Brno (Czechia)

Today a private-swap from a Postcrossing user arrived from Czechia’s second largest city, Brno. I haven’t been to Czechia yet but I hope to visit it soon. I’m so curious to know the story behind the alligator depicted on the postcard! I didn’t think Europe had any large reptiles like that.

national monument (Bangladesh)

This is my first postcard from Bangladesh! It arrived courtesy of Postcrossing and I am so thrilled to add another country to my collection. I don’t know much about Bangladesh to be fair - just that it sits to the east of India and has an enormous population, especially in relation to its geographic size. The stamps tell a dramatic story of “War Crimes in Bangladesh, 1971” with some very disturbing photographs. I’ll need to do some more research.

“Die Mühle Am Wall” - Bremen (Germany)

What luck! This postcard comes via Postcrossing from Bremen in northern Germany. I was struggling to read it until my very talented niece helped me translate it. The sender asks me about the Town Musicians of Bremen, a famous fairy tale — I haven’t heard of it so I think I’ll do some research. The windmill reminds me of the windmills in Golden Gate Park, too!

Lichtenberg - Bas-Rhin (France)

Mon ami très fidel m’a encore envoyé une très belle carte postale, cette fois une illustration parfaite du Château de Lichtenberg dans le village de Lichtenberg. Très tôt, j’éspere, nous pourrons voyager en résponsabilité et santé, et je pourrai voir ce château et le reste d’Alsace moi-même. Jusqu’à ce point-là, je compte sur les cartes postales que Dominique m’envoye. Merci, mon ami!

‘Saukko’ (a Finnish otter)

This is a private swap from a Finnish Postcrossing user and I am so thrilled to receive it! There’s something very captivating about otters, be they Eurasian otters (as in this case) or sea otters (as we have here on the Pacific coast) or North American river otters (as we were lucky to spot in the wild a few years ago while hiking along the San Andreas Fault). This one of course is no exception!

a Japanese pangram

This card comes from a user in Japan via Postcrossing; they sent me this beautiful depiction of an old style of writing Japanese called “iroha.” Further, this card depicts a pangram - using all of the letters in Japanese! The famous pangram in English is “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Do you know a shorter one?

That is in fact the plot of one of my favorite books, called “Ella Minnow Pea” by Mark Dunn. Check it out!

Sanibel Island Seashells

This postcard comes from my sister-in-law who lives in Florida with my niece. One of their favorite places to visit is Sanibel Island; on their most recent trip, my niece braved the water (even though it was only 65F!) and then they collected shells, including some crab claws. I remember combing the beach for shells and being so envious when little brother found a shark tooth! I wanted one so badly that I eventually convinced my parents to buy me one (at an exorbitant price, I’m sure) at a local souvenir shop. If only I’d known then about the power of postcards instead of natural ephemera…

Map card of Georgia

This is the first Postcrossing card I’ve received at the new address — while moving, I paused the receipt of cards even if I was still sending some. I’m so happy to be getting mail here; it really helps the new condo to feel like a home.

This of course reminds me of my last trip to Georgia when I visited Atlanta for the 2019 TESOL Convention. I have great memories of the Georgia Aquarium with its Taiwanese whale sharks, and of course the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, which was moving and difficult and such an incredible experience.

Sacramento, California

James and Greg have the honor of sending the first postcard to be received in our new home! This one is a beautiful view of the Sacramento River passing through our state’s lovely capital. Although we haven’t seen Greg and James in some months, we think of them fondly and are grateful they thought of us at our new home! We’re looking forward to visiting soon.

Haere Mai!

This beautiful vintage-style postcard came from my brother-in-law Tristan in Hawai’i. Not only are the colors and illustration terrific, but I always love any use of indigenous and minority languages. This is of course Māori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa (New Zealand), a Polynesian language. Why might this be sent from Hawai’i, you might ask, which are 4600 miles/7400km apart (or roughly the distance from Moscow to Hong Kong)? Māori and Hawai’ian are both Polynesian languages, which means that the indigenous inhabitants of these islands share a common ancestral homeland of Formosa, better known today as Taiwan. All of the indigenous languages, and many more in the Pacific, are closely related. If you want to read more about Polynesians’ amazing spread across the planet (before the “Age of Exploration” they were the most widely spread ethnicity in human history), check out Christina Thompson’s eminently readable “Sea People: the Puzzle of Polynesia.”

Gâteau breton

Dominique strikes again, sending a fantastic recipe postcard! This is the 42nd postcard he’s sent and I’m so grateful, especially for the opportunity to try a new recipe. For the non-French-speakers here, my translation of the recipe is:

Breton Cake (Great Recipes from Brittany)

1. Put the flour and the sugar in a large bowl; make a well and mix in five egg yolks.

2. Work the mixture with a wooden spoon and then rub it between your palms to make a sandy texture.

3. Add the butter, cut into small pieces, and knead.

4. Butter a baking dish; tip in the dough and make a crisscross pattern with a fork. Brush with the last egg yolk.

5. Bake in the oven at 190C (375F) and let it bake for about an hour. Serve with apple cider.

Ingredients: 350g flour, 175g sugar, 6 egg yolks, 190g butter

Equipment: a bowl, a baking dish

Happy Chinese New Year!

This terrific postcard comes courtesy of my long-time friends Kay and Pei who challenged me to determine which character was depicted here. I was lucky — although my knowledge of 漢字 (hànzì) or “Chinese characters” is quite limited — because this one was easy for me to identify: 春 (chūn) or “spring”! Indeed, this card comes with wishes for a prosperous and happy Year of the Ox, which I also wish to you all!

新年快樂! (Happy New Year!)

Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

This postcard comes from a new penpal in Florida, Dean. Not only does he include terrific, vintage stamps, but he sends postcards from the many travels he’s taken in the past. Clearly, he’s a big fan of national parks, as am I! I have indeed visited Tuolumne Meadows on one of my visits to Yosemite. I think I’ve been three times. It is a truly magnificent park and it’s no surprise that many consider it to be the crown jewel of America’s National Park System.

Burle Marx Gardens in Brasilia, Brazil

Here is another Postcrossing arrival, this time from Brasília, Brazil. This is the first postcard I’ve received from Brazil (through Postcrossing) in eleven years! Many people falsely think that either Rio de Janeiro or São Paolo is the capital of Brazil, but in fact the country created almost a whole city out of wilderness not that long ago to serve as the national capital. This verdant garden was designed by famed Brazilian landscape architect Robert Burle Marx. I love the wedding of green plants, concrete and glass architecture, and flowing sculpture.

Greetings from Portland, Oregon

This postcard comes from my dear friend and former co-worker Linda in Portland, Oregon. She always sends such thoughtful postcards, and this one is no exception. I love the artist, LouPaper, and in fact discovered her through Linda, who surprised me for my birthday with a bundle of her greatest hits. I went on to order several dozen more and they’ve been among my most popular postcards sent. It’s easy to see why, with this gorgeous art. Thanks, as always, to Linda for her constant friendship, her correspondence, and for introducing me to one of my favorite postcard artists.

The Constellations (from Russia)

This postcard comes from Postcrossing after 121 days of travel! Mail between the US and Russia is notoriously slow, but four months seems extreme even given the long transit times. In fact, I was the first recipient of this sender’s Postcrossing experience, which is a great honor for me. I hope she has many years of happiness and delight with Postcrossing, as I have.

sundial at Mont Sainte-Odile, Alsace

This postcard comes from the ever constant Dominique, who writes in English this time! I always thought he didn’t speak much English, but I must have misinterpreted that from our early correspondence. It’s a beautiful sundial here—and a new vocabulary word for me in French! I can’t say that I ever had the need to learn how to say “sundial” before, but know you know: un cadran solaire. This postcard depicts the famous Mont Sainte-Odile, a peak in Alsace, France with an abbey there (also known as the Hohenburg Abbey) founded in 690! What a beautiful place; I hope to visit it on my next trip to France!

Shee (“Peace” in Manx)

More fantastic news from the language revitalization corner of my social networks! This postcard was sent by my friend and former cohort-mate Lauren who’s learning Manx as a heritage learner. She even wrote some beautiful Manx for me to read, which I’m copying here for you, too:

Laa mie, Kristopher! Kys t’ou? Ta mee goll as gaccan, agh mie dy liooar. Gow kiarail, as hee’n oo dy gerrid!"

I hope I didn’t misspell anything in the original Manx, which translates to '“Good day! How are you doing? I’m ‘going and grumbling’ but well enough. Take care and see you soon!” I hope I can see Lauren soon, either here in SF, there in Pittsburgh, or somewhere else! Thanks again!

Pride from Åland

This is the first postcard I’ve received from Åland, which as its own country-code on Postcrossing! If you’re not familiar with the island territory, it’s an autonomous area of Finland situated between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden and Finland’s only monolingual Swedish-speaking area. Finland itself is officially bilingual (Finnish and Swedish), and also recognizes other regional languages. I love that Åland has its own postage stamps as well!

On my Postcrossing profile, I invite senders to tell me about LGBTQ life where they live, which I think explains why this person sent me the Pride flag! What a great gift in my mailbox!

Natural postcard from Lijiang, Yunnan, China

I’m not sure the scan here will do it any justice, but this postcard is actually a real leaf (I wonder what kind?). It was sent to me by two of my most memorable private students from their recent visit to 中国 云南省 丽江. I was so thrilled to receive this card, and I think back fondly on the time I spent with them in Hangzhou just over a year ago when they spent the day giving me a tour of their college town, introducing me to delicious restaurants, and dedicating their hard-earned time off to welcoming me with open arms. I hope I can return to China again some time soon, and that they can travel to the US again. Until then, I’ll be sending them a thank-you postcard. But where to find a postcard of comparable beauty and uniqueness?!