Pen Pals for a year

that's a great idea!

ok, you talked me into it, thanks for leaving me know.

This is a great idea =) I love letters and penpaling... on my watchlist for the moment but will definitely join :)

A question.. you have 2 pen pals, but I suppose you send surprises to both penpals? (altough one of them isn't rated?)

Love it,love it,love it!How did you get the idea?Awesome,this would be like back to childhood.

marijke - thanks for the question! You would respond to the person who has you however you wish, with just letters or with surprises if you think you'd like to. It's up to you, but you should respond monthly to the person who has you.

'but you should respond monthly to the person who has you' i'm a little confused now...did you mean to say -...respond monthly to the person you have??

so i have a penpal that i keep in touch with on at least a monthly basis with 'surprises' for holidays and then there is someone who has me as a penpal and i can respond when i want...right?

never been in charge of a 'swap' etc so please take that into account! stickin' my nose where i shouldn't! but wouldn't it be easier to just have 2 people paired together? - i send to ... they send to me...?

I am completely new, but I'm no flake and will be in this for the long haul. I'm always fascinated by other people's lives. International would be great.

I get it. You get assigned a partner, who you write every month. And if they choose they will respond to you...

At that same time, you will receive letters from someone who has you listed as their partner. And you can choose to write them back when you receive their letters...

So in actuality, you get 2 friends! I love it! Im in.

I subscrived the MP comment: never been in charge of a 'swap' etc so please take that into account! stickin' my nose where i shouldn't! but wouldn't it be easier to just have 2 people paired together? - i send to ... they send to me...? Besides, if our pem pal choose no repond to our letters, surprises etc, it is quite sad, you really don´t know if things get there....

not quite sure what 'subscrived' means...

still sort of new to all this 'flakin' stuff - can't see why someone would sign up to be a penpal (or any of the swaps for that reason) and not follow thru but...then i still live in my own little world and sometimes forget that there are just some nasty people out there in that big wide world! - definitely prefer my world!!! but see your point anamaria!

but it is that - i am assigned a penpal who i write to at least once a month and then on special occasions - meanwhile i will also be getting letters from someone who has me whom i can respond to whenever...do i have that right - sometimes this little old brain is a little thick!!

You are only REQUIRED to write to the person you have, and then to send them a small surprise for their birthday and another "holiday". You SHOULD respond to the person who has you so that you can become friends - after all, pen pals respond back and forth to learn more about each other. You will only be rated by the person you send to. So, in essence - you will have two pen pals. You can write more than once a month, but only if you want to! You might not hit it off real well - or you might become best friends. That's the fun of it all! I hope this clears your questions, MP - thanks for helping me clarify! I've never had a swap make it to #2.

Cool idea! Definitely on my watchlist.

I love to write and send gifts and small surprises, so I am definitely here! By the way, my birthday is the 30th of April. MP the correct word is "subscribed" (If you subscribe to an opinion , you have the same opinion....).

Hi there, I only signed up today and haven't figured out how to fully fill out my profile yet. I have sent an email to admin in help in this and have also tried looking at the help section but haven't found anything. Is it possible for me to still join this or would I need to be dropped?

Okay guys, sending you an update - my profile is filled out more. As time goes on I will add more and more to it.

I really like this swap, but I would like to send to and receive from the same person. That's why I want to set up a private swap. I opened a topic about it here. http://www.swap-bot.com/forums/topic/33507 Hopefully I will also find a pen pal for a year soon too :). (Kgeslab, I hope you don't mind me leaving this comment)

I tried to figure out a way to send and receive to/from the same person, but it's not possible. Plus, this way you'll get two new friends. I don't mind the topic.

Well, I just wanted to say that I am very excited about this long-term swap and that my two partners seem great!!

Thank you for this awesome idea!! :o)

are we supposed to hit 'click here when items sent' everytime we send something?

anamaria - thanks - i thought that might be what you meant to type but...then wasn't sure where you are from so...didn't know if it was something colloquial or not

i never had a penpal when i was young so...i'm really looking forward to this!

MP-it is fun to have pen pals. I had one as a child. She passed away about 14 years ago but we had such a bond that her parents and brother and I still stay in contact.

Hopefully you will click with both of your partners and be life long friends.

You do not click items sent until the end of the year , or when you have sent at least 12 letters and 2 surprises. When your partner has fulfilled their requirements, you may click to rate them. It may take a whole year, though!

you should of asked if we can have overseas pals as i cant write anyone overseas .. sorry but remove me from this swap

workingmomw4 - it clearly says "International" in the swap description, the swap coordinator is not required to "ask" you.

oh, I thought we should click Sent when we actually send the first letter and then rate our partner just when we felt like he/she deserves to be rated... I'll put mine unsent then ^^

i sent my letter out to tina today in germany

I was just reading all this and I accidently just clicked sent- because I did not realize we were not supposed to click it until the end of the year- is there a way to fix this- or should I just leave it. I plan on writing all year. :-)

i recieved a letter from jeff

I send it yesterday to Jerrie in Alabama. I love idea about the blog. Happy swapping =o).

I received Marijke's lovely letter yesterday and sent her a reply today.

Ok,kgeslab,but if we click on sent items its no longer on our profile and its so lovely to be there for whole year,dont you think.

I agree with Principeta...it's lovely to have this swap on our profiles for one year, so I prefer not to click on the sent-button... I will tell my partner that I sent something.

This swap is really great and a good reason to start long handwritten letters again :)

I have sent my first letter, and can't wai until I receive a response!

I've just sent my second letter this time its a postcard, I hope that my partner receives it soon and can't wait for a response !!!

I have sent my first letter, well it is not really a letter, but a big surprise, a gift. My penpal birthday is in January, a long time to wait, so I sent something more heavy then a letter...she is a lucky girl, she will receive 3 gifts instead of two :)

hello, i am a newbie, but i write to pen pals, i have 6 pen pals in general already but i am willing and wanting to make more, please add me to your list, i am VERY interested. :-) x

I have just received my first letter !

I haven't received my letter yet from my partner. What should I do? Just continue to wait?

I`m still waiting for my letter.

Today, I received a package full of wonderful fabric squares, as my birthday gift!!! I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think it's very sad that there are flakers on such a wonderful long-time swap. Why do people sign up, if they are not interested?!? grrrrr

Well, I already got a letter from my penpal & I sent one to my partner, who has already answered it :)

well i know we got an email saying we need to rate our partner if we have not recieved anything but i looked and it says she has sent already but i havent recieve shouldnt i wait a couple more days even though it says she sent it on may 11?????

Why is so little members in our groupe?

I have sent to my partner Marjike and I have received from who has me, Michelle O. I guess the only way to keep track is by posting on this thread. I know Marjike received hers, so I don't have to worry about it being lost. Michelle O, I will be responding to you very soon.

Too bad,so lovely idea,but so little replays.

I got nickystratton in this group and based on the letter that i got about only being able to be an email pen pal and the fact that she is now fully suspended, I'm pretty sure I won't be getting anything from her.

ok i still havent recieved anything from my pen pal, help what do i do??????????????????????

Prtieyes...do you want to write to me and I'll write to you? Would that be ok? i"m always looking for new penpals!

It's so disappointing to see there are so many flakers and bad swappers on this swap :s if anyone needs an angel I am here :) my 2 partners are partially suspended :s

Just wanted marijke to know that I got my June letter off to her today...

I finally received letter,my partner had some problems.

OK, i have waited long enough and i am really dissapionted in this, i have recieved anything from anyone, but i have to my partner many times. jackblue jane if you would like email me and we can get things together if you would like to i would love someone to exchange letters and things with!!!!!!!!!

Both of my partners have been banned - either temp or fully. Sigh. If anyone else has been flaked on or needs a partner for the remainder of this swap, I'm more than willing to snail mail with you...

I'm sorry this swap was / is such a mess! I guess I learned my lesson on hosting long-term swaps!

I have sent my partner since the beginning. I have not gotten anything from mine, Michelle O, since the first letter and she was banned after that. I am still not rated by my partner.

kgeslab, but it is was a FANTASTIC swap! The idea of writing a whole year was really good. When everybody would have done what she had to do, this was great... I met a fantastic penpal and I know we will keep on writing after this year and there will be probably others who met a good friend too.. And that's what this swap was for, isn't it? To create several long-term friendships with people who really want to put some effort in this and not only 1 letter and job is done.. For me, this swap was still one of the best!

I just want to say that this swap was a great great mess, I did send several thing to my penpal, including a beautiful book of poetry, and after lots of email I received a reply, and nothing more, absolute silence. No luck with the penpal that should write to me. She sent once , a nice pack, after that she asked me if she could maintain contact by mail , because she had several problems, including health problems and could go to the post office (!), I said yes but the result was the same, absolute silence. I explained this to the coordinator, she said , it was really very sad, but nothing else.... So, I want to leave all this stuff, this swap site, but I can´t, I must wait for the end of this swap. Now, I see there are several people asking for a penpal? why the coordinator didn´t put us in contact. Idon´t want to be rude, but I think that a swap like this is not a good idea at all!

If you've ever set up a swap like this, you'd know what a pain it was, AnaMaria. I hooked up more than 50 people after the fact and set up a group site where others could exchange info. I'm sorry you are not happy, but it's not really my fault there were so many flakers. I guess a year-long swap is not a great idea. Also, you could have messaged one of the people above you who did not receive.

Thank you for doing this swap. I have enjoyed it and truly do hope to keep in touch w/my penpal. I know my first partner flaked, and it is tough on you swapping folks around - so thank you again. Hugs for all that you have done!

I too was disappointed with the response (or lack of) from my partner. I mean the partner I sent it to. I received nothing, although I enquired several times whether she received my letters and cards. I would not do a year-long swap again. However, the person who had me for a partner has continued to be in touch (Marijke). She has been generous with her time and letters and I have enjoyed each one...along with the surprises she has sent. For that, I'm happy. I will continue to write her. She is a sweetie!

I just want to leave this site and I can´t, and I am receiving mails and mails saying:

Hi Ana,

Just wanted to remind you that it is now after the swap deadline and you haven't sent your swap items for Pen Pals for a year. If you are going to be late in sending out your swap items, please let your swap parter know. You can view the details of the swap by clicking the URL below:

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/login/35175

You will continue receiving these emails until you send your items and fulfill your obligation to this swap. Remember to visit Swap-bot at the link above and click on the 'I sent my items' link once your stuff is in the mail.

Thanks, The Swap-bot Team I really don´t understand what is the function of the coordinator here, sorry I don´t want to be rude, but why should be me to find another partner?...

Maybe it's because I changed the date of the swap so you could rate and have it be over. Sometimes swaps don't work out - i've been in several high dollar swaps where I got NOTHING and spent a lot of money on my partner. That's just the way swap-bot works - unfortunately not all swappers are good.