Have you ever heard anything about snail mail? Yup, the snail. A footless animal moving very slowly to one place to another. And the mail. Sending something to somebody. For you who doesn't know what snail mail is, it is mail using stamps and delivered by postman --later I mention as regular mail--. Since we know email -which is 100 times faster than the regular one--, regular mail using stamps has gotten its name as snail mail. The reason is easy to guess , isn't it? Because it takes long time to arrive, like a snail. For example, it takes 20 days for a postcard using Rp 7500,00 stamp to reach Netherland. With an email?! Hmmm... in a second and almost no cost..
Actually, I have along standing story with snail mail. When I was in elementary school I had some pan pals from around Indonesia. I used to use letters --yes, the letters with stamp delivered by postman-- to communicate with someone special. Old fashioned me! When I grow up, I love getting postcard from friends or relatives when they travel. I also love sending them ones when I'm away. Lately I get more often to use this kind of snail mail. It's started with a postcard to Austria --for Hilmar, my host during my visit to Langenlois-- and is continued with more and more postcards especially to Germany.
Earlier this year, I found an interesting website name postcrossing --in which I become one of its members now--. Postcrossing has a lot of members from all around the world. Sometime I imagine myself receive a postcard from a country like Moldova --which I don't event know where it is-- or small country in Pacific Ocean. Postcrossing is a bit unique because you don't have to reply the postcard you receive, except you do direct swap. It's tagline "send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!" reflecting it clearly. Once you send a postcard to another random member --chosen by "postcrossing machine"-- and that member receive it --indicate as a register postcard--, you just need to sit and relax while waiting for postcard reach your mailbox. Once you receive a postcard, all you need to do is register the postcard. You can send postcard anytime you want. There aren't any regulation of number of sent-postcard --lets say-- per month.
Later I found a similar group with postcrossing. It is card-to-post --heard like "kartu pos", Indonesian translation of "postcard"--. As far as I inspect, all members of card-to-post is Indonesian, but based on some posts I read --blog posts and tweets-- I conclude that some of its members are abroad. Though the basic concept of postcrossing and card-to-post is similar which is postcard exchange, different rule applies in card-to-post. It'd be lovely if you reply every received postcard. From my perspective, card-to-post is unique because it encourages its members to make their own postcard. So it's very possible for you to send your handmade postcard.
Though I ain't very active in card-to-post, I hope this movement --yes, I see it as a movement as well-- can stimulate Indonesians to send postcard. We have seemed to forget it since sms --and later email-- took place in our life. I find different dynamic when I interact with some foreigner friends. Though they have daily communication with parents, love ones, relatives, or friends, they seem to keep the habit of sending postcard when they're away or sending postcard on special occasion such as birthday and new year.
Now this writing is coming to my personal reason of keeping my snail mailing habit. I need a balance. That simple! I need a balance between cheetah-speed communication, such as email, sms, and social networking, and snail-speed communication. This world has already been smaller these decades because we can communicate faster with anybody in the world or find a piece of information in one click --google makes it possible--. We --or at least I-- move too fast --then tired of it!--. For addition, people sometime seems to forget that process requires time. Sending and receiving postcard --either to/from "real" friends or other member of postcrossing and card-to-post-- reminds me about patience..
I can always buy tomatoes in grocery, but I have choice to once grow it from seeds, to take care of the plant, to harvest tomatoes from my own garden.
I can always do cheetah-speed communication, but I have choice to once write letter, to stick stamps on envelope or postcard, to go to post office, and to wait the letter reach its destination.
It's about choice at last...
Earlier this year, I found an interesting website name postcrossing --in which I become one of its members now--. Postcrossing has a lot of members from all around the world. Sometime I imagine myself receive a postcard from a country like Moldova --which I don't event know where it is-- or small country in Pacific Ocean. Postcrossing is a bit unique because you don't have to reply the postcard you receive, except you do direct swap. It's tagline "send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!" reflecting it clearly. Once you send a postcard to another random member --chosen by "postcrossing machine"-- and that member receive it --indicate as a register postcard--, you just need to sit and relax while waiting for postcard reach your mailbox. Once you receive a postcard, all you need to do is register the postcard. You can send postcard anytime you want. There aren't any regulation of number of sent-postcard --lets say-- per month.
"send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!" __Postcrossing tagline
Later I found a similar group with postcrossing. It is card-to-post --heard like "kartu pos", Indonesian translation of "postcard"--. As far as I inspect, all members of card-to-post is Indonesian, but based on some posts I read --blog posts and tweets-- I conclude that some of its members are abroad. Though the basic concept of postcrossing and card-to-post is similar which is postcard exchange, different rule applies in card-to-post. It'd be lovely if you reply every received postcard. From my perspective, card-to-post is unique because it encourages its members to make their own postcard. So it's very possible for you to send your handmade postcard.
Though I ain't very active in card-to-post, I hope this movement --yes, I see it as a movement as well-- can stimulate Indonesians to send postcard. We have seemed to forget it since sms --and later email-- took place in our life. I find different dynamic when I interact with some foreigner friends. Though they have daily communication with parents, love ones, relatives, or friends, they seem to keep the habit of sending postcard when they're away or sending postcard on special occasion such as birthday and new year.
Now this writing is coming to my personal reason of keeping my snail mailing habit. I need a balance. That simple! I need a balance between cheetah-speed communication, such as email, sms, and social networking, and snail-speed communication. This world has already been smaller these decades because we can communicate faster with anybody in the world or find a piece of information in one click --google makes it possible--. We --or at least I-- move too fast --then tired of it!--. For addition, people sometime seems to forget that process requires time. Sending and receiving postcard --either to/from "real" friends or other member of postcrossing and card-to-post-- reminds me about patience..
This world has already been smaller these decades [...] we can communicate faster with anybody in the world or find a piece of information in one click [...]. We --or at least I-- move too fast --then tired of it!--. For addition, people sometime seems to forget that process requires time. Sending and receiving postcard [...] reminds me about patience..
I can always buy tomatoes in grocery, but I have choice to once grow it from seeds, to take care of the plant, to harvest tomatoes from my own garden.
I can always do cheetah-speed communication, but I have choice to once write letter, to stick stamps on envelope or postcard, to go to post office, and to wait the letter reach its destination.
It's about choice at last...
plus e-mail still can't replace the personal touch of hand-written message ;)
ReplyDeletecan't agree more.. =)
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