A Passion for ‘Postcrossing’

 

Hi Friends!

Is your mailbox happy today?

There is a wonderful way to add happy surprises to your mailbox that will

brighten your day, warm your heart, help you to discover new places

and meet fascinating, friendly people from all over the world!

It’s true!

I discovered this lovely pastime three  years ago,

on Pinterest.

When I first read about this project ~ instantly my heart swelled and my eyes filled with happy tears.

I knew that it was just my ‘cup of tea.’

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”
~ Winnie the Pooh ~

So, I’d love to introduce you to…

Postcrossing helps people all over the world connect in so many surprising ways!

When you join Postcrossing, you send and receive postcards from other Postcrossers

throughout the world. (Read the details here!)

Postcrossing is run by a wonderful group of volunteers,

with heartwarming goals…

“The Postcrossing goals are clear and simple:

to connect the world into a smaller place

and to bring smiles to as many different people and countries as possible.

Happy Postcrossing!”  

~ from www.Postcrossing.com

 

As I write, there are currently 482,671 Postcrossing members

from 212 countries

writing 709 postcards per hour.

At this moment, there are 465,760 postcards traveling

on their way to make LOTS of mailboxes very happy!

(Click here, to see up-to-the-minute statistics about who is sending and receiving postcards!)

You will be amazed to see “What is happening now?”

When I joined Postcrossing, I wrote this short profile…

Greetings!
I enjoy meeting friendly people from interesting places throughout the world. Postcrossing combines both my love of travel and writing letters. Writing to friends across the miles always fills me with joy. I think about how they will smile when they open their mailbox and find a letter or postcard from a faraway friend!

I am happily married and live in the Midwest, in the United States. I am now retired, after thirty-five happy years of teaching. I am excited to have more time now for gardening (growing flowers and herbs), paper crafting, volunteering, collecting antiques, international travel, reading, writing, and taking long walks.

I hope to learn more about you, the place you live, your work, or your daily life. Perhaps you could share a favorite quotation with me.I love collecting quotations from many cultures!

“Letters are like visits, when friends are apart.”

“Those who bring sunshine to others cannot keep it from themselves.”

Happy Postcrossing!
Dawn

That’s how my passion for Postcrossing began.

I requested five addresses of Postcrossers, from anywhere in the world.

Then I visited their online profiles, to learn a little about them.

As I wrote my postcards, I told them about

my little house with the big garden,

how much I loved teaching young children,

about our daily activities,

and our holiday celebrations during that season of the year.

I also shared one of my favorite quotations with them.

It was so exciting to drop my Postcrossing cards into the mailbox!

(Each postcard has an ID number, to register on the Postcrossing website.

So, I knew when my postcards arrived at their destinations!)

Then five random Postcrossers (from anywhere in the world)

received my address and sent me a postcard.

People join Postcrossing for so many different reasons…

some are travelers (like me),

some are arm-chair travelers and this is their chance to ‘see’ the world,

some are stamp collectors,

and some are postcard collectors.

Teachers often share Postcrossing in their classrooms.

My students were so excited each time a new postcard arrived. We checked on Google Earth and Wikipedia

to learn interesting things about each country.

The children could actually hold the postcard from so far away in their hands.

My students discovered so many important things about

writing to communicate ideas,

different traditions and celebrations around the world,

and the homes, foods, animals, and geography of faraway places.

The MOST important thing my young students learned

from the Postcrossing postcards

is that inspite of the interesting cultural differences…

People everywhere are so much alike!

Postcrossing is also a wonderful project to share at home with children and grandchildren.

What an amazing gift you will give our children,

as they grow into curious, compassionate citizens of the world!

Francis, in Indonesia, told us about bamboo rafting, their traditional river transportation.

All Postcrossers write in English, no matter where they live.

It’s so interesting to see the different styles of handwriting, too.

Postcrossing is a very flexible pastime.

During busy times, you can just set your profile to ‘inactive.’

When you have free time, Postcrossing is always there for you,

with lots of adventures waiting to begin!

Vivien, from Taiwan, told us about the beautiful wild birds in Formosa.

It’s always free to join Postcrossing.

All you will need is international postage stamps,

postcards (It’s fun to pick up new postcards wherever you go!),

and the desire to connect with people that you would never have the chance to meet, in any other way!

Some Postcrossers might continue to keep in touch via email.

Some Postcrossers might even turn into Pen Pals, or lifelong friends.

But most Postcrossers just come into your life for a brief moment…

and touch your heart.

Liucija, a student from Lithuania, told us about studying at school there.

 

I love being part of the Postcrossing community,

sharing the everyday experiences that make our lives so special!

We are not just the stories that we see on the news every day.

We are truly connected…

in big ways,

and small ways.

Liucija (from Lithuania) and I both practice Yoga.

Julia (from St.Petersburg, Russia) and I both love to visit museums.

Susan (from Australia) and I both love nature photography.

Susann (from Leipzig, Germany) and I are both learning to paint.

Virpi (a librarian from Finland) and I both love children’s books!

Claire (from Quebec, Canada) and I both love to travel!

Kitija (from Latvia) and I love old buildings!

Yulia (from Belarus) and I both love to grow flowers!

I truly feel a personal connection with each postcard that I receive.

Many Postcrossers have sent me their favorite quotations, too!

Gabiya (from Lithuania) ~ “All possible outcomes are perfectly designed for our full blossoming into oneness.”

Nicole (from Belgium) ~ “No pain, no gain!”

Keight (from Kielce, Poland) ~ “Don’t resign from your goal just because you need time to reach it. Time will elapse.”

Claire (from Quebec, Canada) ~ “Happiness seems made to be shared!”

and

Nastja (from the city of Arkhangels, in Russia) shared this Victor Frankl quotation ~

“Happiness is like the butterfly.

The more you try to catch it, the more it escapes.

But if you transfer your attention to other things,

it will come quietly and sit down on your shoulder.”

I’m passionate about Postcrossing!

It’s a special way that I can scatter a little joy and happiness

around the world.

It always reminds me of how much good there is

in the world!

Winnie-the-Pooh was right…

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.”

Happy Postcrossing!

♡Dawn

P.S.  Have you heard of Postcrossing before?   Is there anyone you know that might enjoy Postcrossing?  Be sure to tell them all about it!