A few months ago I discovered this fantastic website - www.postcrossing.com . In an attempt to pair down my postcard collection, I wondered if there was somewhere ~ or someone ~ I could send my postcards to. PostCrossing came up in my Google search, and has provided me with a really cool opportunity to connect with individuals from around the world.
It's really simple. You sign up to send and receive postcards through the website. When you are moved to send a postcard, you simply send an online request, and you are provided with the name and address of someone who might be from your continent OR half way around the world. Once you send a postcard, you're entitled to get one back, and you won't know from whom until that happy day when it shows up in your mailbox.
I've sent and received postcards from Europe, Asia, and the USA. It's almost like putting a big hunk of good karma into an envelope (without the envelope) and mailing it off. I know my experiment this week is focused on written correspondence with friends and family, but I feel like the people I send and receive postcards with are my friends - even though we will likely only share that one single interaction in the course of our whole lives. We share information about ourselves, the places we are from, the weather, interesting or funny facts about our country and well wishes for one another. Cue the "I'd like to teach the world to sing..." Coca~Cola commercial.
I sometimes wonder about the journey my postcards take before they land in the mailbox of their recipient. Where do these written greetings go after I drop them into the post office box that's a mere 30 feet from my house? I picture planes, trains and postal carriers as part of the journey.
Here's a funny postcard I received from Josephine in Germany. Can you interpret what it says? I bet the guy in the processing line at the post office got a chuckle.
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