answered most of your questions, and please think of some more to ask, so when I visit you can quiz me!
Thank you also so much for writing your beautiful letters, they really were a pleasure to read, and it was hard to believe that it came from a third grade class. Please keep writing to me, and I look forward to meeting you. I enclose some fruit gums from England. These are my personal favorites, and I really hope you like them!!
From,
Michael
12/05
Dear Mrs. Sherman and Her Third Grade Class,
It was lovely to receive your second set of letters, which were all fantastic and enjoyable to read. It is so hard for me to believe how old you are, when you all write so well!! I hope you all had a great holiday, and are enjoying being back at school. I don’t go back to the University of Massachusetts (UMass) until the 29th of January. At college you get really long holidays. At UMass I study American History and politics. Because I have a lot of classes I don’t just have one teacher, I have several. But they don’t sound as nice as Mrs. Sherman. It’s so cold over here, compared to England! In England it is wet and windy, but never freezing. The cold is only bad in England because of the high winds and rain. We don’t really get snow in England either. Occasionally we get an inch, but that happens once a year and lasts for a day. I shoveled snow for the first time two days ago, a great experience, something you may find strange, but I would never have done that if I had been in England.
Like you, I celebrate lots of holidays. The main ones like Christmas, Chanukah and New Year are the same in the USA and England. However we do have some differences in holidays. The USA are the only people to celebrate Thanksgiving, because it is an American holiday, as are other days like Presidents Day’s, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and so on. I celebrated my first Thanksgiving this year, which was really exciting. I went to a friend’s house, and had thanksgiving with their family. It was strange, because a lot of the food I had never tried before. But it was a great experience and I really enjoyed it. I celebrate Christmas, and this year I was able to fly home for Christmas with my family in England. It was great to see them all again, and we all got lots of nice presents and had a great dinner together. My Grandparents joined us for Christmas Day, which was so nice because I hadn’t seen them in a really long time. Did all of you have a good holiday? And did you have family round?
Now, I will try to answer some of your questions!! I am 6 foot 2 inches tall, weigh 185 pounds and I have blue eyes. My favorite place to go on holiday is a city. I don’t really have a favorite city, I just like to travel and see new places. Although I do love to relax on a beach, so a holiday by the sea is great too. England is a small island country, about the size of the state of New York, located just above France, with the Atlantic Ocean to the West, the English Channel to the South, and the Baltic Sea to the East and North. It is wet a lot and has been likened to the climate of Seattle. My favorite season is summer. This is because my birthday falls in this period, school is out so I’m having fun with my friends, and I get to go on vacation. And finally, curry. Well curry is a food which includes a lot of different dishes. On the whole, curry is made with chicken, lamb, beef or vegetables in a thick and creamy spicy sauce. My favorite is chicken curry. I hope you understand curry a little better now. I look forward to receiving you next set of letters, and really hope I get to meet you soon!!
From,
Michael
P.S. I’m
glad you like the Percy Pigs. Maybe I’ll be able to bring some more
with me when I come to visit!!
2/06
Dear Mrs. Sherman and Her Class,
Thank you all so very much for your letters for Valentine’s Day. They were all really great and I really appreciate all of your efforts. Each one of your pictures and letters was really special, and it was wonderful of you to think of me for Valentine’s Day.
My trip to Las Vegas was amazing, and I had so much fun. I went up the Eiffel Tower, and went on a gondola ride. It was so much fun, and I wish you all could have been there to enjoy the trip with me. In England we do have Valentine’s Day, and people send loved ones flowers, cards and candy, just like in America. However, I have never received so many cards in my life, so for that I thank you, and you made me feel really special. I will forever remember you as my Jericho Valentines!! For Valentine’s Day, I am going out to dinner with my Massachusetts Valentine and I will be getting her some roses and candy. But I will be thinking of all of you guys during the day, since those letters have made my day really special.
Thank you all so very much and I look forward to hearing from you soon!!!
From,
Michael