A new year, a new beginning, new friends. That was what I was told when I began my first year in college. High school had been such a trainwreck socially, so I was really excited to see what kinds of people I would get to meet. Oakland University is such a diverse populous of people, differentiating between sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, and race. I have always been interested in learning about other languages and cultures but I never considered taking my search online for friends to talk to. I have always been weary about social networking sites with the weirdos who download an app for sexual pleasures and not even for what the app is actually about. I made an account for Pen Pal World, which I heard from a close friend, and began looking for other young adults my age, interested in about the same things I am. That's where I found Marton.

Marton is from Hungary, which is a wonderful six-hour time difference. I've had to learn certain times of the day I can talk to him because before you know it, it's mid-day in America, he's going to bed. We always find time to talk during the day, or even real late at night to talk about our day. My favorite part about talking to my pen pal, is discovering not the things you have in common, but all the differences. Learning more about different things is more interesting to me than the things I already know. The educational system is much different in his home country, where I'm paying ten grand a semester.

The phone calls are the best. Foreign accents are so amazing. Although it can be somewhat difficult to understand each other sometimes, It's fun for me and good practice for him perfecting his English. It's truly amazing how many forms of communication you can use today. We text, and write letters, snap chat, and phone call. Having a friend in your life that you can learn and talk to with every day are the best.

szretlek Marci!