Can you fall in love with a penpal?

Chris writes, "I have had this penpal for about two years. I am 18 and I know that what could seem like love could actually be just a crush. Well, I fell in love with her. We have been writing to each other for a very long time. We know things about each other that neither of us would dream of telling anyone else. We have so much in common it begins to make me sick. Now you might be thinking that she is the one that intentionally agrees and likes the same things as I, but she was the one that told me everything prior to my knowledge. So we fit perfectly without any conspiracy. I thought about it too. So I tell her that I have fallen in love with her and she is completely shocked. She doesn't speak with me for a while and I begin to speculate if what I did was a mistake. All I wanted to do was tell the truth and get it off my mind before I went insane. Well, she had prior plans of moving to the United States, go to a university, and find a career. Well, that was all prior to the time that I had told her that my feelings for her were strong. Is this just a scam or is it actually love? I hate to be so judgmental like this because it is against my religion. I just care for her so much and I hope the feeling is truly mutual. Please Help."

What do LuvCube.com experts think:

A classic case of inter-cultural differences. Well it seemed that:

(1) she always considered you just as a penpal and nothing more
(2) she wonders how can anyone fall in love over the Internet

A lot of people sometimes have a different way of approaching love. They first ask, "Would you like to be my boyfriend/girlfriend?" and you go from there. In this case you declared her love for her without giving her a chance to even think about it.

You can still revive the relationship. Here is what you might want to try. Start communicating with her as if nothing happened. No need to even apologize or bring up the topic unless she does. Wait for her to arrive in the US and see what happens.