Postcrossing Blog

martinha (aka Marta) is a very active member on the forum's Portuguese community. Like many of us, she likes UNESCO images and other historical places on her postcards. Here is what she had to say:

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

Back in 2006 a friend send me a text message with the site. He read about it on a magazine. I thought it was one of his silly messages but as i was working in front of the computer i decided to check the site. This sentence caught my attention “It’s a project that allows anyone to receive postcards (real ones, not electronic) from random places in the world.” After a bit of reading I registered, a few days later I sent the first cards and started doing some private trades. That was in September and in November I discovered the forum and then it got serious. Since then I’ve been receiving cards almost everyday.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Apart of collecting cards, I love to take pictures and travelling. These three hobbies are closely related to each other. My last travels were truly influenced by Postcrossing and by the lovely people I got to know these last years due to postcard exchanges.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your post office or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

I have 4 or 5 post offices in my city but this one is the biggest and the one I use the most. Some of the workers already know me, some call me the “stamp girl”; they don’t need to ask want I want, just how many stamps do I need.

This is my not so pretty mailbox but it sure makes me happy every time I find nice cards inside it.

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

I’ve got more than 4000 postcards, choosing a favourite card is impossible, I have too many favorite cards. As you can see on the picture, i truly enjoy beautiful landscapes and architecture. Every time I travel I try to visit historical places with wonderful architecture or breathtaking landscapes. The world is too big and I won’t be able to visit a lot of places; getting cards from places like that is the best and cheapest way to see the world.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

I love the excitement of opening my mailbox and finding cards; getting an address, reading the profile and finding the perfect card to that person and most of all getting in touch with people around the world. Thanks to Postcrossing I’ve met great friends.

Have you met any other members in real life?

I’ve met a lot of postcrossers from different countries and I know the most active members in the Portuguese community. We’re a great group of friends now and we often have meetings or travel together.
I’ve been to 2 big international meetings, the international one in Zurich last year and the Köln meeting last April. Both were wonderful opportunities to meet postcrossers and make great friends. I’ve also met a few postcrossers that were visiting Portugal.