In this age of technology, instant messaging, immediate contact and conversations across time and space, some of us still like to receive snail mail.

I’ve always enjoyed writing and sending postcards, so I’ve joined an online group – “post crossing”.

The website was set up by a Portuguese student in 2005 with a goal “to connect people across the world through postcards, independent of their location, age, gender, race or beliefs.”

The concept is “if you send a postcard, you will receive one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world”. It is not an exchange of postcards between people.

I am fortunate to have travelled, visited, experienced a number of countries. Postcrossing enables all members to travel vicariously, to learn about other countries, customs, lifestyles, flora, fauna.

I have sent cards to Europe, Russia, Belarus, USA, China, Taiwan. To a variety of people from students to grandparents. I’m receiving cards, a surprise in our mailbox, cards from India, Australia, Taiwan. Each card is given a unique ID and when received, the ID is logged on the website. You can message the sender. Members in Russia and China seem especially appreciative of the cards and a glimpse of another country.

The Postcrossing idea snowballed.

Today’s stats are ~
~ 557,753 members
~ from 213 countries
~ over 30 million postcards have been received
~ 437,941 postcards are currently traveling
~ The overall distance travelled by the 30 million postcards is 154 billion km,
the equivalent of 3.8 million laps around the world