Here are the postcards!
I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.
My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).
One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.
I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.
Australian Pride
You’ll see that this postcard arrived on June 1, the first day of Pride Month. What perfect timing!
soupe oignons carottes (France)
I love receiving recipe cards, but how often do they come bilingually, like this one?! Terrific!
Lons-le-Saunier (France)
Même si Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle ait écrit la Marseillaise (le chant national de la France) — il est évidemment né à Lons-le-Saunier - mon ami Dominique écrit que le chant soi-même a eté écrit à Strasbourg. Il écrit également que le chant a eté critiqué recemment d’être raciste et homophobe. Je ne m’en doute!
your shoe is untied (California)
The four of us—Julian and Salvo, Andy and I—have taken to exchanging eyebrow-raising postcards. This is no exception!
Frankenalb (Germany)
When I first saw this postcard, I thought it was from Frankenmuth, a tourist trap from near my hometown in southeast Michigan! It’s dressed up to be Bavarian in style, although the authenticity is quite questionable, I’m sure!
lounging man (Germany)
What a very nice postcard to receive! The sender hopes “this greeting brings a little smile on [my] face.” Indeed!
thé noir de Ceylan (Germany)
This beautiful postcard comes from Bavaria! What a delightful illustration!
Oologah (Oklahoma)
Whenever I see a town with a name like this, I always wonder if its origins are indigenous? The card confirms that the origin as are Cherokee meaning “dark cloud” and was chosen in honor of “a Cherokee Chief.”The sender included so much information
Indian Symbols? (Ontario)
While I do not for a moment believe in the accuracy of this postcard, I do love the historicity of it! It captures perfectly a certain time of orientalism and romanticism toward indigenous populations. If this is a Canadian postcard (and not an import from the US), it means we North Americans have shared some similar scripts about indigenous populations!
orange butterfly (Oregon)
Or is it a moth? Nonetheless, it’s beautiful and it comes from my friend Linda whose recovery is progressing, slowly and frustratingly, but steadily! I can’t wait to see her in July.
Charlotte (North Carolina)
One of my students this quarter traveled to Charlotte, NC for a conference. While they were there, they managed to find the time to pick up a postcard, write it, and send it! The USPS is a beautiful system but I don’t think it’s very transparent to people who didn’t grow up here. I’m very grateful for my student’s dedication!
Králova Lhota (Czechia)
My new penpal Milan sends this postcard from his hometown. This is the 14th century church of St. Sigismund! The back of the postcard reads “Králova Lhota, Královéhradecký Kraj;
Kostel sv. Zikmunda (kulturní památka) postaven v roce 1344 v gotickém slohu.“ Google Translate helps me out with the following: Králova Lhota, Hradec Králové Region;
Church of St. Sigismund (cultural monument) built in 1344 in the Gothic style.
‘Iolani Palace (Hawai’i)
Nozomi was in Hawai’i celebrating her honeymoon at long last (CoVID, etc.). She sent me this beautiful, haunting postcard from the gorgeous ‘Iolani Palace. She recommends getting a docent-led tour, which we neglected to do when we visited right before CoVID in 2020! The audio tour was fascinating and heart-rending, but I’ll certainly do the docent-led tour next time!
white poodle (Massachusetts)
This sender picked a gorgeous white poodle to send me and also included some great facts about their hometown of Worcester: the original smiley face is from there, the first commercial Valentines, and candlepin bowling!
Other Half IPA (Washington DC)
Margie writes that this postcard was made from the label of a bottle of beer! The label says Other Half IPA. I’m not a huge fan of IPAs but this postcard is so skillfully created! Amazing!
2024 Solar Eclipse (Ohio)
Carol writes here about her language studies back in school: French first, then Spanish, then French again in college and finally German. Unfortunately, now she remembers little of it, which I think is an all too common experience!
Killarney Park (Ontario)
Our friends went on vacation last month to Killarney Park, just across the way from my home state of Michigan! I have yet to explore that part of Ontario, but this postcard is giving me strong desire to do so!
Château Chalon (France)
Dominique m’écrit du vin jaune de cette région: Jura. Il me décrit comment il est fait: “un vin sec, de longue garde, issu du cépage savagnin et embouteillé dans une bouteille à forme unique appelée clavelin.” En fait, Andy et moi nous venons de découvrir le vin Jura depuis un an, au peu près. Nous l’adorons!
Māori man wielding a Mere (New Zealand)
This postcard comes courtesy of Matty, who visited Auckland and Wellington for the first time in quite some time. He says it hasn’t changed much, which is good to hear. Andy and I were really charmed by Wellington when we were there back in 2008 for IGALA 5.