postcards – Darkk Horse Travel

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I signed up for this website, Postcrossing, because we love snail mail. Apparently we’re not alone in our obsession, because half a million other people are signed up as well!

Much like Couchsurfing or other websites that work to bring people together, this website allows for you to communicate with people you would never speak to, otherwise. It’s such a beautiful idea to keep connected to people around the world!

How does it work!? Well, you sign up with an account and you are then sent the addresses of (up to) five other people from around the world (I got Russia, Germany, China, Bulgaria, and The Netherlands). After you send them off a postcard, with the little code that is emailed to you, they confirm they got it by entering the code on the website and you’re in! You are then added into the pot of endless possibilities. People can get your address, and you get theirs and it’s all extremely beautiful!

I sent off my postcards a couple of weeks ago and just got my first one back today from The Netherlands! It was such a great surprise in my mailbox. Basically, I’m in love with the entire concept of this website.

Snail mail for the win! I can’t wait to see where else I get mail from 🙂

Flying over my beautiful Washington Mountains on my way to California

Getting ready to move halfway across the world is a process. In a perfect world, I would be able to pack up everything tomorrow and be ready to go, but that’s just not a reality. So, there are some basics that I’ve started putting together in order to get ready for my big move. This will be an ongoing list, but here’s where I’m at so far:

1. Phone upgrade: I haven’t upgraded my phone in a while, so when I went to the UK I wasn’t able to communicate with my family while I was gone ( iPhone 4 doesn’t have a slot for a simcard). Well, glory, glory hallelujah because I upgraded my phone and now will have communication via cell phone while I’m gone (INSTAGRAM!)!

2. Bilingual bible: As a Christian, the Bible is a pretty important book to me. And I love to read. So, it was pretty high on my list for me to get a bible that I would be able to start using now, and be able to take with me when I went to France. Obviously, I could have stuck with an English translation, but I think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world to see both of my favorite languages side by side.

3. Dentist: This one is kind of weird, but really important nonetheless. I have no idea what my insurance/medical situation will be once I actually get to where I’m moving (and I won’t have my dentist whom I LOVE), so it’s really important for me to get everything in tip-top shape in case I don’t have access to one while I’m living there (or at least, at the beginning).

4. Postcards: Communication with my Au Pair family is so incredibly important to me. I really want to be able to build relationships even right now so that I’ll be able to make my transition that much smoother when I get there. My French family and I email fairly regularly, and this week I got a postcard which made me so incredibly excited! I love snail mail more than anything, so it was so fun to get it from Switzerland, where they were staying.

5. Getting rid of stuff: Even though I’m not leaving for a while, I’ve already started to go through my things and start donating/getting rid of things. I am going to be getting a storage unit (which is another “to do” on my list) but it’s still really important for me to get rid of all the random junk I own prior to that. Goodwill here I come!

6. Guitar lessons: I don’t play any instruments as of now, since I mostly focused on vocal stuff while I was growing up, but I’m moving to an EXTREMELY musical family. As such, it’s important for me to be able to contribute, and I’ve had a guitar sitting around for a bit, so I’ve been taking guitar lessons. I’m no Jimmy Hendrix, yet, but I am learning and I love it.

7. French lessons: Every week I get extremely embarrassed as I attempt to speak French in front of my French tutor. It’s hard work and sometimes SO FRUSTRATING, but I know that putting in the work now will be so worth it once I’m there. I just wish I could fast forward 3 months so I could see some real progress happening. Ha.

8. Drivers License: My license is going to expire while I’m over in France, so it’s on my “To Do” list to get it renewed and all set up so I don’t have to worry about being able to drive while I’m there, or when I get back.