Another million postcards received already?! :D
This means it’s time for another mini-contest! So tell us, which countries do you think the postcard 5000000 will be sent from and received in?
Hurry, less than 20000 postcards to go!
PS – Only one guess per person please! And yes, there will be some surprises for the first person who guesses the combination, so be original! :)
By now most of you have probably noticed the small variations in address formats in different countries. But did you know that some of these are actually rooted in distinct perceptions of space?
This short video we found on youtube explains this concept, and a few other cultural differences.
Marita had been exchanging postcards for years before joining Postcrossing. She lives in Turku, Finland where she spreads postcard joy among the many mailboxes in the city.
I think my story is a rather common one. I saw an article about some Internet-based hobbies in a magazine years ago and as I have been exchanging postcards with my friends abroad for many years, I decided to take a closer look at the site. The rest is history. The fact that I can surprise someone on the other side of the world just by sending a card is awesome. And of course this is a perfect way to see the beauty of the world.
Besides postcards I have also been collecting stamps for several years. One of my dearest hobbies has been pen palling, which has been a way to get to know the world. I also love learning languages and recently I have become very fond of cross stitching. Oh, and I am a huge sports, and especially ice hockey fan, so I enjoy going to games or watching sports on TV.
Here you can see the front of the main post office in Turku although I usually spread my cards among mailboxes around town while I am on the move.. :)
My postcard collection has grown to such extent that I have cards in many albums and boxes around my flat.
I can not really name any favorite received cards as I have tons of them. And, on the other hand, all cards, especially official cards, are special to me in different ways. But here are couple of which have something extra in them.
This one came from a pen friend of mine whom I knew before joining Postcrossing. You can just imagine what a lovely surprise to receive on official card from her.
This one is an official card from a Postcrosser whom I have gotten to know from the Postcrossing forum. As I know many languages, she had asked her international co-workers to write a sentence in their own language on the card.
Never thought about visiting the island nation of Vanuatu? Then here’s a good reason for you to consider: they have the first (and only?) underwater post office in the world! We bet you never thought it was possible to post mail underwater, have you?
The Vanuatu Post came up with this idea to increase awareness of the richness and diversity of Vanuatu’s underwater world. And if you never had the chance of finding nemo in real life, then that’s yet another reason to think about Vanuatu for holidays, where you can do snorkeling and see the great aquatic life there is there.
But, don’t think it’s easy to get there! This special post office is 50 meters offshore and is 3 meters deep underwater – you’ll need to scuba dive to actually get there. And make sure to check their schedule, as their are “open” only one hour per day! :)
Since its start in 2003, they have received over 100.000 visitors so it surely seems to be working well. Waterproof postcards are available and they use a special embossed cancellation stamp that can be used underwater. Postcards can be sent anywhere in the world, so it’s perfect!
And now, for something a bit different: Lenka Clayton and Michael Crowe are two creative artists with a very special goal – to send a personal handwritten letter to everyone in the world! Impossible? Most likely. Crazy? Perhaps. But it’s surely different, and they are doing their best to do it in a creative and mysterious way – they call it Mysterious Letters.
In April last year, they have sent handwritten letters to all 467 households in the Irish village of Cushendall – not bad for a start. And in November, they wrote 620 letters – all different and personal – to each home in Polish Hill (Pittsburgh, USA). Here’s what BBC had to say about it:
But they are not stopping here. Now they want to go even bigger and write to even more people!
This time, they are allowing anyone to get involved in their enthusiastic plan – they have setup their project at kickstarter.com so that people can donate towards it (if there aren’t enough supporters, the donation is returned).
In exchange for the donations, they are offering peculiar things – from allowing the supporters to choose a theme for the letters they will send, to actually receive handwritten letters from Michael and Lenka themselves. For the largest supporter level, they are even offering to hand deliver a letter to the supporter in person!
Even though it sounds a bit crazy, we love the creative way they are doing it all. You can find more information about the project at their Mysterious Letters blog and for details of how help them, check here.
