SylviaM

Note: If you receive a postcard from the United States with a long white sticker on it, the sticker can easily be removed from the card without damaging it. Just lift the sticker at one end and pull it off.

Also: I keep a photocopy of all postcards that I send out, so if you cannot read any part of the postcard that I sent to you, please let me know and I'll e-mail you what it says. Thanks!

Hello fellow Postcrosser!

My name is Sylvia. I love to travel and have lived in France, Kenya, and South Korea. I have also traveled to about 60 different countries and to 47 of the 50 states in the USA (you can try to guess which three states I'm missing!).

I am especially interested in history, maps, nature, different cultures, and foreign languages. I love interacting with people from all over the world.

I also like hiking, long rides on my bicycle, spending time outdoors, and river rafting. I like geocaching too, but have not done enough of it to be good at it.

My profile photo was taken on the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Incline Railway is one of the world's steepest passenger railways with a 72.7% grade. In the photo, the rail car is about 2/3 of the way up the mountain; you can see the steep slope going down, beyond the front of the car.

When I receive your postcard, the first thing I do is look at the ID to see what country it's from. Then I read everything that you have written to me and I try to figure out what the front of the postcard looks like. Next I look at the postage stamps you've used, and then -- finally -- I turn it over to see if my guess was correct. I really have a lot of fun reading your postcard, especially when your text is intriguing but also gives me enough clues to imagine at least a couple of ideas of what could be on the front.

If you send your postcard in an envelope, I first look to see if there is an ID on the envelope. Then I look at the postage stamps. Upon opening the envelope, I always try to take out the postcard so that I see your written note first, and then the rest is as above.

I would appreciate it if you would send me a postcard that you like or one that is representative of you, and please tell me why you like the postcard, or how it represents you, or why you chose it.

If you prefer to have a list of types of postcards that I like (this is NOT all inclusive), here are a few ideas (in no particular order):

- 150th anniversary of the postcard
- World Postcard Day
- bicycles
- black and white photos, vintage or modern
- Keep Calm
- trains
- lighthouses
- Picatso
- cows
- pigs
- Lantern Press
- books
- COVID-19 pandemic
- people who are reading
- postcards made from food packaging
- postcards with unusual shapes or made from unusual materials

Most importantly, a big "thank you" to each of you who sends me a postcard. I look forward to going to my mailbox to see what unexpected surprises from around the world are waiting for me!