Postcrossing - post cards for the world

From Shelfari, I was lead to bookmooch where I  came to learn about postcrossing. Definitely postcard is something that I would want to collect and receive. Tatay (father) as a seaman would send us those beautiful postcards of countries where they dock, an admiration that keeps me dreaming and aiming to visit those cities where he had been. Especially Greece, since the owners of the ships he work were mostly Greek shipping magnates.  I also liked so much those postcards he purchased from Japan, which we still keep up to now, those pagodas and other landmarks where very interesting, well flickr and CNN were  not in existence then.

So I signed up for postcrossing. 

“send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!”

About the project 

The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost free! The main idea is that: if you send a postcard, you will receive at least one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world.

Why? Because, like the author, there are lots of people who like to receive real mail.

The element of surprise of receiving postcards from different places in the world (many of which you probably have never heard of) can turn your mailbox into a box of surprises - and who wouldn't like that?

How does it work?

First, the short version:

1. request an address from the website
2. mail the postcard to the address
3. wait to receive a postcard
4. register the received postcard in the system

The first step is to request to send a postcard. The website will display (and send you an e-mail) with the address of another member and a Postcard ID (e.g.: US-786). You then mail a postcard to that member.

The member receives the postcard and registers it using the Postcard ID that is on the postcard. At this point, you are eligible to receive a postcard from another user. You are now in line for the next person that requests to send a postcard. Where the postcard comes from is a surprise!

You can have up to 5 postcards traveling at any single time. Every time one of the postcards you send is registered, you can request another address. The number of postcards allowed to travel at any single time goes up the more postcards you send!

Still have questions? Check out the help section, or the forum.

 

Below are the assigned folks that I am to send postcard:

Username: smurfy
Country: United States of America
Gender: Male
Speaks:English
Request date:1 Dec, 2008
Distance:11358 Kms

About:
hi love creative arts, so feel free to be creative and express yourself anyway you like. write me a letter or a postcard, whatever you like.

i do love creative stamps though, so it's great to have the stamps on the card itself. otherwise share with me whatever makes you happy :) thanks!

website link is not mine but a friend's site who collects and scans his stamps so i just wanted to give him a boost!

Username: Acatmiu
Name: Minna Lehtinen (female)
Country: Finland
Speaks: english; some swedish, german, russian and italian
Distance: 7,296 Kms (4,534 miles)

About:
Hi, (or meow)! I`m 39 years old; living and working in Helsinki. I have two cats, called Olga and Nelli.

In the freetime I like very much of travelling, and seeing different places and meeting new people.

My interests are like;
- museums, art galleries, architecture, art history,
- secondhand shops, flea markets, market squares, handicraft, auctions; an any old object which goes with story on, specially old furnitures.
- also trekking, tenting, cycling and kayaking in the summertime
- dancelessons. I have been enjoying different kind`s of, but now I´m hooked in flamenco. Olé!

No matter what your postcard would be, I`m pleased with any postcard your`ll send to me.

Happy Postcrossing;9)


Username: luciasafi
Name: Lúcia Safi
Country: BrazilBrazil
Speaks: Portuguese, English, German
Distance: 19,406 Kms (12,058 miles)

About:
Hello, I'm Lúcia, and I'm a biologist and a photographer.
I like ANY kind of postcards, but I really love pictures from different parts of the globe and handmade cards. I like to receive cards written all over about any subject.

You can also write your msn or email on the postcard so we can have a chat.

Username: xaxas
Name: Susanne (female)
Country: Germany
Speaks: german, english, french, spanish
Distance: 8,445 Kms (5,247 miles)

About:
Hi,

i would be interested to learn something about people, who live in other countries.
How old are you, what are your hobbies, what are you doing on a "normal" day ... something like that.

In exchange:

- 27 years old
- like to draw and am terrible at it :)
- like to read (SF, Fantasy, History, Economy, Statistics)
- like to travel without a plan, just take a small bag and drive where-ever (Spring of 2009, I plan on Denmark - or perhaps Sweden)
- have a Diploma in economy and work as Controller

And if you don't want to write much: tell me a quote/ slogan you like or a secret :)

Username: Cenda
Name: Zdenek Sima (male)
Country: Czech RepublicCzech Republic
Speaks: Czech, English, Russian
Distance: 8,499 Kms (5,281 miles)


About Cenda

Cenda, Czech Republic

Mail Art, Postcards collecting, rock music listening, LPs and SPs collecting etc.

I prefer pure geographical postcards, like towns, lakes, mountains etc. But in fact, I like to get any postcard :-)

Well it is an alternative way of receiving Christmas card, so for you readers who would want to receive postcard from Korea, just email me your snail address and I will do my best to send you one, promise...

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