Hi! I'm Joel, I am a Canadian, living in Dunkerque, France until April 2010! =) I am not French, nor is my French that good right now. Hopefully by the time I am finished, it will be much better! We can write in French though, it would help! Anyway, I love having penpals, so feel free to write here!

Here are some things that I like:
Writing, reading, going to the beach, playing hockey, being with friends/fami​ly, talking, learning languages, and watching my Vancouver Canucks (My hockey team!)

Here are some things I don't like:
Failure, people who are womanizers, having writer's block, heights, and not having money to travel. =P

If you are Italian, please read this:
Ciao! Mi chiamo Joel e sono studente canadese e sto studiando italiano. L'italiano è la mia lingua preferita nel modo perché è così bella. =) Gli italiani, secondo me, sono la gente piu' bella nel modo e non dico questo per i loro aspetti, ma le loro personalità.​ =) Posso scrivere lunghi messaggi in italiano con te, perché ho parlato l'italiano per due anni. Anche parlo il francese, il russo e, certamente, l'inglese! =P Sono un scrittore e mi piace viaggiare. Sono in Europa ora e voglio veramente vedere l'Italia! Allora se tu pensi che tu vorresti incontrare un ragazzo canadese quest'anno  e mostri la tua città a me, scrivimi! =D Spero di sentirti presto!


If you are French, please read this:
Salut! Je m'appelle Joel, je viens du Canada! Il y a un an que j'apprends la langue française! J'adore les français e j'aime bien habiter en France! =) Je peux écrire assez bien en français, mais c'est plus difficile parler et entendre en français pour moi. Je parle aussi l'italien, l'anglais, et un peu de la russe! Je suis écrivain et j'aime voyager! Je voudrais voir plus de la France, alors si tu voudrais me montrer ta ville, je serai très content de la voir! =) Alors, j'espere avoir tes nouvelles bientôt! =)

I'm looking for penpals predominantl​y from Europe (if you're from Italy, France, or Russia, then you get bonus points!!). Penpals from the rest of Europe would be appreciated also though, whether you're from Eastern Europe, Western Europe or the North or the South! =D

As a part of being penpals with whomever I met on here, I would like to meet you eventually! I've been living in Dunkerque, France, since September 2009 as an English Language Teaching Assistant within a French high school. During the job, I have holidays, so it would be nice to visit parts of Europe with friends! =D

I don't see myself traveling to Africa or Asia in the near future, so it's probably best if I pass on requests from these regions. I have nothing against people from either continent. It's just that I only have a certain amount of time that I can dedicate to penpals, as I am often very busy with school and work. I do, however, make time for any penpals that I have! =)

Just as a note: Not on here for any relationship​s/love/sex. Nor do I have any money that I can send to you. I can barely afford my university tuition. =(

As a final note: I would really appreciate it if you wrote more than just "hi,"​ "hi, how're you?" or "how're​ you?" on my profile wall or in a message to me. I find these messages just make it very difficult to start a meaningful penpal friendship. I need something to respond to beyond, "I'm good."

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Please do NOT write me by simply saying "Nice to meet you" + one of the above non-introduc​tions. If you have been on this site long enough, you'll know why this is frustrating.​ If you write "nice to meet you," it is not technically correct as we haven't met yet. =P

I look forward to hearing from you all! =)

Writing, reading, going to the beach, playing hockey, being with friends/fami​ly, talking, learning languages (le français, l'italiano, etc.), and watching my Vancouver Canucks (My hockey team!)

Just going to do top 8 favourite albums (in no particular order):
Continuum - John Mayer
(What's the Story) Morning Glory - Oasis
The Joshua Tree - U2
Hot Fuss - The Killers
No Name Face - Lifehouse
"Satellite"​ - P.O.D.
A Rush Of Blood To The Head - Coldplay
How To Save A Life - The Fray

La vita é bella (Life is Beautiful), Lord of the Rings Trilogy, La tigre e la neve (The Tiger and the Snow), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Signs, Passion of the Christ, The Godfather, Cool Runnings, Casino Royale, The Departed.

Hockey Night In Canada, What Not To Wear, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Bible, Mere Christianity​​ (C.S. Lewis), The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien), The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis), Pilgrim's Regress (C.S. Lewis).

"Greate​r love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."​ -John 15:13 (NIV)

"Few think, most react."​ - Anonymous.

"Truth,​ of course, must of necessity be stranger than fiction, for we have made fiction to suit ourselves"​ - G. K. Chesterton

"Body Piercing Saved My Life" - Anonymous (No, I don't have any piercings. =P)

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” - G. K. Chesterton

"The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails."​ -William Arthur Ward

"First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller (1946)

"Nothin​g inflames love so much as the encouraging remarks of an outsider. Love is blind, and distrustful of itself, eagerly grasping for any support."​ - Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin ("The Blackamoor of Peter The Great")​

"If she dies, they can close this whole show of a world, they can cart it off, unscrew the stars, roll up the sky and put it on a truck, they can turn off this sunlight I love so much. You know why I love it so much? Because I love her when the sun shines on her. They can take everything away, these carpets, columns, houses, sand, wind, frogs, ripe watermelons,​ hail, seven in the evening, May, June, July, basil, bees, the sea, courgettes..​.Courgettes,​ Al-Giumeili!"​ - Attilio de Giovanni (La Tigre e la Neve)

"I kind of didn't tell the whole story. There is something really frustrating to me about people saying, 'no, no, we got it.' And when you go, 'no, no, no, there's another part of the story.' 'No, no, we got it. It's good, it's good.' You know, I'm only really happy if people are still feeling like they haven't seen the whole reveal."​ - John Mayer