Postcrossing Blog

Willa (aka PostcardPerfect) is an enthusiastic postcrosser from the Philippines. She does Postcrossing with her two sons, and enjoys shopping for postcards everywhere she goes! :)

Here is what she had to say to our interview questions:

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

I discovered Postcrossing through a blog called Postcards From Miss Igorota, owned by a fellow Filipino who lives in New Jersey, USA. At the time, she was offering to send a free postcard for those who wanted to received one and I was so curious and delighted when I received her postcard.

I followed the Postcrossing link there, signed up and sent my first 5 postcards. Later I found out that another blogger whose blog I frequently visited, was one of my recipients and I was so happy when I saw my postcard on her blog (you can see it here)! Since then, sending and receiving postcards became part of my daily life.

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

Since I’ve been in two countries already, I can share photos of both post offices where I’ve sent my postcards from. Here’s the one in Canada:

And my current post office in the Philippines:

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

This is a tough question and I’m sure a lot of postcrossers would agree. It is really hard to pick a favorite and even I we do, it takes a lot of thinking and convincing and sorting! :)

But ok, my most favorites are Gotochi from Japan, which I think are quite special. It says so much about the Japanese culture – and I know how hard to get these postcards is, because they can only be bought from their place of origin. I’m so thankful that I have a friend in Japan, Clarissa, who sends Gotochi cards to me from time to time whenever she’s on a family vacation.

Another favorite is the Royal Couple, Will & Kate. I wasn’t a fan of royalty at all, until I saw how beautiful they are! When I was in Canada, I followed everything about their engagement and wedding and everything else. Not to mention their wedding date falls on the same date as my birthday :D. I just thought that they are the most beautiful couple in the world, and maybe someday, I might be able to meet or just to see them in person! (wishful thinking! :D)

Then there’s Mickey Mouse, just to satisfy the kid in me. :)

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

Quite a few actually! I’ve helped my two sons, aged 8 and 12, sign up on the website, because they decided they wanted to received postcards of their own. And then lots of my fellow bloggers got curious when I shared my sent and received Postcrossing cards on Facebook, so they ended up signing up as well.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

First thing that comes to mind is… shopping! I mean, who doesn’t love shopping? Really! :D Whenever I go, I always look for a bookstore, hoping to find some good postcards.

There’s also the friendship of course – who would’ve thought that good and kind people still outnumbered the not-so-nice ones!

And lastly, seeing different places, discovering cultures and history, learning about other people who live on the other part of the globe, and to find out that all of us have one thing in common… that we love postcards! :D

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

Definitely!!! Like Norfolk Island for example, I did not know they were a country! :D And Dracula’s Castles from Romania never failed to amazed me! Oh… how about Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova or Croatia? There are so many of them I want to see. My bucket list of the places to visit just keep growing each day I received a postcard from a “new” country!

Have you met any other members in real life?

Yes! When I moved back here to the Philippines in October 2011, I help organized the first meet up and we’ve been doing them ever since. Our last meet up was on April 05, 2014, and just like on all the previous meetings, none of us wanted to go home early because there are so many postcard and stamp related stories to tell. And every after meet up, we all realize we need more time! :D

Danny (aka wildernesscat) was born in Estonia, but moved to Israel when he was just 10 years old. After discovering Postcrossing in late 2008, Danny has sent over 3000 postcards… and risen to be the top postcrosser in Israel! :)

Here is what he had to say to our interview questions:

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

I had always been fond of writing letters and postcards, but never knew that people exchanged cards on a regular basis. Then one time, as I was corresponding with my friend Aet (aka jalutaja) in Estonia, and she suggested I tried Postcrossing. At first I didn’t believe that the idea actually worked, but after I got my first card from a total stranger, I just couldn’t stop going. The idea fascinated me, and I became an avid participant, up to this day.

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

I am enclosing a picture of the only post office we have in our town. Kfar Yona is a small place, and we don’t have mail distribution to residential addresses. Every family has its own post office box (similar to the ones you see on the wall), and you have to collect your mail there.

I am also enclosing a picture of a regular Israeli mailbox. Next to the box you can see my electric bicycle. I use it as a main means of transportation on weekdays.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

What I like most is the selection of a new address, and choosing the right card for that person. I do quite a bit of research before I settle on a postcard. I check their favorites, their received cards (to avoid duplicates), and some other links that may be present in the profile. Then of course, comes the preparation of the card itself. I have different stamps of different sizes, and stickers to decorate the card. Everything has to match perfectly, so the card’s surface is used in the most elegant way. I like to write down the date and the weather, and sometimes I add some sort of doodle in the corner. It has to look just right :)

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

Well, actually I have two such cards. What makes them special is the fact that they were sent from countries that have no postal ties with Israel. There aren’t many countries like that, and when someone living there makes an effort to send me a card (via 3rd party), it makes me appreciate it even more because I know that the sender has invested time and thought into getting it to me. One is from Wadih in Lebanon, and the other is from Bilal in Pakistan. So close by, yet so far away.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

My kids and I like spending time outdoors, particularly mountain biking. Every other weekend we load our bikes on the car, and set out to one of Israel’s nature reserves. The reserves are located mainly in the North of the country, were the climate is cooler, and there are several marked biking trails. On other days we go on day-hikes, and look for Geocaching treasure. We picked up this hobby on a recent trip to Australia, and now continue doing it back home. We were surprised at how many caches are hidden all over the country!

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

Yes, as corny as it may sound, I like the idea of promoting peace and understanding between people. There are many different religions and different walks of life in our country, and sometimes hatred stems from pure ignorance. People portray the other side in negative light, and fights are started over nothing. There are lots of common denominators between people, and when they open up to ideas different than their own, great friendships can form. I am happy to say that I have friends and acquaintances that speak different languages and hold opposing political views. It is okay to disagree on some things, but it’s also important to respect each other, and treat each other in a civilized manner. I think that Postcrossing can promote these ideals in a friendly, relaxed manner.

David (aka david2051) is passionate about giving, be it through micro-lending or by sponsoring children in poor countries. He likes to share his Postcrossing cards with his sponsored kids, and says they love to receive them! :)

Here is what he had to say to our interview questions:

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

My very close friend Ryan told me about Postcrossing and the wonderful postcards he had received and it sounded like fun so I thought I’d give it a try.

I was so surprised when, shortly before going on a vacation to New York City, I received Ryan’s address for an official card! I had a great time finding a postcard for him and then mailing it from the United Nations post office with UN postage.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies? What are you passionate about?

I’ve been interested for some time in doing my part to help fight poverty. For several years I was very involved in microlending on Kiva.org and I co-captain the Postcrossing team on Kiva, along with Ana and Paulo. As a team of 100 members, we’ve made 946 loans in 66 different countries. It would be great for more postcrossers to give it a try!

In the last few years though I’ve gotten very involved in child sponsorship through Children International. A small monthly donation helps provide medical and dental care, clothing, shoes and supplies for school, some tutoring and after school classes as well as access to safe playgrounds, sports and financial literacy programs, libraries and computer labs. In addition you can exchange letters and of course postcards and photos with your child and their family. I now sponsor six children in five countries: Ecuador, Guatemala, Chile, Zambia and the Philippines. In addition I belong to three sponsorship groups (where up to 12 people sponsor one child) for kids in Zambia, Mexico and Colombia.

This collage shows all my kids plus two children sponsored by my friends.

For me one of the most satisfying aspects of sponsoring is being able to provide assistance beyond the monthly support. Whether through individual donations or fundraising efforts, this can include anything from assistance in shopping for food, clothing or birthday and Christmas gifts to digging a well to provide safe drinking water, from helping a single mother establish a small restaurant or cafe…

…to paying off a pedicab loan so a father can retain an additional 35% of his daily income or putting a new roof on a home to keep out the typhoon rains.

Of course I wanted to share Postcrossing with my sponsored kids too! I asked on my profile if anyone would want to send postcards to my sponsored kids, as an official card or for swaps or just as extra cards, and the postcrossing community has really come through. Since July of 2012 I’ve received well over 200 cards for my kids! Several people have sent envelopes containing one card for each child, and some people have sent them cards more than once. It’s just amazing how kind and thoughtful the members of Postcrossing are!

I think this is a fantastic way to widen the horizons of these kids, to share views, greetings and words of encouragement from countries all over the world; it really inspires them to learn more about the world and set bigger goals. When my kids write me letters they always express so much appreciation for the cards and sometimes they include messages back to the senders as well.

There is a wonderful community of Children International sponsors and I blog about my sponsorship experience and the postcard I’ve received for my kids so many sponsors have learned about Postcrossing at the same time many postcrossers have learned about child sponsorship. I think we all benefit and the two go so well together since the sponsorship experience revolves around exchanging letters and cards with these wonderful kids.

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

This postcard shows our old post office, sadly no longer used as such, but it’s still a major landmark of downtown Evansville.

This is my mail slot. I can’t wait for the mail to arrive each day! I couldn’t believe I got 6 official cards today! :-)

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

Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t pick just one…

This one means so much to me as I love Seattle and gnomes! It just brings back so many good memories!

The card below is a favorite because of the immigrant story the image of the steamship RMS Majestic can tell us if we take the time to see it. I like to do family research, so I thought it was fascinating to read about a family researcher whose grandmother brought her children here on this steamship, and the postcard image is actually the cover or jacket for her ticket to a new life in America.

And this is a wonderful handpainted card. It’s such an honor to receive a card that took so much effort and love to make. I think this shows how postcrossing brings out the very best in people.

But there are so many awesome viewcards too…

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

All of it! When I get a new address I love reading the profile, learning about the recipient’s location, and viewing their favorites to find the perfect card or making one for them. When I receive a card I also read the sender’s profile and study their favorites to get to know them better. I love to study the location depicted on the card and usually look up as much as I can online and place the links I find in the comments and I love the beautiful stamps. Whether meeting nice people in a brief exchange or becoming penpals and cherished friends, it’s all a wonderful experience.

BlackDrago (aka Natalie) hails from Sevastopol, in Ukraine. Besides being an avid postcrosser she’s also a devoted photographer and a Star Wars fan! :)

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

It was a post in my friend’s diary on journals.ru. I have always been attracted to something unusual… and what can be more extraordinary than paper postcards in the age of electronic correspondence? And then it turned out that this is a very interesting process, you can see a lot of interesting postcards, stamps, read the people who live on the other side of the planet Earth.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I’m interested in the Star Wars universe – I am the administrator on a site and forum dedicated to this world. I translate short texts and beta-read works of other authors. I like to assemble plastic models of the real and the fantastic vehicles. Photography. Cross-stitching. Sometimes I even manage to find some time for all these things… sadly there are only 24 hours in a day!

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

This is Post Office from which my postcards often hit the road:

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

I think that almost all of my cards are favourites!

What makes them special? It’s the fact that someone took the time to read my profile and tried to pick up the card in accordance with the wishes, and wrote something just for me.

I have favorite authors as well, for example, French artist Severine Pineaux. She has a very beautiful dragons and cats.

And if we talk about the subject of cards, there is a series of “Darth Vader and Son” that I really like:

Have you met any other members in real life?

Yep. I participated in postcrossers meetings in Sevastopol and in Yekaterinburg (Russia, Ural), when I was there on business. This is in Sevastopol:

And here we are in Yekaterinburg:

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

Sevastopol.. I really love my city and his great history. It is really my passion and obsession. Sevastopol has always been a military city, the base of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia. I hope that he will once again be such, and not turn into just a resort.

Warships standing in bays and covered with morning fog is one of the most beautiful sights I can imagine.

We’ve had the pleasure of meeting LadyP1964 (aka Penelope) on several Postcrossing meetups. She has a bubbly personality and a contagious laughter that cheers everyone up! :)

Here is what she had to say to our interview questions:

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

I used to play “Human Pets” (a Facebook game) and auctioned off postcards to get points to feed my pets (something you will only understand if you were a pet yourself). Someone there told me about Postcrossing – I have to admit though, that I don’t remember who.

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

This is my postman Michael:

And here’s one of my postcard walls:

And you can see my meetup photos on this gallery.

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

I have just looked through my complete collection (which is here btw) and I really cannot decide which is my most favourite card. I think I often have a favourite card received this week but of all time? Impossible! There are only few cards which I don’t like. Most of those can be found in my “others” album but that doesn’t mean that all cards in my “others” album are not liked. Sometimes people send me cards that don’t fit into any of my normal collection categories but I still think they are great. They are the cards that end up landing on my postcard walls. I have postcard walls in my kitchen and in my ironing room (I’m sure many men will joke and say that’s where we women spend most of our time – in my case its true, but mainly because that’s where my postcards are!)

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Job, partner, teenager, dog, cat and I organise a travelling envelope group on the Postcrossing forums – doesn’t actually leave much time for other hobbies.

I do like to visit new places and I have discovered that Postcrossing helps me there too. I like to go to meetups in various towns. That way I get to see new towns, meet postcrossers and buy postcards to swap with others.

I love playing various board games too and a whole group of friends get together every 6 weeks at each others houses to have a games evening.

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

Yes, a friend of a friend asked about my collection and after browsing through it, she signed up to Postcrossing and also joined me at the meeting in Würzburg last year. Her username is barfusstramperin.

My son got slightly addicted too. His Postcrossing name is Pixelpups. He sometimes joins me at meetups and that’s when he pulls his addresses to send. His cards are all stuck to his wardrobe:

Have you met any other members in real life?

I have met several postcrossers before as I have attended meetups in Würzburg, Nürnberg, Köln, Frankfurt and Bielefeld. I have had mini-meetings in Mainz, Berlin, Luxembourg, Salzburg, Bad Schwartau and Wiesbaden. In fact, once I had a mini-meeting somewhere on the motorway near Kassel. I stopped off on my journey for a cup of coffee and posted “I’m here” on Facebook. Another postcrosser replied within minutes that she worked up the road from where I was and would be with me in 5 minutes.