People from Turkey

You know them. Every year, usually around the change of the year, they come to IRC, ICQ or maybe MSN. I have no idea where they get your screen name, but there it is. They say "hi", and after little chatting (showing that they have about two years of english studies under their belt, maybe), they will ask if you know turkish (even thought its established that you are American, or North European or maybe Australian). Then they ask to be your pen pal.
There are variations, and sometimes this problem grows bigger... I once remember three turkish people hitting one channel at the same time (without knowing of each other). They started talking in turkish, and after few ignored prompts, it was they who were ignored.
The end result is, that many channels in irc have banned Turkey ip's outright.

So, I have been asked at least three or four times to be penpals by people from Turkey. And they always specified that they meant real letters, not emails. Do they have some sort of school study program down there, that means that they have to have a pen pal from abroad? Because I dont get it.
Nowadays, each time an unknown person starts talking to you in MSN or IRC, and his language/input skills are severly lacking, changes are very good the guy is sitting somewhere in Turkey.