Last year I join Postcrossing, which is an online community of people all around the world that send postcards to each other. We reach out to each other through snail mail, and you can kind of get a sense of how things are going in the rest of the world, without having to get super depressed from the news. For instance, cards to and from Ukraine take forever, while cards to Germany only take a week. You learn things like how to pronounce Belarus (bĕl′ə-ro͞os′), and that Taiwan is part of the Republic of China, but Hong Kong is not. And then you get to learn about people. Most of them speak more languages than I ever will, even if I ever manage to learn Spanish. There are so many people that speak English very well, and then a few who fake it so they can keep doing Postcrossing.
Last year, I got a lot of cards that I love, and I’ve been wanting to show them off on my blog.
This is my favorite card for 2014. I love the
red train with the pink cherry blossoms.
And this card from Russia comes in at a
close second. It was my favorite of the
year until I got the one from Taiwan.
Coolest card goes to this card from Legoland
in Germany. It’s called “Miniland,” and
is a tiny little city made out of legos.
This is the Romanesque St. Nicholas Rotunda
in Cieszyn, Poland. This is one of the most
popular cards I have received. I think it would
be so much fun to visit it one day.
I really enjoy getting postcards of churches.
Especially from Europe, where they are
ancient. The first card is the church where
Doctor Martin Luther posted his thesis, which
I find totally fascinating. The second card is a
Taize church or sorts. Taize is in France, and
is a community where Christian’s congregate
to pray and sing together.
This card is just fun for me. I enjoy seeing
the people, but really what I’m fascinated
by is the palm trees with snow covered mountains
in the background. Marrakech is in Morocco.
And, in the spirit of snow, I received this card
from the Ukraine just in time for Christmas.
It was perfect to add to my wall of Christmas cards.
I love the colors of this card from Taiwan.
And, this card reminds me of my
grandmother for some reason.
The last three cards are all from China. I think they’re pretty great.
I love the simplicity of this card. The Chinese
translates into, “Can’t forget the happiness
in the mountain while sitting alone.”
Map cards are awesome. This one is a Chinese
food map. I can’t even tell what most of the
foods are, but it looks fun.
And, finally, this card is about the size of two postcards stuck together. It was such a treat to receive such a large card. I find the view fascinating as well.
Hope you enjoyed my postcards as much as I did. Postcrossing is a great way to connect with the world. Sometimes you find someone on a different continent that you connect with instantly. From there you can be pen pals, or just enjoy having met someone like you through mail.