Entrevista Pen Pal – Daniel Gaio

Pen pals experience – by Daniel E. Gaio

For the Pen Pals Project, I got to know Patrick Hughes from the USA. Patrick is from a
small city named Gainesville, in the state of Florida, south of the US. He works at a company
that makes medical implants for use in surgery. When someone is older or has a bad accident
and needs to have their knee or hip replaced, they may receive one of our products. His job is to
make sure all the products are tested and will perform as intended.
Patrick has a lot of different interests to keep him busy. For fun, he spends time with his
wife, who is an artist, and their two small dogs. He likes to read and make music, I also love to
read but I have no talent to make music. For exercise, he trains in boxing and kickboxing, on the
other hand, I mainly practice cycling but I also do some running sometimes.
Writing with Patrick was a really fun experience, it made me realize that in any part of
the world despite some different habits we are all people and we all have the same feelings. He
is a really fun, sweet person and I hope we can keep talking and learning about each other’s
different lives in the future!

Reflection Questions

1. What was something that surprised you about your pen pal? Did your pen pal break
any stereotypes about the US for you? Or confirm any stereotypes?

One thing about my pen pal that surprised me was his job. I found this very interesting
and I think he feels proud of his profession. The second thing that surprised me was the fact
that his wife is an actress, I guess he maybe travels with her sometimes.

2. Did talking with someone from another country make you think about your own
country in a different way? How so?

I guess yes in the sense of an approximation of the cultures. I particularly like the US
culture, the cinematographic industry, and the technology industry. But talking with someone of
another country made me realize that this is mutual, there are a lot of people of other countries
that also have an interest in the Brazillian culture as well as other countries.

3. What was your favorite part of the pen pal project for you? Why?

It was a really fun experience and the part of the activity that I most liked is the practice,
the act of being in contact with the language that I am learning and still can watch how foreign
people communicate. I guess this is very useful for example when I go on a trip and have to
speak in English with others.