When you have a best friend in another country, your only way of communication is through letters, and he is only alive because of you and your family, you would be changed drastically. This is what happened to Caitlin Alifirenka in I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda when she had a penpal living in Zimbabwe that changed her life. Caitlin Alifirenka, the main character of I Will Always Write Back changes drastically throughout the story because of, Martin’s intelligence and determination, how he is living off of her and her family, and through the country that he lives in. First Caitlin is changed because of Martin’s intelligence and determination, to get in school and to be the best. Martin Ganda is the other
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The school year in Zimbabwe starts in January when every student takes a placement test. The kids with the highest scores are put in Group One.” (Page 14). There were only ten letters that were sent to Martin’s class and there were fifty children, that meant that Martin’s smartness was the reason that he and Caitlin met in the first place and why they changed each other’s life. Through the first letter, Caitlin realized something that she had never known she learned about a new country and already her eyes were open to something else. Secondly, when Martin’s family was so poor that he had to drop out of school, and Caitlin sent money that was able to put him back in school, he had been working carrying luggage for people instead of working and he was barely making any money for himself. So when Caitlin sent her own money that put him back in school (Page 111-113). Caitlin had never really thought about others and donating money before Martin, she was a girl that liked to go to the mall and shop on the weekends, now …show more content…
I appreciate all the work my mom was doing, but we still had not heard from Martin, or figured out how to send the funds securely.” (Page 156). A holiday is a time where you can easily be happy because there is so much good stuff going around. But Caitlin was so concerned about Martin and how he was doing that she had a different attitude towards her favorite holiday. It caused Caitlin to open her eyes to the problems that were bigger than her own. Secondly, Martin’s situation made Caitlin less involved in drama and less tolerant towards it as well, “I wanted to scream, Actually, I would have avoided you if I had noticed because I cannot deal with you or any of your totally made-up problems anymore.” Martin’s problems made up a bigger more serious part of the world, and once Caitlin was exposed to that she couldn’t stand her friend's drama and complaints about things that were not that important. Especially when Caitlin had a best friend that was barely surviving. And lastly Martin changed Caitlin’s look on people even her boyfriend, “Seriously? I asked, You know how hard my mom and I are working to find Martin a scholarship. You know how upset I am at the thought that he may not be able to come to the United States to study and fulfill his dreams.” (Page
The school year in Zimbabwe starts in January when every student takes a placement test. The kids with the highest scores are put in Group One.” (Page 14). There were only ten letters that were sent to Martin’s class and there were fifty children, that meant that Martin’s smartness was the reason that he and Caitlin met in the first place and why they changed each other’s life. Through the first letter, Caitlin realized something that she had never known she learned about a new country and already her eyes were open to something else. Secondly, when Martin’s family was so poor that he had to drop out of school, and Caitlin sent money that was able to put him back in school, he had been working carrying luggage for people instead of working and he was barely making any money for himself. So when Caitlin sent her own money that put him back in school (Page 111-113). Caitlin had never really thought about others and donating money before Martin, she was a girl that liked to go to the mall and shop on the weekends, now …show more content…
I appreciate all the work my mom was doing, but we still had not heard from Martin, or figured out how to send the funds securely.” (Page 156). A holiday is a time where you can easily be happy because there is so much good stuff going around. But Caitlin was so concerned about Martin and how he was doing that she had a different attitude towards her favorite holiday. It caused Caitlin to open her eyes to the problems that were bigger than her own. Secondly, Martin’s situation made Caitlin less involved in drama and less tolerant towards it as well, “I wanted to scream, Actually, I would have avoided you if I had noticed because I cannot deal with you or any of your totally made-up problems anymore.” Martin’s problems made up a bigger more serious part of the world, and once Caitlin was exposed to that she couldn’t stand her friend's drama and complaints about things that were not that important. Especially when Caitlin had a best friend that was barely surviving. And lastly Martin changed Caitlin’s look on people even her boyfriend, “Seriously? I asked, You know how hard my mom and I are working to find Martin a scholarship. You know how upset I am at the thought that he may not be able to come to the United States to study and fulfill his dreams.” (Page