Meet the two users from Northern Mariana Islands, USA. Jude, living in Tinian, and a Public Library project. There’s more to do in a tropical island than just watch the views!
- How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?
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Jude: A home-schooling friend mentioned it on her blog. Always a lover of mail, especially postcards, I joined immediately and love it.
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TPL: Jude suggested it as an activity for our Summer Reading Program and it’s now an ongoing year-round project. One of the elementary school teachers who got involved during our Summer Program plans to use postcrossing with her students when school begins in September. That’ll make 3 of us!
- Do you have any other interesting hobbies?
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Jude: Like with everything I get into, I’m pretty gung-ho about Postcrossing so it’s my main passion at the moment. But, yes, I’ve always had many hobbies. Besides beachcombing and snorkelling most recent interests include genealogy, taking photos, writing, hiking, and now making postcards for both myself and the Library to send. The few postcards available on Tinian are expensive and since postage alone strains both our budgets, homemade is the only option.
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TPL: For us it’s more a question of activities than hobbies but yes, we like to offer activities that are both fun and educative for children. This is a small island and the Library is a crucial community service. Children are the most frequent Library patrons all year.
- Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!
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Post Office on Tinian
Children practice before writing postcards
Students studying postcrossing cards and map
- Show & tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.
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TPL: I love so many it’s hard to say but I think the aurora borealis and rainbows share the top of the list with lighthouses, windmills, culture dress, traditions, dancing and scenes like terraced rice farming! Actually we’re easy to please – glimpses of the world are colorful mailbox jewels.
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Jude: Well, since we are new and considered exotic it seems like everyone wants a card from us. In self defense we have to require that you send first with your address on your card . We WILL send you a card as soon as yours arrives! I always try to read profiles before responding. I’ve gotten as many as 18 cards in one day. That takes a lot of time – so I like to limit the emails to your “it’s arrived.” messages.
28 comments so far
Jude is a nice person and it's a very good interview. I loved to see children with the big Postcrossing Map, amazing idea! GREAT! Congrats!
Hello! I've swapped with you all a few times :D
I LOVE the kids and the map - what a great way to learn geography!!
Thanks both of you! Yes! we have exchanged.
We are making more and more of the TPL postcards in that vein. Watch the TPL sent cards on the 'wall'.
Jude
Great intervieuw and what a way of learning kids about other countries.
Hey, Jude! That's the Banaue Rice Terraces card I sent you! I am very very happy you chose that as one of your favorite cards! I feel so special! ;) I really owe you one!
janbonivic - may i suggest you offer to send it to enajpostcards too?
Sounds like so much fún projekt. I loved the photos and specially the map picture made me smile to see children learning about the world.
Very nice! The Banaue Rice Terraces also known "Stairway to Heaven" and "8th Wonder of the World" cos is so magnificent only made by hand and ancient hand-tools. Like Pyramid of Egypt in similarity of workmanship that cannot be construct by modern machines, said by the experts. Done by the unity and industry of Filipino-Igorot worked liked Ants. Have a great day to all!
Hey Jude,
If you haven't received any cards from Turkey, I'll be happy to send you one! Good luck with the project.
The children with the map of the world and the postcards certainly shows what postcrossing is all about.
Thank you for showing this!
Excellent ideas. You two clearly use this program to help others. Do you two compete for who can send the most postcards?
I sent an official to Jude a while ago. I was surprised since I never heard of Northern Mariana Islands, so like the children, I learnt something as well!
Oooh, how nice to see you all featured on the blog.
Funny, this comes up on the postcrossing homepage on the very day I got mail from Tinian! Perfect timing LOL.
I adore all the little messages written by the children at the library and was THRILLED to receive this today!
Thanks to all of you for trading with all of us!!!
Postcrossing at its best! :D
Yeah, i had private swap with jude!
Yaaay!
So many familiar user names showing up here!
Thanks to everyone for your cards!
TPL uses that picture and some similar ones as postcards now. You can ask for a 'student' card on your card if you wish.
Between the two of us, our record day so far has been 60 cards - but that did include a huge bunch from one kind woman in Canada. That was just over 30 for TPL and just under 30 for me! Some days it is hard to keep up - but so much fun and so informative!
Postcrossing is sooooo GREAT!
Jude
Hello!
I never heard of this island before and I study Geography, shame on me :P I'm going to send you a postcard from Slovenia! If I ever become Geography teacher I want to start project like this too.
Its wonderful that the kids learn so much through postcrossing.I get a card from the library some times ago.
That is very cool. I'd like to see more interviews with Postcrossers who live in the "rare" countries. =D
to jude and TPL thank you so much for swapping cards with me im really glad to swap with you guys =)
mariana islands are such an exotic place for me! =D
hoping to visit there one day and see you guys as well as my cousins in saipan =)
I'm going to be a geography teacher, and that postcards map is such a GREAT idea! The kids seem so excited! :D
I actually received three cards from Jude recently, MP-76. I am going to scan them as soon as possible. They are very prettily made. I loved seeing the photos of the school children writing cards!
Thanks again Jude!,
Lata
As our time in the spotlight ends I want to thank evryone for their comments and cards. The "I saw you on the blog!" cards are now coming in to both of us! Lots of mail and lots of fun. Thank you all and Happy Postcrossing!
Jude,
I am so excited that you and the kids ere profiled. I have so enjoyed building a friendship with you and receiving postcards and other items from you and the children.
Tamara
Oh my! I don't know how many collected.
We both average sending about 2 a day but that averages in the weekends, holidays and other no mail days. Between us - 6 months for me and 5 for TPL - we've sent about 600-700 and likely collected as many. Or more if you count the multiples per person. 27 from one sender made our biggest number day as there were also envelopes of 10 & 12 that day and several single cards. About 60 in all that day. TPL will be setting up separate displays for some regions - like Canada, Scandinavia, US, etc
Now I'm going to have to round up all mine and count! :)
It's all good fun and learning.
Tamara, Your support in postage and stuff - LOTS of stuff- and friendship go waaaaay beyond the ordinary. We can't thank you enough. You've done much to allow us to continue the project year round vs just the summer program. Heaps and heaps of thanks to you and yours.
solarts66 - if you come back to notice I can finally aswer your question. As of today I've been a member 217 days and collected 463 cards - more than 2 per day average. I've sent even more 427 pieces as of today but more than half were in envelopes with mulitple cards enclosed.
TPL doesn't have exact figure but gets and sends about the same amount or a bit more than I do but have been a member for one less month. Definitely averaging over 2 cards per day both in and out.
OF course with weekends (no mail) and holidays the actual daily number of mail-day cards handled is seldom less than 3-4 both in and out for each of us.
oh whoops! there's a dozen incoming cards sitting here to be recorded and 10 to go to PO now! so those numbers are really 475 and 437!
J :)
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