文：夏毅豐 中華民國四健會協會

　　這三個月的美國四健州際青少年春季筆友計畫，對我來說就像一場超級好玩的跨國大冒險！四月初知道自己配對成功的時候，我心裡又期待又有一點點緊張。為了讓美國的筆友對我有好印象，我特別拍了一段30秒的英文自我介紹影片。當我按下傳送鍵、寄出第一封Email的時候，我們跨越太平洋的友誼就正式開始啦！

　　到了五月，我們每週都會跟著好玩的主題越聊越深。在聊到學校的平板和AI課程的時候，我告訴他臺灣學生每天都有考不完的小考、壓力很大，筆友聽了覺得超級不可思議！因為他說美國的考試很少，大部分時間都是讓自己決定要學什麼。這讓我發現，原來美國上課的樣子和我們這麼不一樣。

　　我們還聊到了學校的服裝規定和大家愛用的 Instagram。最有趣的是，我們發現兩邊放學後的活動完全不同！臺灣學生放學後，很喜歡在去補習班以前先跟同學約在手搖飲料店買珍珠奶茶；而美國筆友放學後也有他們自己的好玩活動。後來，官方寄出主題的提示信要我們想像「如果自己是校長會想做什麼？」我大膽地說我想把早自習廢除，讓大家可以多睡一點覺！我們也因為這樣，聊到了長大以後想做什麼工作、大學想讀什麼科系，還有未來的夢想。

　　雖然我們住在地球的兩端，還有極大的時差，但我們發現彼此有好多共同的興趣！我們都超級喜歡動物、愛玩電玩，也都很喜歡看書。雖然有時候英文表達要想一下，但我們常常寫信分享生活中的好笑事情，也互相幫對方加油。

　　雖然這個計畫在六月中結束了，官方不再寄主題給我們，但我們約好以後還要繼續寫信，因為我們已經是好朋友了！這三個月下來，我的英文變得更好了，也認識了美國小學生的生活。這場跨國大冒險，絕對是我今年最棒的回憶！

The three-month 4-H Pen Pal Exchange Program felt like a super fun global adventure to me! When I found out that I had been successfully matched with my American pen pal in early April, I was so excited but also a little bit nervous. To make sure my American pen pal had a great first impression of me, I made a special 30-second English self-introduction video. The moment I hit send on my very first email, our friendship across the Pacific Ocean officially started!

By May, we began to talk about deeper and more interesting things every week using the fun topics provided by the organizers. When we talked about using tablets and AI in class, I told my pen pal that Taiwanese students have endless quizzes every day and face a lot of pressure. My pen pal thought that was completely unbelievable! My pen pal told me that schools in America have very few tests, and students mostly get to decide what they want to learn. This made me realize that classrooms in America are so different from ours.

We also talked about school dress codes and how everyone loves using Instagram. The most fun part was finding out that our after-school activities are totally different! Taiwanese students love to meet up with classmates at bubble tea shops to grab boba before heading to cram school. My American pen pal also shared their own fun after-school routines. Later, one topic asked us to imagine, "What would you do if you were the principal?" I boldly said that I would get rid of the early morning self-study sessions so everyone could sleep in a little longer! Because of this topic, we also talked about what jobs we want to have when we grow up, what we want to study in college, and our future dreams.

Even though we live on opposite sides of the world and have a big time difference, we found out that we share so many common interests! We both absolutely love animals, enjoy playing video games, and really like reading books. Although I sometimes had to think hard about how to express myself in English, we often wrote emails to share funny stories from our lives and cheer each other on.

Although the program ended in mid-June and the organizers stopped sending weekly topics, we promised to keep writing to each other because we are already great friends! Over these three months, my English got much better, and I learned all about the lives of American students. This cross-border adventure is definitely one of my coolest memories of the year!