“My heart beats Hessian” (Germany)

This postcard is a response to my call for local, indigenous, and minority languages, and features a variety of German that translates roughly as above: My heart beats Hessian. Not only do I speak no German, but I know almost nothing about the other varieties of German that are spoken, so this is a real gift to receive!

Alfie and Olive play the crossword (New York)

One of Andy’s and my new traditions since the pandemic is to complete the New York Times crossword puzzle every morning without hints or cheats. We’re well into our mid-500-day streak already! After solve the crossword puzzle, we immediately turn to Rex Parker’s blog to see his thoughts on the puzzle, and it’s become a daily activity that we share over breakfast.

We recently sent a small token of our appreciation for his hard work and he thanked up with this postcard, designed by his daughter Ella Egan. I hope it doesn’t sound callous to ask this, but what joy have you found during the pandemic? Among ours has been the crossword puzzle and Rex Parker’s blog.

atlas of China

This postcard presents one view of China, and comes from a college student in China. She writes “First of all, I wish you and your husband happiness. You have courage.” Perhaps I’m reading too far between the lines but I’m happy to represent one possibility of happiness for folks all over the world.

a treasure trove of postcards (California)

These four postcards highlight the problems of my titling scheme. Although they were sent from California, two of them were obtained first in Costa Rica and one was obtained in Arizona. They come from a dear friend of mine, Marina, who collected these postcards during some fairly recent travel and work experiences, and makes some important recommendations to me and Andy. I so enjoyed receiving these cards as they definitely qualify as later-cards (one of my favorite genres of postcards).

Russian tea time

This terrific postcard comes from another linguist who lives in Moscow. On the back, she’s written the names of some Russian treats that often go with tea in Cyrillic. I can read Cyrillic if it’s printed, but handwritten Cyrillic causes me some trouble (just like handwritten Korean or Chinese, actually). I just don’t have the practice looking at what the letters can be. It was fun to try to transcribe it, but I know I was very wrong with a great many of them!

the northern lights (Finland)

This postcard depicts the Northern Lights on its front, and on its back, the sender sent a recipe for blueberry pie. I always thought of blueberry pie as a distinctly North American recipe but of course blueberries also grow well in the north of Europe (and other places, too, I’m sure!). So it makes sense that Finland would boast delicious blueberry pie, too. Here’s the recipe for those who are interested:

Crust

• 100 g butter

• 1 dl sugar

• 1 egg

• 2.5 dl flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

Filling

• 4 dl blueberries

• 1 tsp vanilla

• 2 dl crème fraîche

• 0.5 dl sugar

• 1 egg

Whisk butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add egg while stirring constantly. Combine flour and baking powder and add the mixture to the batter. Press the dough into prepared pie dish. Gently add berries, combine the ingredients of the filling and add to the pie. Back at 200C for 30 minutes, and eat!

facts and figures (Germany)

I love this style of postcard because it’s so informative! The font is also quite fun. I don’t know why I was so surprised to find out how many people live in Germany, but the number is really quite large!

Live Oak Avenue, Brookgreen Gardens, near Mrytle Beach (Ohio)

This postcard comes from a sender in Ohio, but depicts a place not far from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I wonder if Live Oak Avenue at Brookgreen Gardens still exists? We used to vacation frequently in Myrtle Beach as kids; I remember all six of us piling into the van to drive down from Michigan. In fact, it was in Myrtle Beach that I had one of my earliest awakenings to the mysteries of language.

My little brother and I were playing on a playground at the campground where my family was staying, and we were playing with some other kids who were local to South Carolina. At some point, one of the kids remarked to us, “Yall talk funny.” I indignantly responded, “No, you guys talk funny!” Later, I realized that to them, we did indeed sound funny… just like they sounded funny to us. Maybe that was one of my first realizations about how much identity is wrapped up in the way we talk to one another? Now, of course, I know that everyone talks funny, depending on who’s listening.

more German bread

In my profile, I request a few things, among them local cuisine and beverages, as well as favorite recipes. This postcard comes with both of these things! The sender includes a recipe for farmer’s bread (Bauernbrot) which includes some ingredients that might be difficult to get in the US: fresh yeast (I’ll have to find the appropriate substitution of active dry) and beet syrup (I’m thinking either barley malt syrup or pomegranate molasses). I’ll let you know how it works out!

they judged Jesus (Germany)

The sender of this postcard lives in Germany but picked this postcard up in Graz, Austria. It depicts a window in the Graz Parish Church that is of some controversy, apparently. In the upper right-hand corner you see two faces which are Hitler and Mussolini, joining in on the judgement of Jesus.

The sender of this postcard asks whether this scenery is appropriate for a church; I personally think that any condemnation of unrepentant murders and dictators is warranted and welcome, no matter the setting. But what do you think?

Buckler non-alcoholic beer (New Hampshire)

Some people really dislike handmade postcards or advertising postcards, but they don’t bother me! In this case, the sender cut this postcard out of the box that the near-beer came in! What a fun way to re-purpose packaging!

cuttlefish chess (California)

This postcard comes from my former student YL whose boyfriend brought this postcard to her on a surprise visit from Taiwan. It’s really cute! Of course, sepia plangon is a species of cuttlefish, known in English as “mourning cuttlefish.” If my Chinese translation is correct, there’s a pun happening here. The cuttlefish says to itself “傑出的一手” or “outstanding first hand,” a pun on the many “hands” that the cuttlefish has, and the opening move of chess.

Yasaka no to, Hokanji, Kyoto (Japan)

This is a beautiful postcard of Kyoto, Japan, even though the sender lives in Gunma Prefecture. I don’t know a lot about Japanese geography, but I had never heard of Gunma Prefecture before, nor its important cities: Maebashi (capital) and Takasaki (largest city). I love this night scene, and I’m curious about the red trail that was left through. Is it a bicycle light?

skyline (Hong Kong)

This is a really gorgeous postcard that I received today from Hong Kong. I haven’t visited yet but I hope to soon!

Key Lime Pie (Illinois)

This postcard comes from a bilingual (Spanish/English) teacher in Illinois! I’ve never been a big fan of cream pies, but this pie is so famous it might be worth trying. I wonder if I can get Key limes in California?

el Museo Guggenheim en Bilbao (Spain)

Aparte de las postales que recibo de mis amigos, no recibo muchos de España en Postcrossing. No sé si es culpa del algoritmo o quizás que no haya muchos españoles que usen el servicio. De todas maneras, el País Vasco es una de las muchas regiones que no he visitado, pero me gustaría muchísimo verla. Desde los primeros días de mi aprendizaje de español, he leído sobre el vasco como idioma y cultura, y me fascina. Es quizás el primer idioma indígeno/minoritario que conocí (aparte de los americanos más locales a mí). Desde entonces, siempre he querido saber más sobre los idiomas no oficiales o demi-oficiales de Europa.

calligraphy, two ways (Japan)

This postcard features calligraphy in two styles. On the right is a style that I find completely illegible. It’s so artistic and beautiful that I think it must take significant training and concentration to even read it, much less produce it! On the right is a much clearer style of writing, although there are a few words that I’d have a hard time reproducing myself (I have no idea what it says, of course).

la Boisserie (France)

I’m writing this entry in English because Dominique’s postcard highlighted a strong cultural difference between the US and France that I wanted to share with people who might not know much about France (but might know a lot about my home country). This is former French president Charles de Gaulle’s office from his private residence La Boisserie in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises.

I think to a US audience, it will not be surprising at all to learn that de Gaulle’s private residence has since been converted into a museum. This is especially the case because if an American can name any French president, present or past, it will likely be Charles de Gaulle (his name on the main airport in Paris doesn’t hurt matters either).

But as Dominique writes, “it is relatively rare that a President of the French Republic have his own memorial.” This is absolutely not the case for US presidents, who have been building their monuments to their own grandeur for decades. One of my favorite podcasts has a great episode precisely on these Yankee Pyramids. Imagine, my fellow Americans, a country that isn’t littered with countless and forgettable grandiose, expensive mausoleums to dead presidents’ hubris!

le Chat blanc (France)

A former student and now friend of mine sent me this delightful postcard from the Musée d’Orsay, which he visited over the holiday break from Sweden where he’s studying abroad. This is another case of wishing I could show you the postage, because he writes that the museum didn’t disappoint at all. However, he was disappointed by the postal system because they only gave him this “funny stamp” that didn’t have any adhesive or glue! I kind of like the stamp (some sort of anime, I think, known as “Goldorak” in Francophone places and “Grendizer” in Anglophone places). I like the juxtaposition of the anime with this 1894 painting by Pierre Bonnard.

Haupstadt Berlin (Germany)

Are there any German speakers out there who can help me with this card? Is this redundant? Haupstadt by itself I guess isn’t necessarily redundant, but when it’s paired with Berlin, I guess it is. Or maybe it’s a fixed expression? I haven’t been to Berlin yet, either, even though so many of my friends have highly recommended it to me. Some day!