Long before Instagram and Facebook, Giovanna Mercuri had social networking down pat the old-fashioned, yet timeless, way.
Ms Mercuri paid $1 for a pen-pal service in 1988 and was paired with Cami Huhn, from Michigan, US.
The relationship developed into a “sisterhood”. The uncanny similarities between the two continue to delight and shock the Caroline Springs resident.
“I became a pre-school teacher, she became a pre-school teacher; I then went into primary school teaching, she became a primary school teacher; we both got married the same year; she married an engineer, I married an engineer; and we had children the same year,” Ms Mercuri said.
The “sisters” met each other for the first time last month when Ms Mercuri flew to Michigan, where her pen-pal lives.
“When we went to Cami’s house, she organised a big party and her whole community turned up to meet the pen friends,” Ms Mercuri said.
The pair still write to each other and even though it’s a little old-fashioned, Ms Mercuri says it’s more exciting to receive a letter in the mail than a Facebook notification on her phone.
