Ana (also known as anagahan) is a member from Macedonia, a small country in the Balkans. She loves trains and all kinds of animals, and wishes she could adopt all stray cats and dogs in the world… don’t we all? :) Here’s what she had to say:
- How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?
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Well, it was sort of at random. One day, I totally accidentally spotted a blog link about postcard exchange, and all excited immediately clicked on it. By the time then my mailbox had been really neglected so this was like rekindling the old passion. I asked the blog owner if we could maybe trade postcards to which he kindly agreed, and I was full of joy. Then I anxiously started searching for more postcard blogs and on several ones I noticed people posting the question “Are you from postcrossing?” I got curious, looked it up and found it…didn’t register immediately, but once I did, you know the story, you get hooked in the blink of an eye :)
Oh, btw, the blog I mentioned above belongs to Rafal in Germany, another devoted postcrosser. So it is all his “fault” in a way ;-)
- Do you have any other interesting hobbies?
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Anything that’s mail related, so I am into philately and also I’ve been into penpalling since the early 90's. (I am a lousy penpal unfortunately).
I enjoy reading, esp. unusual books. I love finding new bookstores, where apart from books I always put my radar on for postcards, without success usually. I love going to the theater or to interesting photography exhibitions. I admire all those moments people are able to capture through their lenses.
I love music, traveling, watching tennis matches, being outside in the sun and the quiet, playing with my two cats, my neighbor’s cats and dogs, trying out new kinds of coffee and chocolate…you know, those very small things which make life really beautiful. And another thing that relaxes me and I truly enjoy is updating my postcards blog: http://thewholeworldatyourhands.blogspot.com
My cats love my postcards too, esp. ones with cats…here, my older one really enjoyed them and even picked his favourite buddy…
and while he wasn’t looking, my younger cat came, and just as he steals away his food, he took all the other cat postcards too, saying “they are mine, period!”
Cats are tough to deal with! :P
- Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!
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Well this is my dear mailbox, which when full, is one of the rare things that can make me happy on a bad day…
Unfortunately in Macedonia the street mailboxes are not really operational so I post all my mail directly at the PO. There are around 10 Post Offices which I go to more or less, depending where in town I am, but this is the one I go to most often, being in my neighborhood.
Ok, now when it comes to 'organization’ I am really awful at that! I have both sorted and unsorted postcards. Here are the sorted ones by countries
And the unsorted ones…
huh, ouch…quite a lot. And DON’T ask me where I manage to keep all my letters and stamps too…I love calling my room a 'creative chaos’ :)
- Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.
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Maybe this sounds like a cliché, but I love all my postcards, and each of them has something which makes it special.
Pick any, and I’ll give you a reason why I love it.
Coz the postcard for me is not only the image itself, but much more the message on the back, the thoughtfulness, the kind heart-warming words and stories people who don’t really know you, want to share with you, the lengths they have gone to just to make you smile.
- What are you passionate about?
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Does the passion for trains count? It is a fascination I have inherited from my dad and I still remember my childhood days when he would set up these model trains all around the living room during the New Year holidays.
I LOVE Norway and the entire Northern Europe in general, and I am a huge animal lover and if I could I would probably adopt all the stray cats and dogs in the world. I just wish more to be done regarding animal rights and animal welfare.
- Have you met any other members in real life?
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Two actually, on separate occasions: Anasty from Russia and BraveJ from Serbia. The three of us still need to find a place to eat cheesecake together :)
