Why TLC Gives Me Such a Headache

There are three kinds of people in America: those who aren’t interested in traveling, those who ARE interested in traveling, and those who want to see the world. What is the difference between the latter two? Allow me to explain myself.

One can travel for the sake of saying they’ve been somewhere. One can travel to a particular place with a tourist group to add the location to their Facebook albums upon returning, to buy souvenirs, eat the food, and maybe walk through a few museums with an ‘ooh/aah’ reaction.

But I want to see the world. Not just the landmarks, the food, the people, and the places. I was to SEE LIFE around the world. I want to get to know everything I can about the everyday plight of the citizens of wherever I go. Why? Because there are thousands of ways to live the same life, and I want to learn about how different people approach living. I want to go beyond the stereotypes and the touristy side of each place I see. I want to know the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what.’

Traveling as a hobby these days is getting such a bad reputation because all anyone ever thinks about is how awesome they are, visiting foreign places and flaunting the fact that they’re Americans, etc. I totally blame TLC for a lot of this, because of their reality shows. Every notice how every ‘oddball’ family that has a show on that channel always has ‘special’ episodes where they travel to foreign places and totally end up embarrassing their home country with their cluelessness? Duggars, I’m looking at you in particular.

None of these families are going abroad to experience. They are going to show the cameras that they can, and then end up eating at Mai Dan Lau (Mandarin for McDonald’s) instead of from a local restaurant. It’s essentially modern-day American Imperialism. And it is a disgrace. “The Learning Channel,” indeed.

Because really, what is the point of spending time exploring a foreign country if you aren’t going to immerse yourself fully in it? Why buy a hamburger in France if you can buy one down the street from your office? Because you don’t want to try the escargot? Have you ever actually tasted escargot? It’s actually tasty (and I’ve never been to France!). But even if it wasn’t, I’d want to sample it and any other dish France could offer me.

For the most part, Americans have gotten so rude and close-minded that it’s no wonder a lot of other countries hate us. We’re like that jerk on the playground who always stole the other kids’ desserts and then said that his mom’s pie was better. Why did you even bother snatching up my dessert?!

I guess the point of this mini-rant is that if you’re going to explore the world, you have to keep your mind open. Is it scary sometimes? Oh hell yes it is! But so was my first time eating sushi, and it’s one of my favorite foods now. You can’t get the full experience until you try it.

And TLC is as far from a real experience as you can possibly get.

And The Duggars are imperialist douchebags, but that is a post for another time. 

To Vintage or Not to Vintage?

I will be the first to admit that I’m pretty selfish. Sometimes I stumble across a postcard that I myself don’t want to part with. About a year ago, I got this gorgeous, genuinely vintage postcard from artlover.

It got me thinking about how someone could willing send a gorgeous, rare card like this one to a complete stranger halfway around the world, let alone allow it to be tainted with stamps, writing, and postmarks! Granted, I’m very glad artlover did just for me, because this is one of my top 5 favorite cards I’ve ever received. But it puts into perspective what to do if you find or buy a postcard for your ‘To Send’ pile, but find yourself loving it so much you just can’t bear to send it off.

The obvious answer would be to keep it for yourself. After all, your collection doesn’t just have to be of cards sent to you, right? But I also have the dilemma where I WANT someone else to get this card and call it their favorite. I want the enthusiastic reply I get when someone sends a ‘thank you.’ For someone who invests way too much time emotionally into this hobby, it’s truly a conundrum.

Last year in Seattle, I visited the Asian history museum, and picked up a bunch of cool cards with ancient art on them….I bought ten and I still have seven because I just HAD to keep so many of them! I figured that I don’t know if I’ll ever make it back to the Asian History Museum ever again, so why not keep my own souvenirs of the lovely time I had there? I suppose the same goes for vintage cards too….vintage postcards are so rare as it is! Why send them away?

I do find a few very lovely vintage cards in second hand bookstores that I can pick up for a quarter a piece. Some are even fascinating because they’re either local vintage, or used cards with someone else’s writing and dates on it. How cool is that? Holding a piece of genuine dated history in your hand. For a geek like me, it’s pretty damn awesome, I have to say.

So, if you want my advice, keep your favorites for yourself and be selfish! After all, what are the odds that you will stumble on the same card twice?

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK V: Germany

Germany is probably the country I get the most postcards from, including the US. I’ve even gotten an instance of repeat cards (what ARE the odds of that?). I got this one from Venia. The caption translated is:

A pretty girl and a cold beer,
Ah Bavaria, I shall remain here!

Germany is a big part of my personal heritage, but I do have to admit that when you get so many cards from the same country, you develop a sort of knee-jerk reaction thinking it will be of the same landmark or mountains. I certainly get a lot of diverse cards from here, like the one above, but I don’t think the site can really help how many cards you get from the same country. I would guesstimate that about solid third of my postcards are from either Germany or Russia.

You have to admit though, this card is pretty damn cute.

My Very First Postcard!

I;ve been going at this for two years now (as I’ve said several times before), and so I guess I’ll commemorate this by posting briefly about the very first postcard I received after signing on to Postcrossing.

Sent to me by alexina

It took this card about a week to get from Nuremburg to me, but it seems like it took forever. I knew Nuremburg from my history studies as the place where all of those Nazi trials took place after World War Two. Since that is what Nuremburg was most famous for, I was surprised that this postcard doesn’t make mention of the history. I guess because that chapter is so bleak that no one wants to receive a postcard about it. I don’t blame them. Isn’t even mentioning Nazis illegal and punishable by a weekend in jail or something?

Still, the card makes Nuremberg look like a pretty tranquil, lower-population city. A city more for the locals than tourists, I guess. And those are the best places to go if you’re like me and want to see everyday life in other places as opposed to just experiencing the tourist towns and landmarks. It does look like an adorable little sleepy town.

The lady’s costume is pretty cool, though I can;t place the era. I want to say she’s dressed as a Hessian because of the tricorn hat. I actually have Hessian ancestry. In the days of the American Revolution, when the Brits were hiring Hessians to aid their side, a lot of second sons took up the call, because back then in Germany, if you weren’t the first-born son, you got nothing from your parents. My ancestor, like many others, got to America and switched sides upon arrival. They figured that fighting for the Patriots would mean they’d be able to stake their claim in the new country and have more opportunity than they would have sweeping up shops as an apprentice in the Old Country. I remember seeing once that Rob Lowe had a similar story.

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK IV: Japan

I use the word ‘obsessed’ a lot in thsi blog, don’t I? Well, be assured that when I use it here, I mean it in every sense of the word. I am obsessed with Japanese culture, in particular, the cultures of Old Kyoto and Gion. This card was sent to me by Annette-in-Japan.

I don;t have much to say other than I adore Japanese culture, so here are a few of my other favorite postcards from Japan I’ve received!

I love the style of this one…and it combined my love of Japanese art with my love of cats! Speaking of which, allow me to obsess again for a moment to say that Japan has a small island that is populated almost entirely by non-feral stray cats? It’s a fisherman island, so they live off the castoffs of the fishers, and they’re apparently quite friendly. I must go here and live my lifelong dream of rolling in a sea of cuddlies on Cat Island.

Obviously these two both show more of why I love geisha. The gorgeous art on the left is reminiscent of the ancient style, and the photograph on the right shows two geiko (master geisha). You can tell they are masters of their craft because their kimono collars are white. If they were apprentices (maiko), they would have red collars and larger obi knots on their backs.

And of course, no post about Japanese postcards would be complete without the obligatory anime card!

I’m not sure which anime this is from (I watch so little of it…I’ve only ever seen episodes from two shows).

Storing and Organizing Postcards: A Tip Sheet!

So, you’re building up your postcard collection, eh? How many do you have? 50? 100? 1,000?

I’ve experimented with several different ways to store and display my ever-growing stash of awesome postcards. Each way has its’ advantages and disadvantages.

Method One: A ‘Treasure” Box
Advantages: Portable and Accessible. Cost-efficient.
Disadvantages: As your postcard collection grows, you’ll run out of room! Also, not much room for creativity.

I quickly outgrew using my fairy box for storing cards I received. For a 10-dollar box, it was only able to hold about 50-75 average-sized postcards. Now I put it to better use storing my stamps, stickers, and to-send cards. For beginner collectors, this is a nice method though, because investing in a scrapbook that might involve long-term upkeep is committing to something you might not necessarily get in to for long. But if you’re someone who does it for a child (many people I’ve sent cards to do it on behalf of their young children…how cute!), a box may just be the perfect way to go. It’s simple and easily accessible to a child. Plus, it’s ideal for show and tell!

Method Two: A Scrapbook
Advantages: You get to express your creativity. Scrapbooks usually can be adjusted to fit more pages.
Disadvantages: Can get pretty costly and time-consuming.

I tried going this route because my close friend inspired me to. She showed me her first binder full, and wow, was it gorgeous! I quickly realized, however, that I am of a much lazier sort, and I would rather pop the cards in somewhere and be done. So my first binder is all fanci-fied, and the rest are not. So much for continuity.

But if scrapbooking is your forte, you can have a LOT of fun with themed pages based on your card’s location, cut holes so the backs can be read as easily as the fronts, and create a really masterful and elegant way of showing off not one, but two of your favorite hobbies!

Method Three: Photo Albums 
Advantages: You’re able to remove postcards you want to re-read.
Disadvantages:  Photo albums that have the removable plastic covers instead of the pre-cut sections can be hard to find to accommodate oversize cards. Plus, they can get pricey depending on where you find them.

Most albums these days come in the kind that is pre-perforated to fit 5-by-7 photographs and cards. If you know anything about postcard collecting, you know this won’t do at all. I get more odd-shaped, oversize postcards than ever, and I refuse to cut them to fit a standard album. Your best bet is to go hunting for the kind of album that comes 8-1/2 x 11, and consists of thick, pre-glued pages with a plastic, peel-able cover that can be lifted and replaced over and over. These albums usually have plainer covers. While you might think you’d be better off looking for these in hobby stories near the scrapbook supplies, you’re actually wrong. It seems counter-intuitive, but I have had the best luck finding these albums in drug stores like Kinney’s or Rite Aid.

As for organizing postcard, I actually don’t. The one thing about this hobby I don’t like is arranging and re-arranging of cards by date sent/received, country, etc. If I did, I would go bonkers. But feel free to do with your collection as you will. Just remember: the point about this is relaxing and fun, not stress! If organizing isn’t your cup of tea, don’t drink it!

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK III: The Netherlands

I get a lot of flack for my mild obsession with the Royal Families of Europe. When I got this card, King Alexander was still only the heir apparent, so it’s in the earlier volumes of my collection.  This card came to me from Anja.

Why do I love following the Royal Families? After all, most of them aren’t even powerful. Like England, many of the royals these days are more of a symbolic presence, with maybe some influence over parliaments or politics. And it’s not even as if they are particularly fascinating people (aside from Diana Spencer or Sarah Ferguson). They mainly keep up their appearances and jobs, rear children away from the public eye (smart), and marry models or children of business people. Many do have charitable causes they work for, but few reach the level of notoriety that Diana Spencer did. I bet most people can’t even name the houses that each country’s royals belong to, other than perhaps Windsor or Amsburg.

I guess it’s one of those things even I can’t explain. But when I look at postcards like this one, especially looking at the three little girls, I just can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy….what spectacular lives they are going to lead one day! Every step they make will either be watched, documented, or at least noted by the general public. With that kind of influence, they could change the world without even trying! How amazing is that?

This card motivated me to look up the history of the House of Orange-Nassau van Amsburg, and now, thanks to that, I have three books on hold for me at my library on King Alexander’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. It’s a domino effect, and I bet once I read up on them, I’ll see another name dropped somewhere in the text that sparks my interest, etc. I am quite a biography enthusiast all around.

The Netherlands, funny enough, is on my bucket list of destinations to visit for a different reason: every year, The Netherlands plays host to Red Head Day…where over 7,000 gingers from around the world come together in celebration of red hair, freckles, and SPF-75 sunscreen (I assume). As a natural redhead, I feel obligated to make a pilgrimage to this gathering.

Question: Where Have I Actually Been?

Q: Have you actually been anywhere besides Scotland?

A: Yes I have! I have been to several places in Canada, including Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Quebec City. I’ve been to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. The most memorable place I’ve been to aside from Scotland is Oahu, Hawaii.

My senior year of college, I was given the opportunity of visiting my close friend and her husband in Hawaii, where they were stationed with The Navy (yes, they were at Pearl Harbor) during spring break. It was breathtaking. I think my experiences was heightened by the fact that it was off-season for tourists, and the early-spring weather meant it was warm, but not frying-eggs-on-sidewalks hot. Plus having ‘locals’ to stay with meant I could see all of the spots on Oahu tourists tend to overlook, like the North Shore, where there were these pretty coves and smaller beaches that hardly had anyone around. It was beyond my wildest expectations. I didn’t expect the peacocks to be as wild and used to people as pigeons in New York!

Oh, and don’t get me started on the shaved ice! Ohhhh maaaaan…

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK II: South Africa

I received this card at least a year ago, but it is still one of my favorites, because postcards from anywhere in Africa are pretty rare. In fact, I only have gotten one other card from Africa in the nearly two years I’ve been collecting. This one was sent to me by Verdigris.

I honestly had not heard very much about the Zulu tribe before getting this card, but it looks to be a group steeped in some cool traditions (I mean…I totally wish I could train to be a witch doctor!). I usually picture South Africa as post-Apartheid Johannesburg, with country clubs, suburbs, and traces of post-British imperialism. I see images like in the postcard above and my mind goes to Kenya, Zambia, and Angola before it goes to South Africa.

Then I got to thinking how I used to associate African tribal villages as being poor and backwards. I’m embarrassed to admit I used to think this way. I blame my middle-class American hegemonic upbringing for this. Now I think of life in a small, isolated village as probably a peaceful way to live, as long as food and water were in constant supply (which I know isn’t true in many cases). Think about it: you don’t have to worry about the NASDAQ crashing and wiping out your 401K, you don’t have to endure the mindless drivel that is 99% of pop culture these days, and you’re probably going to be very close with the entire village, so basically it’s like an extended family. You don’t necessarily need a 250K Masters Degree and a six-figure salary to live a satisfying life.

Perhaps people like the Zulu have their priorities in order more than Americans do. I can’t confirm this as I have no experience with Zulu culture, nor have I even even known a member of the Zulu tribe, but when you’re in a small, traditional tribe, your priorities are more likely about to be survival, safety, and living. Last week I was accosted by a group of thirteen years olds who hollered ‘selfie with stranger!’ and took off before I could realize that they placed being ‘cool’ above ‘not getting kidnapped’ in their priority order. Technology has warped us beyond our basic instincts, and it’s really getting bizarre.

Will I get to visit the Zulu tribe one day? Not sure. It’s not like I can take a Delta flight to the middle of the Serengeti. But if I could, would I? Absolutely!

What to Send? What to Send?

It’s actually pretty hard choosing which postcard you want to send out. I think anyone would be surprised when I talk about how much time I take thinking about this every time I go to write a card.

I think the first thing that makes the task hard is people on Postcrossing can be so picky. Once I’m assigned an address, I can look at the receiver’s profile, and most of them list at least a few preferences of what they’d like to get in their mailbox. Most are pretty open to anything, or request something easy like ‘images from your hometown,’ or ‘I like art cards.’ It’s really when people start asking for some pretty specific cards, or set up these criteria that go above and beyond a normal suggestion (‘no multi-views!’ or ‘I like Rodin but not Degas!’).

I’m very tempted to tell these people to be grateful I bothered to spend fifteen seconds thinking of them in choosing a card I think they would appreciate, even if it doesn’t fit in with their expectations. I never do, of course, but I also don’t languish for hours on it either. I like people respecting my suggestions (I do have some of my own, after all) so I try to respect theirs. But this is only the first problem I encounter. There are also the people I am assigned that have absolutely NO preferences. I still want to send them something I think they will enjoy, but I also feel like sending them a more generic ‘Syracuse!‘ card would suffice.

I’m pretty sure this appears next to ‘generic’ in Webster’s Dictionary. 

I have to admit, the pickings around here as far as local postcards go are pretty slim. Most are multi-views, which a lot of people don’t like (I guess because it makes the images too busy to really appreciate). If it isn’t a multi-view, it’s a simple skyline (boring) or a close-up of a place on the SU Hill (frankly, who outside of the US would even care about a state school?). I want it to look like an effort was made, and I want to fairly represent my city!

Aw, come on! They didn’t even try!

Admittedly, I cheat sometimes. I travel a lot for work, and in the winter months I commonly take the train. Train stations I stop at usually have a small gift shop with some pretty cool New York City-centric cards. I’ll send some of these. Sure, it implies I’m from one of the most exciting cities on Earth instead of Mehh-It’s-Ok, NY. But these cards are much more exciting and generally better-received than the Syracuse-based ones.

I’ll even pick a few cards up on vacation elsewhere and send these. For example, last year I went to Seattle for a few days, and ended up acquiring and sending out nearly fifty cards that show off how cool Seattle is.

I mean, I don’t expect Syracuse-based cards to be Rembrandts or anything, but I do feel that twinge of jealousy when I get cards from Nowhereland, New Zealand that are cooler than the ones I send.

On the flip side of this little rant, I have to admit that this aspect of the hobby is as enjoyable in some respects as receiving the cards. If you’re genuine about the collection, you develop a sense of caring about your fellow collectors and want to try and contribute a favorite or a stand-out piece to their own stash. When I receive a card I especially adore, I will PM the sender (an option on the site) and tell them so. It’s flattering when someone does the same for you.

A quick note before I end this post: if you have questions you would like me to discuss or a related topic you wish for me to bring up, let me know! I’m open to requests for guest-posts as well! Until next time!