Postcards

The first postcard I received was in elementary school, when a friend sent me one from Hawaii while on vacation with her family. Seeing pictures from a trip are great, but there's something about having a personalized memento arrive in your mailbox - the surprise appearance always makes me stop and smile. As someone who has sent postcards from a foreign country, I can definitely appreciate the extra time and effort.

Naturally, a collection of any sorts must have a goal, and while I'd love to have one from each country, that is an admittedly difficult, if not impossible, task. For now, I'm settling for smaller categories - all continents (I'm only missing Africa), all 50 US states, Western Europe, all permanent members of the UN Security Council (done!), etc..

Beyond the goals, it's just fun to get postcards. Here are the latest additions to the collection - Turkey, Beijing, and Milwaukee:


Of note, the postcard from Beijing was indeed mailed during the Olympics, but what's even more interesting is that it already included postage! So smart! The next time you're on a trip, send me a postcard, and I'll post them here. But remember, they must be correctly postmarked. Hand-delivered postcards do not count!