Postcards Crossing

Sunday Stamp 052: Troleicarros de Coimbra

by Sreisaat on Sunday, 18 March 2012 · 4 Comments

The theme for this week is as you wish. Since I missed the theme streeetcars and/or public transportation theme two weeks ago, I am going to make up and post an entry with that theme :)

One of the five stamps in the Public Tranport set issued by the Portuguese Postal Service in 2009 featuring the troleicarro, or the trolley bus.

A troleicarro, or trolley bus, is a an electric-powered bus that draws electricity from overhead wires that are usually suspended from roadside posts using spring-loaded trolley-poles.

In Portugal, the troleicarros currently operate only in the university city of Coimbra and is operated by the municipal authority SMTUC. It was opened in 1947, it supplemented and eventually replaced the Coimbra tram network (Wikipedia). I tried to look for the significance of the year "1961" as it is written on the stamp but to no avail.

Anyways, two other cities used troleicarros in the past, namely, Braga and Porto.

Postcard Friendship Friday 066: Relax!

by Sreisaat on Saturday, 17 March 2012 · 4 Comments

Posting my entry for this week, albeit late :)

I think the seal is playfully teasing you! Lol. Stressed much? Roll-over and relaaaaax! Lol.

A cute seal postcard lying on its back came from Germany. It is actually a postcard-sticker, i.e., the each of the pictures can be peeled off and used as a sticker. This is the first time I received a postcard like this!

The text says: Total Im Stress? Entspann dich, Gott hat alles im Griff.

Rough translation: Stressed? Relaxed, everything's under control.

A lof of us experience stress in many levels, at work, at home, everywhere. A little stress can do us good but too much of it can have devastating effects on our health as well as relationships. Some people experience stress too much to the point that it is killing them... I used to be really stressed out when I was working - with too many deadlines to beat and several officemates who are short on brainwaves contribute to my stressful workplace. I wonder if this kind of stress will be a ground application for a high risk life insurance?

Anyways, just a friendly reminder, kill stress before it kills you!

Postcard Perfect 045: Wawel Hill, Krakow

by Sreisaat on Wednesday, 14 March 2012 · 1 Comment

From Warsaw sent by my very good friend Ana. In case you don't notice she already sent me dozens of postcards every time she goes to travel in Europe. She never fails to include me in her list all the time.The postcard shows Wawel Hill in Krakow, Poland.

Abrazos de Krakow. Hugs from Krakow. Ana wrote to me.
Muchas gracias mi querida amiga :)

Wawel Hill in Krakow, the mecca of every Pole and a must for foreign tourists, is a microcosm of Polish history and culture. From the 11th century on Poland's monarchs took up their residence here in the Royal Castle. And they were both crowned and buried here, in the Wawel Cathedral where later on Polish national heroes have also been laid to rest since the 19th century. The place not only overflows with priceless art treasures, architectural beauties, relics of the past and curiosities. It is also full of glory, magic, history and fable. - Source: Wawel, the Hill of Fame

Wawel Hill is the name of a Jurassic limestone outcrop formed about 150 million years ago. It is situated on the left bank of the Vistula River in Kraków, Poland, at an altitude of 228 metres above the sea level. symbolic place of great significance for all Polish people. The Royal Castle and the Cathedral are situated on the Hill. - Source: Wawel Hill, Wikipedia. - Source: Wikipedia

Sunday Stamps 051: Stampin' Out Breast Cancer

by Sreisaat on Sunday, 11 March 2012 · 8 Comments

My entry for this week's Sunday Stamps doesn't directly reflect the spirit of the International Women's Day which we celebrated last Thursday. I stretched the theme a little bit to be able to feature a stamp that deals with one important issue that touches and changes the lives of many women all over the world.

I think it is an opportune time to feature this stamp for this week's PFF. Breast cancer affects many women all over the world - they are our mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends.

The USPS issued the Breast Cancer Research Stamps first on July 29, 1998 at a first-day ceremony at the White House. It was the first fund-raising stamp (also known as semi-postal) in the US history. The goal is to raise money to fund breast cancer research.

I think the stamp is beautiful and the way the woman* is posing is quite meaningful, too. It also features the phrases "Fund the Fight" and "Find a Cure".

The stamp depicts Diana*, the huntress and goddess of fertility, reaching behind her head to pull an arrow from her quiver to fend off an enemy, in this case, breast cancer. The image reflects the same position that a woman assumes for a breast self-exam and mammography. - Source

So, how much fund has been generated, you ask?
I wanted to find out myself but couldn't get a more recent update but, according to the USPS site, as of September 2010, the total Breast Cancer Research stamps sold amounted to $896.2M, and the net total raised for the fund is $71.1M. Now, that is a lot of money! With the stamps to remain on sale through Dec 2015, I really hope that the researchers will finally be able to find a breakthrough to cure breast cancer and hopefully will be accessible worldwide, especially to third world countries where women have very little, or no access at all to {early} detection and treatment.

Tunisian traditional costume for women

by Sreisaat on Saturday, 10 March 2012 · 1 Comment

Hey, hey, hey... I have another postcard to post, the last one for today before I resume my apidextra research. I'm on a roll today, I know.

I have always been fascinated by the different traditional costumes of the world. Which is why, I have placed a request for postcards showing traditional costumes in my Postcrossing profile. Thankfully, I've received a lot with this theme so I thank them all for granting my request.

From Tunisia comes this postcard showing the traditional Tunisian costume for women.

In Tunisia, they have so many different styles depending on the region. Unfortunately there is no description or information as to what region the costume above is from.

Reading through various sites, I learned that the essential part of the traditional costume is a "bent cut" tunic. The costumes are also made from wool, cotton, silk depending on the occasion. Very ornate embroideries, money wires, and other jewelries with intrinsic designs are used to decorate the women's garments, namely, farmla (waistcoat), jebba and kadrûn (dress), takrita (scarf), qoufiya (cap), kmâm ("handles"), and qmajja (tunic). - Source

Once all these garments are put together it creates a lovely and very colourful costume! Wedding dresses are even more elaborate than this. With all the decorations on the garments, I wonder if it gets too heavy though. Nevertheless, it is wonderful showcase of the Tunisian culture.

Thank you, Noor, for this postcard!

I've got mails!

by Sreisaat · 0 Comments

The other day, on my way to the Post Office, I saw two camper vans parked just a block away from the post office. They're dusty and, judging from the appearance of the vans and the different flags glued on the their sides, the owners must be "camper van holiday-ers" on a world tour. It's very rare to see those here. I kinda like the idea of traveling around the world and taking your "home" with you - mobile homes they are called, if I am not mistaken. Wouldn't it be cool to hit the road and venture into the great wide outdoors with some of the comforts of your own home? I think it's cool, and someday, when my husband and I have the financial resources, as well as time, we're going to do this! *wishful thinking* Don't worry, I'll send you postcards if you like, hahaha.

And speaking of postcards, here are only some of the stuff I picked up at the Post Office the other day. Happy-head here!

Postcards from Thailand, Russia and Japan; a parcel from the Philippines, and a note from the Post Office.

I want more!

by Sreisaat · 1 Comment

I featured this beautiful postcard from Romania in my previous post. While searching for info about it, I realised that this postcard is a part of a series called the Windows of Romanian Soul, also called as Insights into the Romanian Soul. It is composed of nine beautiful postcards each with corresponding folk poems on it and I want to have all of them!

Here's another one from that series that I like:

She could be anyone's mother, grandmother, aunt, etc.
Photo Source from www.bornintransylvania.ro

If you'd like to see the complete series, I found them all here in this site: Born in Transylvania. Here's the direct link to the postcard series. Can anybody help me complete this particular series? Send me a message via my contact form or leave a comment in this post. Thanks.

Postcard Friendship Friday 065: Window to the Soul of Romania

by Sreisaat on Friday, 9 March 2012 · 6 Comments

I am quite relieved and happy that I managed to finish running errands today. It felt like a huge block of stone was lifted off my back considering that I barely made it to the deadline of paying our bills. Serves me right, eh, having prioritized pleasure first before taking care of business. I'm just relieved that it's done. Period.

I went to the Post Office last to pay the PO box rental and was surprised to see advertising leaflets introducing discount coupons, mostly for grocery items and electronic gadgets, stuffed in my box. So when I saw the coupons, such as detergent soaps and sonicare toothbrush coupons on the leaflet, I immediately thought of my mother. She is such as huge user of discount coupons. I remember every Sunday she would collect the newspapers, cut and keep the coupons herself and make notes of her intended purchases. I have to admit though, I'm actually becoming like her now (gah, lol). I keep tabs (erm, bookmarks, that is) of discount coupons, online mostly.

Please excuse my blabberings. I am just chatty today, that's why. I came home in a good mood so I was able to scan postcards for posting this week and the next.

This week, I'm delighted to share with you my Postcard Friendship Friday. It came from far away Romania:

Peasant life in Romania. Many thanks to Danut for this lovely postcard.

I love it. This is one of the nine postcards from the Ferestre spre Suflet Românesc (Windows to the Romanian Soul) collection. The pictures are all authentic and perfectly captured, not a staged one.|

There's so much to love about this postcard.
Firstly, it shows the working clothes of a peasant in Romania. Danut said this type of clothes are specific to Transylvania (many of us, including myself, know very little of Transylvania and it's only limited to the story of Count Dracula). Secondly, I like the similarity between the rural people in Cambodia and Romania, specifically in the use of oxen and the cart in their daily lives, which are considered important and valuable farming "equipment" in both countries, albeit not so modern in the eyes of many. Thirdly, the folk-inspired poem in Romanian language is just beautiful. Here I'm sharing you the poem in Romanian and a translation of it in English which is written at the back of the postcard:

La apus sub soare blând In the sunset's mellow sun

Cu vecinu tăt lucrând Our daily work we never shun

Strangem tăt ce da pământu We gather swiftly all the crops

Şi cu furca şi cu gându The mind's not idle, the arm never drops

De la dumnezău cel sfântu. We pray that the Lord's gifts never stop.

This is my first postcard from Romania. Vă mulţumesc foarte mult, Danut. By the way, the second postcard has arrived ^.^ and I will post it sometime soon.

Of errands and friends and missing memes

by Sreisaat on Thursday, 8 March 2012 · 0 Comments

I missed this week's memes again. Drat. As usual, I was on my way to take care of errands - which I don't doing mind at all - but ran into a former colleague who I haven't seen in years. Instantly forgetting about the errands, I excitedly accepted her offer for coffee to catch up on each other's lives. We used to work together in one NGO in Phnom Penh and shared so many experiences in the field. I had fun talking to her again. She is now based in London and with a toddler to boot. Instead of talking about funds, and monitoring and evaluation tools, she shared with me her pregnancy experience, about how she was always grumpy and moody and how she waged a semi-war against her husband over - wait for it - colour for baby strollers. What a hoot. I suddenly realised how much I missed my old life, as a development worker, my colleagues and the fieldwork.

So I guess my entry for Postcard Perfect will be posted next week. I'm too lazy to scan postcards tonight; in fact I'm too lazy to do anything tonight. Must be the full moon casting a spell on me. Hopefully, I'd be more mindful of the schedule, tee-hee-hee. Before I go I'm going to leave you a photo of a souvenir candle from Siem Reap (the home of the world-renowned Angkor Wat Temple) with the Ta Prohm temple beautifully carved on it:

And this is how it looks like:

Photo Source: www.besttourism.com Click this link for a larger view of the picture.