Postcrossing Blog

Few events can unite the whole world such as natural catastrophes and the recent events in Japan have left no one indifferent. In the last days our thoughts are with those in Japan going through the hardship of a 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed.

We all feel powerless when such events are so overwhelming. But that is precisely why it’s important that we do do what we can to help recovering from this disaster. Below are some links we collected where you can make a donation to help recover from this desperate events.

By credit card through Google’s 2011 Japan Crisis website

In this page you are able to donate the Japanese Red Cross and to other institutions such as UNICEF, 'International Medical Corps’ and 'Save the children’.

Through bank transfer to Japanese Red Cross

Note that their website also recommends that you contact your local Red Cross for ways to donate. From their website:

“If you want to donate money to the affected population of earthquake and tsunami, please contact your national Red Cross/Crescent society, which may have already launched fundraising campaign within your country.”

Using Paypal Japan earthquake and tsunami relief website

You may donate to several different organizations through Paypal and they are covering all processing costs so 100% of your donation reaches the non-profit organization you choose.

Every donation, no matter how small, will surely help.

Also a way that you can help is sending your support towards Japanese members using postcards. You may be wondering if your postcards will reach their destination in Japan. The Japan Post has published on their website that some areas are expected to have delays on the delivery. However, they are doing the best they can to deliver all the mail, even to those who might have lost their home, to whom they are making an effort to hand-deliver in person to those in shelters and evacuation centers – when such is possible.

We also received a report of a Japanese Postcrosser in the Fukushima area (one of the most affected ones) who was very moved by receiving a Postcrossing postcard hand-delivered to him by the mailman in the shelter he is at the moment.

So, please be extra patient with postcards traveling to Japan – even those traveling to areas that were less affected. Delays are expected. But remember that words of support and letting them know that our thoughts are with them is a way to help them go through these difficult times.

Edit: Google has a website with the addresses of the temporary shelters. Although this information is in Japanese only, you can find some details on how to interprete it at this forum thread

Kayla (or Mickaela) lives in London and she studies politics. She likes to learn foreign languages and is now trying to learn her a 4th one! Here’s what she has to share with us.

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

I first heard about Postcrossing from a friend and because I always liked receiving mail, I decided to try it myself. At first I thought I’d just send a postcard every now and then, but before I knew it, I became an addict! What really got me hooked was the random aspect of Postcrossing and how every card we receive and send is a new little surprise and completely unique :).

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

At the moment, I am quite busy with my studies, but I’m still dreaming to become a writer one day… I’ve been trying to write a book for a while now!

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

My mailbox.

My postoffice.

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

This is a card I received from Sarah in the US and it’s a picture of people dancing at the Brighton Beach in New York. I love it because everyone in the photo looks so happy – it makes me smile every time I see it! And I also love old things and this postcard fits into this just about perfectly!

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

I like drawing a new address and the anticipation of it – what country is it going to be? What kind of person? Can I send them something special? Do they speak another language I could write to them in? I really enjoy getting the cards ready for the mailbox and writing as much as I can on them.

Remember our little mail carriers? The last time we checked on them, little Paulo and Ana were in Taiwan… but no more! Come discover what they’ve been up to recently, in this lively report by their latest host, icitaiwan!

Hello from Valencia in Spain. It has been quite a while since you’ve heard something from us, but we’ve been very busy with traveling all over the world.

Our journey started in November when our sweet host shui sent us to the northern part of Taiwan where our new host, icitaiwan, was living. Yes, you’re reading it well…she’s not living there anymore. We arrived at a place, full of boxes and to be honest, it was messy, too ;). We explored Nankan where we were staying and took the bus to Taipei for a short trip. Our first stop was the Taipei 101. The “101” was the tallest skyscraper in the world until 2010 and we can tell you that it’s tall, 509 meters!

We ate a local snack and on the way back we really had a laugh when we read this sign in the bus on our way back home: “Please fasten your seatbelt. For landing please ring the bell. Please do not leave the seat when the vehicle is not all arranged yet”.

We also wanted to visit the Taipei International Flower Exposition, but unfortunately we didn’t get a chance, because the weather was so bad on the day that we intended to go and my host had to leave Taiwan soon. Instead of visiting the Expo we went to the Taipei Zoo where we saw pandas and many other animals.

At the end of December we were put in a little box and when our host opened it again we felt so cold. We had taken an airplane to the Netherlands where our host was staying for the holidays. Everything was covered with snow and we really regretted it not to have brought our scarves with us. We had a great time during the holidays, ate lots of food and gained some weight.

In the beginning of January we were put in the same little box again (oh no….!) and we saw daylight again in Valencia, Spain. We have traveled all the way to Spain, because our host decided to leave Taiwan for Europe for good.

We have had a great time in Valencia. The weather was sunny, warm and we saw beautiful blue skies. We enjoyed our free-time by wandering through the streets downtown. We started our trip on “Plaza de la Reina” where you can see the “Catedral de Valencia”. After that we walked to the “Mercado Central”. It’s a colorful market in a very old building. This sight-seeing trip made us hungry, so we ended up on one of the many terraces to have something to eat. What else could we buy than paella valenciana? This is Spanish rice with chicken and rabbit. The wine tasted pretty good, too…cheers!

After our siesta we decided to go to “La Lonja de la Seda”. It’s a late Valencian Gothic style civil building, built between 1482 and 1548, and one of the principal tourist attractions in the city. The UNESCO considered it as a World Heritage Site in 1996. “La Lonja” was used as silk exchange.

Another day we planned a trip to the "Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencas”. This is a cultural and architectural complex and it’s the most important modern tourist destination in Valencia.

The City of the Arts and the Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is situated at the end of the old riverbed Turia. Turia became a garden in 1980, after the bypass of the river by the great flood of Valencia in 1957. The complex was designed by Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela and the whole project was completed in 1998. It’s made up of 7 buildings. It is an amazing place to visit and it’s so beautiful on sunny days when the sun reflects onto the water and the buildings.

Time flies when you’re having fun and our last trip was to Malverossa Beach in Valencia. It’s a nice place to go to on the weekends. People are strolling along the beach, playing soccer and beach volleyball, or they are having a drink on one of the many terraces along the beach. We played on the beach and even tried to go for a swim, but the water was still too cold.

OK….this was an update from the two of us. Check out this site again soon for more adventures. We are on our way to a very special place now…..adios……..!

Simone (or Hexentrio) is a 42 years old mother from Germany. Postcrossing has collaborated with her in the past with the organization of the LupusCrossing – Butterflies are crossing the World event. Read more to know more about her.

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

My best friend told me about this lovely idea to send and receive postcards from all over the world. She got hooked herself by a German friend living in Long Beach, CA.

It took me some time to sign up, as I regularly forgot the name of the website… Was it *mailcross*, *crosspost* or *cardscross*? Finally, on my birthday she wrote the right name down. Two days later I signed up and here I am *gg*.

I’ve ever been collecting cards from everywhere, but rather spontaneously. Once having discovered Postcrossing, I keep on being amazed day after day… I love the cards I receive, the intimacy on Postcrossing and all these amazing people I’ve met. They all are so caring about making other people happy, often without knowing them in real – Postcrossing is pure affection, family and home.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Besides of being mom of two girls (6 and 9 yrs) who keep me on my toes, I spend most of my spare time for working voluntarily for lupus patients. I was diagnosed with lupus 22 years ago. Since then, I try my best to help other patients here in my region, as board member to the German Lupus Association, patients’ representative to the Lupus Foundation Germany and as advisor to the European umbrella organisation.

Maybe you do remember the great initiative the German Lupus group had with Postcrossing for World Lupus Day 2009? Have a look at this and this links to learn more. This had been a very touching common project – thank you, Paulo and all postcrosses who sent a butterfly card.

I spend the few remaining minutes of my spare time with reading, photography, meeting friends and going to the movies.

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

My mailbox:

(Do you see my broom?)

My postcards to send:

Once I scan the postcards I receive, I put them in albums where I can store them easily:

Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?

I haven’t realised how beautiful, breathtaking and awe-inspiring the world is until I’ve started Postcrossing. I even have overcome my fear of flying (at least almost ;-) ) because I want to see all these amazing places in real.

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

Each postcard is precious to me, is a gift – so it’s impossible to decide, but I want to show you two unique cards.

These little peace-keepers touch my heart. Every state leader should have this card on their desk.

The biggest card I’ve ever received: 30 × 21 cm – amazing!

Here is Sibylle from Austria. She has been collecting postcards for a long time, loves to travel and visits her favourite friends in the zoo frequently.

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

About 5 years ago I had a surprise pen pal from the USA. Our penfriendship was short-lived, but she sent me the link to Postcrossing, which was, back then, only 1 month old. I got terribly excited, thought about it, got some opinions, then registered and my first 3 cards went to Hawaii, Italy and Germany. And after absolute impatience I received my first card from Germany after a while.

I have been collecting cards and stamps ever since childhood, because my dear granny was an avid traveller and sent us cards from everywhere she went! She usually collected them afterwards, cut the stamps off to add them to our collection, but eventually I didn’t give those cards away anymore, so as to keep them whole and as much as I love stamps, I love cards more and ideally with beautiful stamps on them! I still have those old cards that miss a corner!

I love sending cards to people, trying to make them happy! I make an effort with every card I send, recently almost all have gone out with first-day postmarks as an extra and I agonize over every card I send. However, no matter how much I try sometimes it is really hard to find the right card. Sometimes the sending seems more important to me than the receiving. I like to spread joy.

One of my dreams is to have a written, stamped and postmarked postcard from every country in the world, but I tell myself “dream on”, I am not putting enough effort into that, I am afraid. Still, it is a nice dream.

The fact that I now get mail almost every single day got me hooked. And many cards are really outstandingly beautiful and some are real works of art where everything is perfect: view, stamp, deco, the words, …

Thank you so much to everyone who made me happy and who will do so in future.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I love to read and write (but cards are all I write these days), I am what I call an “indoor astronomer”, meaning I do more reading books and magazines and searching the internet about astronomy, than actually going out to look through a telescope (which is a fantastic thing to do though!), I collect elongated coins and I love to travel, like so many postcrossers do.

In comparison to many others I have not been to all that many countries, but maybe I can expand that list in the future, except that I find it hard to find a travel companion. Those dear to me love the British Isles above all other places, which I do too (Scotland is my absolutely favourite country!), but I would love to see other places too, and going to the British Isles always makes me sad as I know I’ll have to leave again!

So far I have been to: Albania; Belgium; the former Czechoslovakia; the Czech Republic; Denmark; Eire; England; France; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Guernsey; Herm; Hungary; Italy; Jersey; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; Northern Ireland; Portugal (Madeira); San Marino; Sark; Scotland; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; the USA; the Vatican; the former Yugoslavia and Wales.

The countries I would most love to see are: Chile, Iceland, Andorra; Armenia; Azerbaijan and Georgia as well as Romania. Alderney and the Isle of Man would be super to visit also, I am sure!

My main hobby equally as important to me as Postcrossing is visiting Vienna’s zoo, Schönbrunn, which is the oldest in the world! I have many furry friends there – and I mean FRIENDS. Animals that know me and come up to me, when they see me, like tiger girls Ina and Kyra, tomcat Jerry and Orang utan Sol. I love them dearly.

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

That is my postie hiding inside a mailbox from my advances… haha. Seriously, this is outside Wien’s main post office, where I drop off most of my mail for first day postmarks. The mailbox with legs is from a fantastic advertising campaign by Austrian mail, where this mailbox roams Austria.

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

My favourite postcards are those my family (mother, father, brother and until she died my granny) have sent me, because they absolutely hate to write so they are real signs of love, catering for my addiction.

Other than that my favourite kind of cards are stunningly beautiful landscapes (named nature only!) and (Russian) orthodox churches as well as tigers, that I love soooo much!