Your Internet Neighbor: Email Penpals Wanted
Hello, world! A Gen-Z Chinese girl, typing this from my university dorm. I'm hoping to find a pen pal right here. Emails only.
You can call me Yu. Being online pals means I'm open to connecting with people from anywhere in the world, of any age. Of course, if you're learning Chinese or have an interest in Chinese culture, I'd be happy to offer some informal help.
Regardless of whether we share the same interests, I would genuinely love to receive an email from you. Precisely since we're strangers in real life, please think of this as a safe space to share anything, your daily life, your mood, your thoughts, or whatever crosses your mind. You're welcome to send me long, deep letters or just casual, everyday updates.
You're totally in charge of how often we write. As for me, I'll probably only be able to reply once a day at most — you know, with the time zones and life getting in the way!
My Self-assigned Labels
A gentle peace-lover. An introverted bystanders. A social-awkward weirdo. A somewhat anachronism.
Not completely true, actually. But they save me from having to explain certain things—why I know so little about pop culture and internet slang, why I'm not on many social platforms, why my circle of friends is small, and so on.
Feel free to imagine me, blissfully content inside my personally-curated information cocoon.
My hobbies
Calling them 'hobbies' might be a stretch, because I'm not even sure I like them that much. It's more accurate to say they simply consume most of my time.
Reading:
1. A completely interest-driven and eclectic omnivore. I read almost every genre. Novels are my favorite, though I recently plan to read more poetry.
2. Favorites: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Hans Christian Andersen, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gabriel García Márquez, and Jorge Luis Borges.
3. 63 books read so far this year. I'm currently reading The Brothers Karamazov and the poems of Paul Celan. As for A Storm of Swords (ASoIAF #3)… it has been on hold for quite a while.
Movies & Shows:
1. I'm more of a movie person. Some of my favorites include Fight Club, The Social Network, A Beautiful Mind, La La Land, The Addams Family, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
2. I don't watch as many TV series. Both Criminal Minds and 2 Broke Girls to be brilliant, though I've only seen the first four seasons of the former.
3. So far this year, I've watched 152 movies and 18 TV series. Right now, I'm into The Newsroom and Stranger Things S4. Person of Interest is next on my list.
Music:
1. I spend a frankly ridiculous amount of time listening to music. My most-played genre is Vocaloid, and I'm a big fan of creators like john and Inaba Kurouzu. According to my music platform, my preferred genres are: ACG, Pop, Rock, and Alternative/Indie.
2. I rarely go out of my way to discover new songs or artists. So, my playlists are basically curated by the platforms' algorithms.
3. Here's what's on a loop lately: "Lost Stars" by Adam Levine, "The Walk" by Siren Records-MSR, and "ヒガン" by john.
Anime:
The anime I've watched is almost exclusively Japanese. However, I haven't watched much in the past year, so I won't say much more.
( Just because I say I like something doesn't mean I'm an expert or a superfan—far from it. I know some people dive deep into their passions, hunting down every detail and becoming true connoisseurs; that’s not me. I don't think there's anything I know particularly well or like very much, as I'm too lazy and find it difficult to become deeply invested in things. However, I absolutely welcome others to recommend or share the things they love with me. )
It's important to note that while I describe my temperament as mild, this does not mean I hold ambiguous views on everything. I am reluctant to voice my opinions lightly, but I am by no means afraid to express them. In other words, I prefer to communicate my viewpoints , rather than persuading or pressuring others into adopting it.
A heads-up: it might be due to my own character flaws or lack of social finesse, I've been called "cold," "aloof," "impersonal," or something, and have a tendency to be blunt. Just so you know.
If you're interested and think we might get along, please don't hesitate or be shy! Just tell me a via a comment or tumblr DM first. I will then provide you with my email address ( for safety reasons ).
