Every now and then we receive stories from our members which makes us smile from ear to ear. Today we want to share with you one related with the current football World Cup. Here’s what Liesel from South Africa told us:
I would like to tell you how my daughter, Meghan, made a friend through Postcrossing and got to meet her thanks to the 2010 FIFA World Cup currently taking place in South Africa. Both my daughters and I are avid postcrossers and when we are not busy sending and registering postcards, we like to browse the website searching for favourites.
While browsing the South African postcards one day, we noticed that a lady called Linda, from Slovenia, really liked South African postcards and frequently commented on how beautiful they are. Meghan sent her a message asking if she can mail her one of her favourites and soon they had exchanged cards. Meghan loves horses and Linda sent her a lovely horse card. While corresponding Linda mentioned that she might be travelling to South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as part of a group of Slovenian soccer fans. We told her that we would love to meet her and kept in touch until she let us know that she is definitely coming. We were so excited! We had to wait until Linda’s tour group visited our home city of Pretoria (the executive capital of South Africa), which they did on Wednesday 16 June 2010.
Nicole, Ouma, Linda and Meghan
This day is a South African public holiday called Youth Day on which we commemorate the 1976 protests by 20 000 pupils against inferior education for black people.
Linda’s group visited several historical sites in Pretoria and we arranged to meet up with her at the Union Buildings. The Union Buildings is the residence of the South African Presidency and government. It was designed in 1910 by Sir Herbert Baker and completed in 1913. It has been the venue of many important events in our history including the August 9, 1956 march by women chanting 'strike the women, strike the rock’ to protest the pass laws under the Apartheid government.
Union Building Gardens
It was here too that former President Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as our first democratically elected President on 10 May 1994, heralding a new era in our history. Unfortunately Linda’s group couldn’t stay long, but we had enough time for a brief chat and to exchange gifts. Linda gave Meghan a Slovenian supporter scarf and Meghan gave Linda soccer memorabilia and postcards of course!
Meghan with scarf Linda gave her
It was a privileged for Meghan to meet Linda, a friend from Slovenia, something that would not have happened if it wasn’t for Postcrossing and the Soccer World Cup!
Thank you Liesel for sharing this with us!
If you have similar stories, we would love to hear them!
16 comments so far
Awww...I love that story!
What a great story! Really makes me smile. You were lucky to see each others :)
The story is very nice!
Thank you for sharing with us these magic moments!
Hello everybody,
I must say that it was my big pleasure to meet up with Liesel, her mum and her daughters Meghan and Nicole. All of them are great persons and I wish I could have spent more time with them.
I was really really sorry I had only a few minutes (because our group was already late and we had to return to Johannesburg).
I must say I really enjoyed the time spent in South Africa because it is a wonderful country and people were really nice and friendly. I really recommend everybody to visit it if you have an opportunity. I am sure I will go there again and thim time, I hope, spend more time with Liesel and her family. As well as with other friends from South Africa - Sandy from Durban and Cecile from Garden Route who I have also met here on Postcrossing. Thank you Postcrossing for giving us a chance to make new friends.
I would also like to thank Liesel, her mum, Meghan and Nicole for the presents (the postcards, the Zakumi pen, the chocolate soccer balls, the little soccer ball and the zebra key-ring) they gave it to me in Pretoria. I really appreciate it all. Thank you!
Linda Mihelic from Soca, Slovenia
Aaaw, Linda, I wish that I had met you too!
I would love that too, Sandy.
Lovely!!!
Great story! :)
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story.
Wonderful story connecting people with two passions, postcrossing and football.
What a great story! I wish I could also meet a postcrosser.
Postcrossings give people so much pleasure. It is surely a treat when that connection is expanded to an actual visit. Thanks for sharing the story.
Many people were touched by the story happened in the wide postcrossing sea . Thank you for sharing .
Such a wonderful story :). This is what Postcrossing make possible: to know people from other countries, lenguages, and ages and became friends. :)
PS: Pretoria has to be amazing! ;)
I was touched when I looked at this article! How lovely it is to meet friends that we love from all over the world! Will do that one day, wait for me, friends!:-) Lol...