If you had a penpal when you were a kid, most likely, that's all it was. You wrote to each other every couple weeks and it was just neat to get a letter from another country.

But I bet you never expected to actually meet your penpal.

That's not the case at Lux Middle School.

Saying good-bye to her new Japanese friends is tough for Aleah Karimi. "They were so fun and they just really connected with us."

The Lux Middle School grad spent a whole year writing letters to her Japanese penpal, Mitsuki.

Karimi says, "During school time we sent gifts back and forth to each other and letters."

Then last week, she welcomed Mitsuki and nearly 200 other Japanese 8th graders to Lincoln.

Bill Bucher, Lux Middle School Principal, says, "All of our 8th graders have been involved in a penpal relationship with each of the students and most of those students spend the three days with their penpal here in Lincoln.

For the past 9 years, Lux Middle and its sister school from Chiba, Japan have met after writing each other during the school year.

Bucher says, "They get to learn a lot about the world, about each other and realize how small the world is."

Virginia Karimi, Aleah's mother, says, "She thought it would be a unique opportunity to have a Japanese penpal and so it has been a real cultural experience. She's really enjoyed it."

And now Aleah Karimi is on a mission. "Start learning more about different cultures and have more people come over and just learn what they're like, not stay put to what one culture is."

Virginia Karimi adds, "I think it's important for them to understand that the world doesn't do things the same as we do. To learn someone else's cultures and traditions is important."

Saying goodbye is tough for Aleah Karimi. For her new friends it's even harder.

But both know what started out only as a penpal relationship, has grown into a bond that will surely bring them back together somewhere down the road.