I Will Always Write Back: Part 2

by Caitlin Alifirenka, Martin Ganda
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 500 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. disintegrate
    break into parts or components or lose cohesion or unity
    Toward the end of 1998, things really began to disintegrate for my family.
  2. irate
    feeling or showing extreme anger
    She was irate. “Are you crazy?” she shouted. “I don't have any money!”
  3. collateral
    a security pledged for the repayment of a loan
    He often used our boom box as collateral.
  4. sanction
    the act of punishing
    The announcer mentioned international sanctions against Zimbabwe in response to the government’s aid to Congo rebels.
  5. distraught
    deeply agitated especially from emotion
    I was so distraught that I wanted to buy a plane ticket and go find him.
  6. vicariously
    indirectly, as, by, or through a substitute
    I also liked living vicariously through her letters.
  7. famished
    extremely hungry
    After my third run, I was also famished.
  8. communal
    for or by a group rather than individuals
    My mother had gone to fetch water. That morning a slow trickle of rusty red liquid came out of the communal faucet—it smelled of mud and left a residue on your skin rather than cleaned it.
  9. reimburse
    pay back for some expense incurred
    He offered to split any profits we made after he was reimbursed for the cost of the drinks.
  10. rampant
    occurring or increasing in an unrestrained way
    AIDS, too, had become rampant. The man we split our room with had blisters all over his face as if someone had splashed him with acid. Another neighbor died from it that year.
  11. queue
    a line of people or vehicles waiting for something
    We arrived at the bank and joined the queue with men in suits and women in skirts and blouses.
  12. bursar
    the treasurer at a college or university
    I couldn’t wait for Monday morning, to march back to school and hand the money directly to the school bursar.
  13. privileged
    blessed with special advantages
    Until that moment, I did not understand how truly privileged I was.
  14. smoldering
    showing scarcely suppressed anger
    But Lauren had already started walking to her next class, gossiping with two other girls who followed her like panting puppy dogs, leaving me smoldering.
  15. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    “Why are you so offended?" she asked tentatively, trying to be nice.
Created on Fri Aug 10 21:43:10 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Jun 26 13:17:03 EDT 2025)

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