I Will Always Write Back: Part 1
In 1997, an American girl and a Zimbabwean boy became pen pals, ultimately developing a friendship that would change both of their lives. In this memoir, they tell their story.
Here are links to our lists for the memoir: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Parts 4–5, Part 6–Epilogue
15 words
1073 learners
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Full list of words from this list:
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entail
impose, involve, or imply as a necessary resultThere Kava and Romeo, our two giant schnauzers, would always be waiting for me, doing their welcome dance, which entailed wagging their whole bodies and jumping up and down at the same time.
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colonialism
exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one“Countries in Africa change all the time,” she said in a matter-of-fact way. She mentioned colonialism, a vaguely familiar word.
“What does that mean again?” I asked.
“It’s when powerful countries take over other countries and call them their territories,” she explained. -
ululate
emit long loud criesI turned to see my mother jumping up and down, like a rabbit, ululating, which is how we celebrate.
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inflation
a general and progressive increase in pricesMy dad used the word “inflation” to explain why we no longer ate bread, which rose in price overnight from two to five dollars.
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exasperated
greatly annoyed; out of patience“Tell them I work for the government doing energy contracts,” he said.
“I do!” I said, exasperated. “But what does that mean!” -
correspondence
communication by the exchange of lettersAs I was leaving class, Mrs. Jarai said, “Martin, I'm so happy that your pen pal has written again, but the school does not have the funds to send letters for you anymore. I hope your parents will help you keep up this important correspondence."
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shanty
a small crude shelter used as a dwellingChisamba Singles was like a small city—more than ten thousand people lived there, either in shared houses or small shanties built from scraps of metal and wood nearby.
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headmaster
presiding officer of a schoolAt our graduation ceremony, the headmaster announced that my score was the highest not only in our school but in all of Mutare.
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silhouette
an outline of a solid object as cast by its shadowI turned to see my mother’s small silhouette in the doorway.
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stationery
paper cut to an appropriate size for writing lettersI bought all my stationery at Staples.
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pristine
immaculately clean and unusedAnd I did notice that while my stationery was either a pristine white with pale blue lines through it or pink with decorative edges, Martin's was always different.
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full-fledged
having gained complete statusZimbabwe was in a full-fledged economic crisis: There were riots in Harare and Bulawayo—the government called in the army after people started smashing windows at grocery stores.
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orchestrate
plan and direct (a complex undertaking)Bombing at American Embassy in Nairobi flashed across the bottom of the screen just as an announcer said, “This was an orchestrated attack. Truck bombs were parked outside the American embassies in both Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.”
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nonchalant
marked by casual unconcern or indifference“Thanks,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
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reciprocate
act, feel, or give mutually or in returnCaitlin had been so generous. I had to reciprocate.
Created on Thu Aug 09 20:16:57 EDT 2018
(updated Thu Jun 26 12:46:19 EDT 2025)
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