Postcrossing Blog

This week’s spotlight interviewee is lapoussine35, from France! Erin has 2 daughters, is a tea and chocolate addict, and loves to read in her bathtub on rainy days. :) Here is what she had to say:

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

Like many other people here, I came to Postcrossing via penpalling. A friend mentioned Postcrossing to me in a letter and several weeks later, I decided to try it out myself. I love writing and receiving mail but, with two little girls, I find it hard to write long letters anymore. Postcrossing lets me reach out to the world and other people through a wonderful mix of words and pictures.

You could also look at it as armchair travel at its best!

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Traveling, science fiction and reading are definite stock answers and truths for me. In addition, I enjoying cross-stitching and making things with my hands. I recently cross-stitched an official card here to a postcrosser who mentioned liking handmade cards (/postcards/FR-144488). It’s my second one and I’m already working on another to send as a RAS.

I’ve also started running again and am dreaming of doing a half-marathon this fall. We’ll see…

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

This is our local post office, conveniently located next to the bakery! Since I started postcrossing, I go there regularly to mail my cards and buy stamps. I’m very lucky to have several great postal workers—they go out of their way to show me the latest stamps, always have a smile and even play with my girls sometimes.

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

I had the worst time trying to pick out only a couple of cards for this interview. Normally I store my cards in boxes and photo albums so that I can easily flip through them and enjoy looking at them. I decided to start pulling out potential cards to highlight here and gave up when my bed started to be completely covered (and my daughters showed up to look through too)!

Not a postcard at all but one of the “unsung” heroes of Postcrossing—a stamp! I’m not a serious stamp collector but I do love neat stamps on my cards and this is one of my all-time favorites. I even received a 3D hologram stamp on an official card from Finland once on an official card!

Postcrossing has brought smiles not only to me but to my entire family! Ticker from Australia sent this great RAS card to my daughter Laura. She wouldn’t put it down for days! (below on the left)

Another RAS but from my friend evitayueh this time. Evita knows about my fascination for Japan and sent me this great spring greeting to brighten my day; needless to say, she succeeded! (above on the right)

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

I love the excitement of choosing the perfect card and stamp for people. Since I started postcrossing, I’ve gotten to know the local post office staff rather well and they are very good about showing me the neatest new stamps. I think I get as much, if not more pleasure, out of sending than receiving. I’ve gotten to know several great people here through both the Main Site and the Forum and sending RAS cards is a great way to turn a dreary day into a better one. (Receiving them is also a wonderful part of postcrossing and proof of the community we’re building here.)

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

I’m passionate about languages and living abroad. I believe that everyone should take the chance to live abroad at least once in their life. The saying goes that “travel broadens the mind” but living in a different country does so even more by forcing you to reconsider all the little assumptions that you didn’t even know you had! I’m a strong advocate of programs like ERASMUS in the European Union or US-style Junior Year Abroad programs. I was lucky enough to study in Switzerland as part of my education and I treasure that time.

Language acquisition is also a bonus and I find it fascinating how it unlocks your brain from even the earliest of ages. It’s also interesting to look at how the connotations of different words change in different languages. I often ask postcrossers to write a few words or a favourite quote in their language on my cards. The combination of a foreign language, education and living abroad is a real gift!