Postcrossing Blog

Come meet hope97 (aka Danielle), who lives in Morocco. She loves travelling and has been to over 60 countries… very impressive!

Here is what she had to say:

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

A friend introduced me to Postcrossing while we were working together in Japan. I’d been complaining about the lack of mail from people back home and she told me about the website. Once I received my first postcard, I was hooked. I also like the fact that I can take my Postcrossing account with me where ever I live. To date I’ve been an active user in Japan, the USA and Morocco. I love that I can just update my account and postcards will be waiting for me.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

If you consider traveling a hobby, then I would say yes, I do. I’ve been to over 60 countries in the last 15 years and I have no plans to stop anytime soon. I also collect random things during these travels – Christmas ornaments, magnets, squished pennies and nesting dolls.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

Receiving postcards!

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

Here’s me, posting my postcards:

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

My favorite postcard came from a user in Ukraine. She sent me a birthday postcard and along with the card there were two small nesting dolls. This one really made my day and combined two of my hobbies. This card highlights one thing I really like about Postcrossing – 9 times out of 10 users take the time to read your profile and will try their best to send you something that shows they’ve read the profile and they care about what they are sending to a virtual stranger.

Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing or start collections of their own?

I hosted a table once at the yearly JETFest convention while I was in Japan. I am confident that a few people joined from that event. A few of my friends have also joined. I am always talking about the website to people when I travel because I think it’s a great way to feel connected to the world, especially when you live away from your home country.

I’ve also used Postcrossing for my English club while working in Japan. I am not sure if any of those students continued with it, but we had fun sending the cards during our club activities.

My participation with Postcrossing has allowed me to share the world with my students. I’ve also used the cards I’ve received to create a PYP unit on journeys and travel for a first grade classroom in Detroit. The students had a great time looking through my collection and then selecting a card to do research about that country. I currently share all the postcards I receive with my first graders here in Morocco. They get a kick out of all the different cards that I receive.

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

I like it when I receive cards from places that I’ve never been too or that seem exotic to me like Mauritius, Kazakhstan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, etc… I am continually surprised by the number of users and countries on the site. I think it’s an amazing and wonderful thing that so many people participate.

Hawwa (aka Eva) is from Spain, but currently lives in sunny Morocco. She speaks 5 languages besides her native Catalan – and uses them all to write her postcards in Postcrossing! :) Here is what she had to say:

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

A pen friend from Canada informed me about this project. I look for Postcrossing immediately in Internet, and I thought it was an excellent idea to increase my lighthouses collection and improve my language skills. I tried, I became hooked and I discovered soon that Postcrossing is not only a site to collect postcards but a real community.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I like writing letters in different languages. Sometimes I even dare to send some mail art! I also run a blog (mailadventures.blogspot.com) about my mail adventures. All of you are very welcome!

Out of the post world, my main hobbies are trekking, writing short stories and travelling (I’ve been to seventeen countries so far).

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

I’ve recently moved, so I will show you my previous post office (in Spain). I’ve sent the majority of my Postcrossing postcards from here:

And the currently post office (in Morocco):

Also my current mailbox (a bit boring, as it is a PO Box).

And the graceful mailbox where I send my postcards from Morocco:

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

I have a lot of favourites. They usually remain some weeks on the wall of my study. But I will show you the three kinds of postcards I really love:

JP-208063: I just love amazing pictures and especially when they let you learn about distant cultures.

DE-632790: because the funny story about the picture written by the sender. I was laughing the whole day!

NO-34163: It is a handmade postcard and I find it very original. I think it also shows a lot about the sender and his country.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

It used to be choosing the right postcard for every recipient. But now where I’m currently living I have a really limited choice. So now my favourite part in the process is finding postcards in my mailbox and searching more information about the place where they were sent from.

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

Yes, I was really surprised to get a postcard from Tuvalu. I hadn’t heard about this country before! Indeed, I’ve discovered a lot of places thanks to Postcrossing. Postcards have inspired some of my last trips.

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

Two of my strong passions: languages and lighthouses. My native language is Catalan, but I speak more or less five more languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic). And Postcrossing is a good place to practice!