Favorite new website

So I just joined this website called Postcrossing a few weeks ago. It's a program started by a guy who likes to receive real mail from all over the world, and it just so happens that I do as well. You can register your address and then request to receive an address to send a postcard to. You can have 5 going at any one time, so of the first 5 I sent, one went to Finland, one to the US, the third to England, another to South Africa, and the last one to Holland.

Once your postcard is received (confirmed by entering a handy ID code) your address is then in the pool to receive a postcard from somewhere random. I got my first one while I was on vacation, from exotic Winchester, VA. The photo was of Natural Bridge. Small world, isn't it? But I got two more today: one from Thailand and one from Finland.

I know it sounds scary--give out your address to strangers all over the world? But there are a few things that make it secure: first, users don't exchange postcards with people in their own country. So anyone who is seeing my address is at least across a large body of water. Also, I don't give out my last name, I think most people don't. And of the postcards I've received, they seem to come from very nice, normal people; the Thai girl is a university student who is studying English, and the Finnish boy signed his card "(name) and parents." The website only allows 5 postcards to go at a time, so it's a waste of time for companies and spammers. All in all I think it's a great idea, and a wonderful way to learn about the world. It's like having a local be my tour guide, without having to bother with long flights and taking time off work, and I've already gotten cards from towns I would probably have never heard of otherwise.

by Katie