I just registered some incoming Postcrossing postcards, and noted that I've passed the impressive number of 1000 sent, 1000 received...
I joined 15 May, 2013 - primarily because when going through my dad's study after he died (2011), I found lots and lots of still usable stamps, and decided that the most fun I'd get out of those was to send them out into the world! After I ran out of free stamps (+ postage kept going up, up up...) I've cut down a lot - but I'm still a member, and on 1st October I sent off a few to celebrate World Postcard Day.
Here are the four incoming from today, that helped bring my statistics up to 1001 received:
From Spain - written in Spanish
From the Netherlands - written partly in Dutch
From Finland - written in Swedish
Another one from Finland - written in English
Thankfully, none of the Finnish cards was written in Finnish! ;-)
Should perhaps add that as for Spanish and Dutch, I have added those to my language profile on Postcrossing, so have only myself to blame!
I think you can speak all these languages!
ReplyDeleteGinny, I can *read* enough Spanish and Dutch for a postcard, yes (provided the handwriting is legible in the first place!) Finnish is a totally different language though, and from the few lessons I tried, I found it very hard to memorize.
DeleteCongratulations, Monica! You have probably had no problems with the cards in Spanish and Dutch. And you could always start to learn Finnish with your app...
ReplyDeleteMeike, I tried learning a bit of Finnish last summer (2021), but it's such a very different language, and I find most words as well as the grammar slipping out of my memory faster than I can get any of it to stick even temporarily! ;-) With Spanish I've kept up daily Duolingo lessons since 2016, though; and Dutch I learned enough to usually be able to get the gist of a short written text - which I've decided is enough for me.
DeleteThe card with the clocks (or watches?) is unusual. The one from Spain looks as though it's an old one, judging by the age of the cars.
ReplyDeleteCG, clocks/time is one of the themes on my "wish-list" at Postcrossing - and another is historical buildings like castles (the kind of places I like to visit myself when travelling). (One can't demand that people only send certain kinds of cards, but one can list preferences. As a sender, it's also usually quite a fun challenge to try and meet the recipient's wishes!)
DeleteYou know more languages than I do, you sound very intelligent, post crossing seems like a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy :) I've always been interested in languages; in school I learned English, French and German, and continued with English and German at university. My French I haven't kept up much, though. But back in 2016 I came across the free Duolingo app, and started learning Spanish from scratch. I also checked out some other languages just to see how my brain would cope. Conclusion (no real surprise): The less they resemble the European languages I'm already familiar with, the more difficult to store in memory. On the other hand, keeping apart languages "too close" to one another is tricky as well (like Dutch vs German). So it's mainly Spanish I've kept going with.
DeleteI find it amazing you have sent and received 1000 cards. awesome. I speak only english and have apparently forgotten most words of that one. I like all these cards today especially the bird. too cute.
ReplyDeleteSandra, I'm feeling rather overwhelmed myself (by the 1000 cards...) As for language, you're making good use of the one you do speak! And with English being so widely spread over the world, I can also totally see why those growing up with that as first language may feel less motivated to add a second (or more)... For us who come from a "small" language, English opens up the world a lot, though!
DeleteThose are four attractive postcards you received, the little bird wearing shoes is extra cute. I was in Postcrossing for a while, you reached a nice 1,000 card goal. I could put French in my languages, and some Turkish and Spanish. No Finnish though.
ReplyDeleteTerra, Turkish is another language I tried learning a bit via Duolingo but the grammar got to intricate for me. I feel I just about learned enough to recognise (sometimes) from certain common words and phrases that it's probably Turkish someone is speaking. From there to actually being able to understand or communicate, however... (sigh)...
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