In My Mailbox

Recently I've become a bit obsessed with snail mail post. As the USPS struggles with financial issues, I want to save it. I love getting letters and packages of all sorts and I would hate to see that go away. That being said, recently I've joined a variety of websites to increase to learn more about the world around me and to also increase the number of surprises I find in my mailbox!

I first started getting very excited about international mail when, in 2003, my freshman year of high school, my wonderful German teacher, Herr Vanderboegh, introduced my German II class to the wonderful world of Letternet, the German postal services free pen pal website. When I was introduced to it, though, it was not yet online. Having it online now makes it much easier to find pen pals and I've now been a member for 10 years! While there are a number of members from all over the world, because it is through the German post, all letters must go through Germany (i.e. people in the US can only find pen pals in Germany).

Now, I've joined ePals, a website for classroom teachers to connect their students with other students around the world, Postcrossing, a postcard website established in Germany for lovers of postcards - you send postcards to random people around the world and get postcards back from different random people around the world, International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club, a website for girls who love to delight in their inner geekiness and spread it across the globe with a pen pal and InterPals Penpals, an open forum type website where one can participate in email or snail mail pen pal relationships as well as language exchange.

To date, I've sent 7 postcards through Postcrossing, have 4 new penpal relationships (in the UK, Russia, Poland and Germany), have signed up for the next round of pen pal pairing with the iggles (International Geek Girls) and am trying to find the best way to use ePals with 100 students in the fall so they get to explore and learn about areas around the globe. While I have not had any correspondence arrive in my mailbox yet, this will be the place where I chronicle my adventures with postal delivery!

I also love to send fun and interesting post so here are some examples of what I've been sending around the world so far.

 Fashionably Vogue Magazine Bespoke Stationary to send to pen pals

My first round of Postcrossing postcards to China, Malaysia, Russia, Germany, and Arizona (the other two went to Belarus and Finland) 

 Envelopes and stationary made from scrapbook paper sent to my penpals in Poland and Russia