Foreign Letters (2012)

Noa Rotstein: Ellie Thir

Photos 

Quotes 

• Ellie Thir : John loves me, and I love him. But we can't talk. We are...

  [flips through her Hebrew/English dictionary] 

  Ellie Thir : shy.

  Thuy Le : Why don't you tell him you like him?

  Ellie Thir : I don't like him, I love him.

  Thuy Le : Why don't you tell him you love him?

  Ellie Thir : It's sad. I want to say it to him, and he wants to say it to me. But we can't. We are shy.

• Ellie Thir : We left because in Israel everyone has to be a soldier or you go to jail, and my parents thought the war was wrong.

  Thuy Le : That's good.

  Ellie Thir : That's not good, it's bad.

  Thuy Le : I'm glad you have to come here, because we got to meet.

  Ellie Thir : My uncle was a soldier and another Israeli soldier shot him by accident.He was my mom's little brother, and now my mom cries whenever it's Friday.

• Ellie Thir : [working on typewriter]  Because Ellie and Thuy are best friends forever, they agree to these rules. One: Ellie and Thuy have to spend at least 10 minutes together at every recess.

  Thuy Le : Two: Ellie and Thuy have to take a walk together in the woods at least once a week.

  Ellie Thir : Three: If one has a secret, she has to tell the other one. And the other one can't tell anyone in the world.

  Thuy Le : Four: If one calls the other one on the phone, then the other one has to call back that day.

  Ellie Thir : Five: Because they are best friends forever, they agree that when they grow up they will always live next to each other, or in the same house, if husbands agree.

• Ellie Thir : If we had boyfriends, we would be more popular.

  Thuy Le : I don't want to be popular.