Do this one thing every trip and you’ll soon have a trove of prized—but not pricey—mementos.
They’re for sale in every tourist shop—along with most drugstores, newsagents, and museums—in every city in the world. (Medium- and small-sized towns, too.) What am I talking about? Postcards.
I know sending a postcard may seem to be an old-fashioned, retro-not-in-a-good-way means of keeping in touch. I mean, what’s the point when you can just post a photo on Facebook or Instagram (a photo that has you in it, besides!) and collect likes from everyone you do and don’t know?
When I send a postcard from wherever I am in the world to friends or family, the usual text response is, “Wow, haven’t gotten one of these in forever!” or “LOL they still sell these?”
But if I add I sent the same card to myself annotated with the date and a line or two about activities or experiences I want to remember about the place (I make sure the location is reflected in the photo/info on the card), the response is more along the lines of, “Brilliant! I’m going to start doing that!”
Why do I do this when posting to Facebook or my blog is easier? (Don’t get me wrong; mailing a postcard is in addition to, not instead of, doing those other activities.) A few reasons:
- Finding and mailing a postcard gives me a chance to experience everyday life practically any place in the world.
A postcard is an easy-to-find, super-cheap souvenir available pretty much around the world. Buying, stamping, and mailing one creates an informal opportunity to interact with locals. I’ve chatted with shop owners while perusing card choices on kiosks in Thailand and Paraguay. I’ve stammered through phrasebook French and Montenegrin buying stamps from tabacs in Paris and newsagents in Podgorica. I’ve asked for directions to (and gotten lost looking for) post offices in Japan, Italy, and Tanzania (and been helped by generally patient postal clerks once there). In the process, I’ve received tips on area restaurants, an invite to an impromptu bike tour, and backstage passes to a local concert. If I’d just been snapping and saving photos to my SIM card, I would’ve missed them all.
- It helps me remember details about a place in a tangible way.
In today’s digital world, an image I can hold in my hands has more meaning. And writing down a few lines about an experience helps me remember the who/what/where/when in a deeper way than does a scroll through my Facebook posts.
- It’s a quick way to preserve memories from my trip.
I know many people keep a journal while traveling. Maybe it’s because writing is my profession, or maybe it’s because I don’t want to pass up an opportunity to do something in order to write about having done something, but journaling is not for me. (I’m not going to sit down and recount the day’s happenings when there’s another neighborhood to explore!) I prefer scribbling a quick summary on a small rectangle of paper and sending it off. A postcard is a low-tech tweet, no wi-fi required!
- It’s the perfect souvenir.
I have rules for collecting souvenirs, and postcards qualify. They don’t take up a lot of space, they’re timeless, they don’t cost much, and they make a nice collection.
Postcards not only preserve my memories of a trip, but also capture a moment in my personal history. The card I choose depicts the spirit of the location as I felt it at the time. Plus, it’s a nice surprise to find in my mailbox when memories of my trip are starting to fade. For the record, nearly every postcard of the hundreds I’ve sent from 82 countries eventually made its way to me, including one that arrived 214 days after I sent it…from Canada. (Note: Always make a double-underlined “USA” the last line of your address.)
- They’re easy to share and make a great heirloom.
I like sharing my travel experiences with friends and family. I also know people who weren’t on the trip can have a pretty short attention span when I’m scrolling through the photos on my camera roll.
But let them peruse postcards clipped to a string of lights on my wall or rifle through one of the plastic boxes that store the bulk of my collection—divided by year, my only concession to organization—and they aren’t as bored. Many a good conversation has started when a friend held up a random card and shared an opinion or asked about the place in the photo.
Postcards can also be time capsules of sorts, an heirloom to pass down. My plastic boxes include mementos from when West and East Germany had differing postmarks, Yugoslavia was a country, and Malta’s Azure Window was still intact. Maybe they will expand the knowledge of the world of whoever ends up with them, or inspire his or her own travel adventures.
Twist’s Take: On your next trip (and every trip thereafter!) send a postcard to yourself; it makes for an inexpensive souvenir that’s a great memento and heirloom.
