Thursday, April 19, 2018

Experiment #13: The Exchange Diary

Experiment #13: The Exchange Diary

For some background information you might need prior to reading this, an exchange diary is not quite a custom in Japan, but is sometimes practiced between two people who are just starting a relationship and want to learn more about one another. They will take turns writing about themselves and asking questions about the other person, and through the diary they can grow closer. I wanted to try to make my correspondence experiment really cute and funny and thought this might be a good chance for that! I'm going to set the characters in a college in New York that doesn't exist. Please enjoy!



Good morning!

This is Ruby. Thanks for being willing to try this! I know it's a little silly, but it means a lot to me that you're so open minded. I read about this once in a manga and I wanted to try it, but never really had the chance. Did I mention I read manga?

So the whole purpose of this journal, diary, thing, is to get to know each other better! So here it goes!

My name is Ruby McIntyre, I'm twenty years old, and my favorite color is purple.

Sometimes I overeat and it's embarrassing, but I'll never stop!

My favorite place in the world is the beach side of California. I went there with my family when I was in middle school and I fell in love with it. The landscape just seemed to... get me? That sounds super lame! I don't know what it was, but I fell in love with the waves and the sun and I would absolutely love to go back, any day, any time.

I have two dogs, one a Cocker Spaniel named Dave and the other a black Labrador named Charley. Charley's actually a girl, and Dave is the smaller, more aggressive boy. He loves eating socks and shoes, but we love him enough to forgive him each time!

I still live at home with my parents and my younger brother, Matt, but I would love to become independent and make my own way in this world! If only we weren't stuck in college!

Speaking of which! Crescent College is offering a really cool class this fall! I wanted to know if maybe you'd be down to take it together. It's "Painting for Absolute Beginners," and my stick figures are repulsive and this would count as an art credit, so it can't be THAT bad! Give it some thought!

I think I've covered a lot of bases, so I'm going to find you... And GIVE YOU THIS JOURNAL!
Hahaha, I'll see you in a bit!

Yours Truly,
Ruby McIntyre




Hi, Ruby, this is Chris Wright.

I don't mind doing this. It seems interesting and I'm always interested in interesting things. I just used that word a lot. But okay! Let's get started!

I've never heard of manga; is it a type of fruit? Does it taste good? Do you have enough to share? I'm kidding. I've read a few, probably not anything you'd like, but I at least know what a manga is.

So you know my name already. Cool. I'm nineteen years old. I know, you're older, but that doesn't really mean anything, you know? It doesn't make you any less cool, and it doesn't make me any less awesome, so I think it's fine!

My favorite color is red. I played soccer as a kid and my team's colors were red and darker red, so I've always associated the color red with empowerment and feeling good and even winning at times.

I think when a girl eats a lot, she isn't nervous to be around other people and she's confident enough in herself to not be afraid of judgement, regardless of if there is any. And it's also kind of cute, so don't worry about grossing me out or whatever you're thinking you're doing.

I've never been to California, but I'm not originally from New York, I'm from Virginia. Cultures in Virginia are a lot more... racist? Yeah, racist, more racist than anyone here in New York usually is. But then again, there are just so many more people here. It's a business state, after all.

My favorite place in the world would have to be Lake Superior in Michigan. I went there with my family several years back and we started making a trip out of it every year since then. I'll never get tired of that view. The clouds hang over the mountains and the water is so clean and crisp and cold. It's simply incredible. Maybe one day I can show you.

I don't have any dogs. I wish I did. I have a bird named Micky who sings oldies songs at 3 A.M. and doesn't do much else, and I have a fat old cat named Norris. He's really ft and really orange and he eats everything that lands on the floor. He's actually so fat we've had to put him on a diet! It's not working.

I live with my parents and my two older brothers, Jack and Michael. I would love to be independent, but I'm definitely not ready for that. I wouldn't survive if I went out on my own. I'd en up cooking toothpaste or something, I'm so clumsy.

That class sounds like it would be right up your alley! I think I still need an art credit, so I'm down to take it, provided you help me with any homework we get. Study dates sound fun!

It's your turn now, so I'll give this to you whenever I see you next. And Ruby, this was a great idea. Already, I feel like we've learned some fun things about each other, and I'm excited to see where this goes from here.

Also Yours Truly,
Chris Wright

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