> Letters would take a couple of weeks to get there from South America, and a couple more weeks to come back with the answer, leading to a 4-6 week roundtrip.

> Letters would take a couple of weeks to get there from South America, and a couple more weeks to come back with the answer, leading to a 4-6 week roundtrip. If you heard that someone in your (ethnic) community was travelling (especially flying) back to the 'Old Country', the person would often be asked to take various letters during the trip to folks 'back home' (and then perhaps replies on the return).