AMSTERDAM — Students in Amsterdam and Hawaii have been writing letters back and forth as part of a project at the Lynch Literacy Academy. On Monday, with the help of the Internet, they got their first glimpse of their counterparts whom they’d known only through their letters.

Eighth-graders at the Lynch Literacy Academy started a pen pal project in January with a ninth-grade class at the Wai’anae High School on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

As opposed to using e-mail, Lynch Literacy Academy teacher Anne Walrath said, “We wanted them to learn about each other the old way.”

The video conference consisted of introductions and questions back and forth. Food and entertainment stood out as topics of interest for both sides.

One Hawaiian student who wondered if there were any good carnivals or fairs “up there” in New York learned about the Fonda Fair, described as “pretty big” and including demolition derbies.

Amsterdam students expressed curiosity about Hawaiian pastimes, wondering if everybody on the island went surfing. Similar to Amsterdam, the Hawaiian students said they had restaurants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Starbucks and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Both asked about their counterparts’ nationalities. Hawaiian students reported they had a mix of Philippine, Japanese and Hawaiian backgrounds, among others. The Amsterdam students listed Italian, Polish, and Hispanic heritages and said they have an annual “Taste of Amsterdam” event to sample cultural delights.

One Hawaiian student played a tune on a ukulele, an instrument created in Hawaii, and got a round of applause from the Amsterdam students.

In Hawaii, students go to the beach, barbecue, hang out with friends and “go parking” on summer vacation, they reported.

One Amsterdam student asked if the Hawaiian students have seen a volcano explode, and learned they’ve seen lava, ashes and fog, but no explosion.

Often, the Hawaiian students asked to see their pen pals.

“Some developed true friendships,” Walrath said.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Jamie Walrath, a secondary school teacher and Anne Walrath’s daughter, said students were getting a taste of public speaking and old-style communication.

“At first, they didn’t understand why they were writing letters,” Jamie Walrath said.

In the absence of text message shortcuts common with today’s youth, the students eventually started looking up words in the dictionary, Jamie Walrath said.

What it produced, she said, was “the best writing I’ve seen.”

Lynch Middle School student Tyler Rouse said he learned a couple of things during the project, including the benefits of writing a letter compared with real-time video and on-the-spot talking.

“You can say a lot more [writing a letter],” Rouse said. And in Hawaii, Rouse said, “Everyone doesn’t surf.”