Swap with Tundi from UK!

Another two cards that came are the swap cards from Tundi in U.K. It shows two cute maps of Anglesey (Wales) and Lancashire. U.K has such very cute map postcards. I envy it so much! >.<

Lancashire Map Front View

Lancashire Map Back View

Anglesey Map Front View

Anglesey Map Back View

So far cards from UK arrived really fast here, only a week (7 days), and vice versa!

Postcard #16, RU-1273206

Three cards came in today. The first card came from Anastasia in Russia, and it took 18 days to reach my home.

Front view

Back view

It shows a very beautiful church, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. I like it a lot! It also has a hint of snow, like what Anastasia told me :) The stamps show cute animals from Russia.

Facts:
Sender: Anastasia, Russia.
Traveled: 18 days
Distance: 7,456 km

A gift from Mike in Manchester!

A week ago I asked Mike, my sis' best friend and also my ex-lab assistant who were currently studying in Manchester, England to send me a postcard from there. He was kinda surprised because it seemed like a strange request for him hehehe ^^ Anyway, the postcard came today and wow! It took only 7 days (a week)! I wondered if he used a registered mail service.

Front view

Back view

 I'm glad that I can spread the virus of sending postcard =p Now he has the experience of sending one ^^

Postcard#15, CH-123478

My first postcard from Switzerland! It is written and sent by Gabriela and it only took 12 days to reach my home!

Front view

Back view

It shows the cute and colorful map of Switzerland. I like this a lot! The stamps are also beautiful. Her handwriting is round and cursive, like the one from Netherland or Belgium. Gabriela also sent a big hug for my 3 dogs! I sent the hug back from my dogs and to her cats LOL :p

Facts:
Sender: Gabriela, Switzerland
Distance: 11,226 km
Traveled: 12 days

Postcard #14, TW-690643

Another postcard came today! It's from Francis in Taiwan, sent on 11 October 2012. Same day sent as the one from USA before, but this one arrived a day later. Hm... I wonder why?

Front view

Back view

Francis' boyfriend, James, drew the picture. He's a good artist, drawing something cute like that :) Francis is also a sweet girlfriend ^^ The handwriting, I guess it's typical one from Japan, China, and Taiwan. Pointy and narrow, because they use to write Kanji a lot. The stamps are also pretty interesting.

Well, thanks a lot Francis and James! =)

Facts:
Sender: Francis, Taiwan
Distance: 3,792 km
Traveled: 12 days

Postcard #13, US-1908243

The postcard I received today came from... USA, again! This is my 3rd postcard from the USA. Yeah, as usual, the postcards from USA always delivered fast, about 11 days. The postcard was sent by Evelyn on 11 October 2012.

Front view

Back view

The picture is about the woodcarving of Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper in The Upper Room Chapel, Tennessee. I guess the postman didn't take care of the postcard well, because it's folded so there is a fold mark in the middle. Evelyn only wrote the ID, date and Good Luck on the postcard, which cause me a little bit disappointed. Judging from the writing, she is a middle-aged woman, around 50 maybe? (I might be wrong again though ^^)

Anyway, I'm grateful enough for the postcard. Thank you Evelyn!

Facts:
Sender: Evelyn, USA
Distance: 16,269 km
Traveled: 11 days

Postcard #12, RU-1241618

The second postcard arrived today is from Galina in Moscow, Russia. It traveled 23 days before reaching my home. The average time for Russia, I guess.

Front view

Back view

The picture shows a simple but beautiful church covered with snow. I really like this postcard because it shows the 2 things in my favourite list: church and snow! The stamp is typical of Russian stamps, which I have gotten a few from Natasha. The handwriting is quite neat and Galina has a typical way in writing letter a.

Facts:
Sender: Galina, Russia
Distance: 9,299 km
Traveled: 23 days.

Postcard #11, DE-1601462

Two postcards arrived today. One comes from Andrea in Germany, which was sent on 30th September 2012. It took quite a long time to reach Indonesia, it took 25 days, almost a month! It's quite rare for postcards from Europe to arrive this long (except Russia)...

Front view

Back view

It shows the recipe of a kind of pizza bread from Germany. It looks very delicious, especially because I like pizzas a lot! Hopefully I can go there someday to taste it myself... The stamp is also pretty, the picture of a church. The handwriting is quite similar to Oele, the one from Belgium... Maybe because the countries are close to each other?

Facts:
Sender: Andrea, Germany.
Distance: 11,144 km
Traveled: 25 days

Penpal Letter #1 from Miyu in Japan

Another thing that came today is a letter from my penpal, Miyu-chan in Japan. I met her in Postcrossing forum when she was looking for someone to exchange letters with. I thought of practicing my Japanese as well, so I messaged her, and wrote a letter to her in early September.

She replied the letter today, with some gifts inside. A crane origami and a package of Hello Kitty face papers! OMG so cuteeeee! I will not dare to use them! Even the envelope and writing papers are so cute! Kawaiiiii~!

The Envelope

Present from Miyu-chan

I did send her a batik keyring souvenir last time, but I didn't expect she would return that! She wrote some paragraphs in Japanese, which forced me to dig up my brain - what I have learned about Japanese kanji and grammar. Luckily she put the furigana (hiragana) above the kanji, so it's easier for me to read. This is really a good way to practice my written Japanese.

Thanks a lot Miyu-chan! :D

Postcard #10, BR-227491

The postcard I received today came from... Alberto in Brazil! Wow! I'm so excited to receive a postcard from the other part of the globe! However, the travel time was quite long, 28 days, but anyway, I heard that the South American countries took longer time.

Front view

Back view

The picture is the Salvador city view and the stamps are about the special animal called Ariranho (?) which looks like Komodo in Indonesia, and the other one is celebration-themed. When I saw the handwriting, I thought of a middle-aged guy, and it turns out to be correct! Alberto is 52 years old, as I saw on his profile. And he asked for a swap, which I will be more than happy to accept!

Facts:
Sender: Alberto,Brazil
Distance: 15,647 km 
Traveled: 28 days

Reply Postcard #2 from Natasha in Russia

The second postcard from Natasha came today... It was sent on 22 September, so it took about 3 weeks to reach Indonesia.

Front view

Back view

 Natasha said that her mom works in a space company which had a contract for space satellites with Indonesia. I wonder which company is that? Anyway, I love the stamps! She put 4 stamps with unique shapes there!

Thank you Natasha!

Reply Postcard #1 from Natasha in Russia

Today, one postcard arrived in my home. Natasha, whom I sent my fifth postcard to, replied my postcard with a postcard from her country, Russia.

Front view

Back view

It's a picture of Peterhof, The lower Park not far from St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. The park is very beautiful, indeed, and perfect for a walk! Again, I hope Indonesia can have one of these parks.. The parks here are mostly dirty...

Natasha's handwriting is round, half-cursive and neat. The postcard's back has a picture, too, not blank white like the usual postcards. What unique is the stamp, it's not rectangular, but the shape is unusual. Russia has a lot of unique stamps, I guess. I've seen one which is a triangle...

Natasha said she will send two postcards for me! She's so kind... Let's just wait for her second card!

Postcard #9, AU-232006

The last postcard is sent from Australia. It is written by Christine in Port Stephens. It reached Indonesia quite fast too, after 12 days. Christine didn't write the date, but from the stamp I guess it was sent on 21 September.

Front view

Back view

The size of the postcard is rather different, it's longer but the width is shorter than the usual postcards. It has the beautiful view of Fingal Bay, and she told me some history about it which is quite interesting.

The handwriting is roundish and cursive. I think Christine must be a middle-aged woman? Maybe around 40? (Just my guess though :D) The stamp is also simple and nice. Hope I can visit this place someday...

Facts:
Sender: Christine,Australia
Distance: 5,526 km
Traveled: 12 days

Postcard #8, NL-1441330

The other card is from Ellie in Apeldooin, Netherlands. I received it 13 days after it was sent. Pretty fast for Europe. What's funny about this is that the sender, Ellie, is the one my sister wrote her first postcard to. What a coincidence, right? That's why the name rings a bell.

Front view

Back view

 It's a picture of a tasty-looking and fresh green apple that tempts you to bite it! Ellie also put some cute puppies stickers on the postcard which made me screamed once I saw it. So cute!

The handwriting is also neat and I guess she is in her 30s. She told me about her activities which she enjoys very much. She looks like a very nice person. And yes, life is indeed beautiful, Ellie.

Facts:
Sender: Ellie, Netherlands
Distance: 11,285 km
Traveled: 13 days

Postcard #7, BE-168410

Another postcard that I received today came from Belgium after 17 days journey, and this one is the one that made me very happy all day! The postcard is  in an envelope, and when I opened it, there are lots of used Belgium stamps! The sender, Oele, indeed took notice of me collecting stamps in my profile, and she put extra effort in sending those stamps to me! I'm so touched and speechless with her generosity.

Front view

Back view

Treat from Belgium

The picture on the postcard shows a tasty-looking Belgian frites. She also explained what's inside it and told me what mayonnaise is (I couldn't help smiling, because here we have mayonnaise too :p). The frites looks very tasty and I would like to taste it!

Oele's handwriting is unique, it's round but neat, and she has a special way to write letter n and r. I like her handwriting. But again, I read the name wrongly, I called her Dele instead of Oele. Stupid me!

Anyway, thank you very much Oele for this special treat!

Facts:
Sender: Oele, Belgium
Distance: 11,370 km
Traveled: 17 days  

Postcard #6, UA-360244

What a treat today! I received 4 postcards at once! Those really made my day! Since I don't know which card came first, so I just decided the order through the sent date.

So the 6th postcard is from Natalie in Ukraine (sent on 13 September 2012). The journey took about 19 days. This is my first postcard from Ukraine! I'm so thrilled!

Front view

Back view

 As a person who lives in tropical country, I've almost never seen snow. Well, I have seen it once when I was in Switzerland and Japan, but I've never experienced it in my own country, of course! So I'm always thrilled everytime I see snow, even in pictures :p And the picture on this postcard shows a very beautiful snow view in Carpatian (or Karpaty in Ukrainian) Mountains. Made me want to go there! >.<

Natalie's handwriting is neat and, I would say it's typical of 20s girls. Sometimes my handwriting looks like this ^^ As for the stamp, it has a beautiful scenery, and the cost is 5.60 (I wonder if it's in Euro? If it's, that's really expensive!).

Facts:
Sender: Natalie,Ukraine
Distance: 9,950 km
Traveled: 19 days