Now for Something Completely Different

I have to find some new hobbies the way Mariners are playing.

So, I spend more time sitting over my iBook
writing to people I, sort of, met, but not in person.

I'm doing some language exchange by e-mails.
It's fun but it takes a lot of time because my French is very limited.
I need to look up in my dictionary almost every word I write,
to check my spelling, the genders, the accent marks,
and in case of verbs, the correct endings.
French is doubly difficult because of the accent marks.

It's a lot of commitment when you have several people to write to.
Some people write regularly, and some only occasionally.
So far, I have been fortunate in finding someone
who is willing to respond to me each time I write.

Here's a question:
if one doesn't get a reply within a reasonable amount of time,
should one pursue any more correspondence or simply wait for a reply?
I don't know what the standard protocol is, but some people get tired of it soon.
It's understandable, because most people have a... life.

I have never been to France,
but someday when I have enough money to travel,
I would like to visit these people.