Hello from Away

Did the morning post arrive yet?

Did you receive my thoughts?

I know that they, like me, are far from your everyday,

But still I hope they made it safe.

How long, I wonder, does it take,

For a slip of paper to travel the whole world round.

You know as well as I,

What obstacles between us lie.

Can it make it do you think,

My little scrap of memory,

Across the mountains and the seas,

From my pen to your hand,

The little thoughts for you from I?

You are far away, and I am further still,

From the places where once we met,

Where between us formed a bond.

So, to you this scrap I send,

A gift from me to firmly say,

That you’re in my mind while far from home.

It’s just my little way to show,

My favourite way to say,

Hello from away.

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I love travel, it’s one of my greatest pleasures in life, and last summer I took a trip. This trip brought me far from home, to visit one of my dearest friends. We met in school, and she moved away, so I made up my mind and went to visit.

First I stopped in Iceland, if I were going on an adventure I meant to go whole hog. While there, I had a thought, that I enjoyed writing and receiving letters. I wanted to send post cards, but could not think of who to.

Then I remembered my grandparents, and how much it would mean to them to receive one. So I bought them and promptly forgot to mail them.

When I made it to Sweden to visit my friend, I bought more postcards and mailed them along with the ones from Iceland. It’s the thought that counts more than the exact location, right?

And they were delighted with them. So, when I went to Korea this past May, I knew that I would do it again. I knew that I would find and send the cards, but this time I would add more people.

Other friends and family, including my parents and sibling. The ones in the cover photo were a devil to find, it took me almost 5 days to track them down. Sadly I don’t think there’s a strong market for postcards anymore, with the acceleration trend towards digital formats.

But everyone loved the cards. And when I go to South America in the Fall, I’ll do it all again! And I’ll have to add even more recipients to my list because other friends have asked to be included. :)

My recommendation is this, if you travel somewhere cool, think about sending a postcard. Just to say to someone you care about, “hello from away.”