Postcards from Far Away

Diary by J

A FEW years ago, I signed up for a postcard-exchange project called Postcrossing. The idea behind the project is simple: for every five postcards that you send, you can expect to receive five postcards in return.

It’s a cute project, I must say. At first I was worried if it was safe or not but, fortunately, I did not receive anything sketchy in the short period that I was active on the project. If anything, I really enjoyed getting postcards from random strangers who lived in faraway countries like Russia and Germany.

Bessy, a fellow blogger who I think is no longer active on WordPress. introduced me to Postcrossing. She used to post pictures of postcards on her blog, and she seemed to enjoy the project so much that I was compelled to try it too.

Bessy also sent me this Frida Kahlo postcard — ganda, ‘no?

The thing that I like the most about receiving postcards is the “element of surprise.” I never know when exactly the postcards will arrive, so I am always pleasantly surprised every time I get a card in the mail. They often come with short messages and cute stories, too, and they can easily pick up my mood, especially when I’m having a bad day.

The yellow postcard with the pretty shoes is from an English teacher in Moscow, Russia. At the back of the card, she wrote that she’s looking forward to attending a concert by her favorite singer Julio Iglesias. (Nagtu-tour pa pala si Julio Iglesias?)

The blue postcard with the lady and the moon is from a pianist in Adelaide, Australia. She said she’s been playing the piano ever since she was a child, but her favorite instrument is still the cello. Aww.

The cards that I receive are not just from random strangers online. I’ve also gotten postcards from good friends, including my college friend V who is currently in the US, and my friend DJ who writes for one of my favorite blogs Reverse Delay. (DJ’s handwriting is real neat and pretty, by the way, hehehe.)

I still have a roll of stamps and a book of postcards to send out, so if any of you want to receive postcards from me, feel free to email your name (username is fine) and mailing address to jumpingjolens[at]gmail[dot]com.

Sources say that the virus cannot spread through mail, so I hope I’m not promoting some bad practice here. I just really want to write short letters again, get rid of my postcard stash, and hopefully brighten up someone’s day, just like what all these postcards did to mine.

I got the title from a Coldplay piece. All images are scanned copies of my postcards.

21 Comments

    1. Jolens
      Reply

      Join ka sa Postcrossing if you want! Kaya lang baka hindi pa safe dumalaw sa Post Office ngayon. Later siguro hehe.

      ‘Di nga siya uso sa Pinas, ‘no? May Internet naman na, ‘di na kailangan postcards haha.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. buddy71
    Reply

    a “friend” from xanga who is now on wp, also did this (i say did as i am not sure she still does). i would send her a post card form places i visited even if it was just another place in my state. i guess she got bored with me doing so and stopped send cards back. oh well. have fun with your postcards

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Jolens
      Reply

      Aww, she probably just got busy or something. All my postcards are from 2018. I, too, stopped sending postcards to people since then. Nothing personal against anyone; just got really busy with school lol.

      Like

  6. pinaymama@sg
    Reply

    I still exchange ‘snail mail’ with an HS friend who’s now based in the US. You’re right about the “surprise” element — I love seeing there’s something in the post for me that isn’t bills or ad mail 😄
    Ganda ng postcards, reminds me of Griffin & Sabine.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Jolens
      Reply

      Hindi siya masasayang mars! Bayad na kasi ang stamps at postcards, so mas masasayang sila kung ‘di ko gagamitin haha. Email mo lang sa ‘kin mailing address mo if u want, hehe. 😀

      Liked by 1 person

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